Big Jan Wears Pink Boots

The women of Stanley Park Brewing are excited to be participating in their 3rd annual International Women’s Day Pink Boots Society Brew. The Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day was born from the members’ of The Pink Boots Society – females in the fermented/alcoholic beverage industry who brew and ferment, package, design, serve and write about beer – wanting to take part in International Women’s Day to raise the profile of women’s roles in the beer industry, to celebrate the women that make and help distribute exceptional tasting beer. Pink Boots Society splits the proceeds from the sales of the collaboration brews with their participating chapters. The revenue is applied to educational scholarships and programming for its members.

Stanley Park Brewing has been involved in the past two Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Days and are proud to have donated thousands of dollars to help in the education of future women in brewing!

This year’s beer, BIG JAN WEARS PINK BOOTS HAZY IPA, is a delicious, sessionable Hazy IPA in tribute to our brewer Rachel Young’s mother Jan. Jan worked hard for over 50 years nursing and was named Big Jan by everyone who loved her. She worked hard but she laughed even harder! We placed Norman the Spoodle next to her on the label as he was the one who helped nurse Jan when it was her turn to be taken care of. Big boots to fill for sure!

Our Big Jan is a big, juicy, Hazy IPA is stone fruit-forward, nectarine with a hint of tropical fruit to create a fruit basket of flavour and aroma. Colourful, bursting with flavour and approachable much like Jan herself!

WHERE ARE YOU FROM & HOW DID YOU GET TO VANCOUVER?

I did a bit of a loop to get to Vancouver. I was born in Toronto and after a few years, my family and I moved to Sydney, Australia where we learned to cope with Christmas in the summertime and snakes and spiders in the backyard. After high school, I travelled for a bit and eventually found myself in Vancouver. I fell in love with the mountains and decided to hang out for a bit. Too many years to mention and I’m still here, and still waiting for the Leafs to win the Cup. I have managed to hang onto the accent though.

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE & WHY/HOW DID YOU GET INTO BEER INDUSTRY?

My current role is Assistant Brewer at the Stanley Park Brewpub where I’ve been for just over 2 years. Before that, I was brewing in East Vancouver where I worked my way through from the tasting room and onto the production floor. One of my former bosses there had been a brewer too and she encouraged me to learn more about the creative side of beer and introduced me to the Pink Boots Society and all the help they can give women who want to get into the industry. It’s a great resource.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOUR ROLE?

Well, it’s never boring. We have a great team at Stanley Park Brewing but there are 2 of us working in the Vancouver brewpub so it really is up to us to get it all done. I love learning new things and there is no shortage of opportunities at the pub for that. Everything from everyday cleaning and maintenance to developing recipes and flavour profiles. I never thought I’d know how to maintain a boiler or change pump seals but here I am. It’s all about variety. I love it.

WHO INSPIRES YOU?

Too many people to list. My family, my friends and workmates. My partner is a huge inspiration. I find she’s always learning something, so I just try to keep up.

You can get your hands on our International Women’s Day collaboration brew at the Stanley Park Restaurant & Brewpub or order online by following the link below.