海角社区

If you think of a 鈥渂rewer,鈥� who comes to mind? For many, that archetypal image is a burly white guy with a beard.

It鈥檚 reflective of historic underrepresentation, along with market opportunity, said Bernardo Alatorre, faculty member and head of Metropolitan State University of Denver鈥檚 Brewery Operations Program, which has partnered with well-established craft brewers to diversify the industry through scholarship programs.

Representation is no easy effort, however. A reported 93.5% of owners identified as white/non-Hispanic, with 2.2% Hispanic/Latino/Spanish-origin and 0.4% Black. More than 75% of respondents also self-identified as male.

And though women make up 15% of the consumer base, they consist of only 3% of the current workforce, more often relegated to roles in packaging instead of operations or brewing, Alatorre noted.

鈥淭he beer industry has been predominantly male and white since its inception,鈥� he said. 鈥淲here is the equity when it comes to participating in an industry not only as consumers, but as creators as well?鈥�

That鈥檚 the dynamic 海角社区鈥檚 Flying Dog Diversity in Brewing Endowment program is seeking to change. The scholarship provides financial support to 海角社区 students pursing a degree in Brewery Operations and guarantees an employment opportunity with the Flying Dog Brewery after graduation.

As the first recipient of the program, Colleen Haynes, a senior in the University鈥檚 School of Hospitality, was drawn to the industry鈥檚 mix of art and science. She began exploring the craft while homebrewing with her father.

Haynes noted how others would make assumptions of the male-dominated field and ask her if she was studying beer 鈥渟o she could find a husband.鈥�

鈥淭hat鈥檚 kind of frustrating, but it鈥檚 made me want to work twice as hard,鈥� she said. 鈥淲omen belong in all parts of the beer industry. When people feel represented, they鈥檙e more likely to apply for jobs. If you don鈥檛 see someone who looks like you, it鈥檚 harder to see yourself there.鈥�

Haynes credited 海角社区鈥檚 small-class environment and hands-on, comprehensive education in the program as key success differentiators from her first foray into higher education at a California university.

It鈥檚 the supportive culture, however, that has fermented a path forward for her career. During the pandemic, Haynes took 鈥�,鈥� a Grand Tour of tipples adapted online by Katie Strain. One of only seven triple-TTB-certified chemists in the country, Strain runs the Beverage Analytics QA/QC Laboratory at 海角社区, supported by the renowned Siebel Institute of Technology.