Introducing This Year’s Pink Boots Collaboration Beer: Belle of the Briar
April 5, 2021
Every year the Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day® brings women in beer together to celebrate International Women’s Day and raise the profile of women’s roles in the beer industry. For the fourth year, Yakima Chief Hops (YCH) made an exclusive Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day® hops blend that is available for purchase to participating brewers – they also donate $3 from every pound sold to Pink Boots Society for education and programming.
To decide on our beer, we send out a call for ideas to the female identifying employee owners of Harpoon and then vote on the submissions. This year’s winning idea was Belle of the Briar, a Berry Cobbler Sour IPA brewed with blackberries and raspberries. We caught up with our Harpoon Beer Hall Kitchen Manager Erica Faubert, who came up with the idea for this year’s brew, which is now available on tap at our breweries in Boston, MA and Windsor, VT.
What inspired your idea for a Berry Cobbler Sour IPA?
Mixing a little nostalgia with something I was newly fond of was how this idea was hatched – I wanted to submit something unique with a personal touch. Having spent a large portion of my life in Georgia, one of my favorite seasons was blackberry season. One of life’s simple pleasures is a nice warm cobbler made with fresh blackberries straight from the briar. Last summer, I was introduced to my first Sour IPA. Two of my favorite styles of beer in one glass? What’s not to love? I thought that the tartness of the berries was something that could go nicely with this style of beer.
How did you come up with the name Belle of the Briar?
If we are being honest? It took an Arctic Chill (or two) and a pen and paper brainstorm session. I wanted something feminine, southern, and something that somehow incorporated the berry aspect. Eventually ‘Belle of the Ball’ was written down, and that’s when the lightbulb went off! Blackberries and raspberries (both used in the beer) both grow on briars, so Belle of the Briar was born!
How would you describe the beer?
It’s got great sour berry up front, followed by a biscuity maltiness with a hint of creamy vanilla, mixed with a little hop bitterness, and a nice clean tart finish. The color turned out a nice hazy pinkish red.
What was your favorite part of the process making this beer?
I really enjoyed getting to hang out on the other side of the brewery for the day. Although our brewer Pat Auclair did most of the nitty gritty, I was able to see and take part in the brew process. It was exciting to see the transformation from idea to finished product!
The Pink Boots Society was created to assist, inspire, and encourage women fermented/alcoholic beverage industry professionals to advance their careers through education. To support this mission, we will be donating $1/pint of Belle of the Briar to The Pink Boots Society sold at our breweries in Boston, MA and Windsor, VT for the month of April. We will also be selling pink pretzels at both of our breweries on 4/6 ONLY to celebrate the launch – we will be donating $1/pretzel to The Pink Boots Society. If you would like to donate directly, you can do so by clicking here.
