Belles of the brewery: Meet Westchester women in beer industry

It used to be that there were a lot of misconceptions regarding women and beer, but insiders will tell you that as more and more enter the field professionally, it's evolving.

"Being a woman in business is not easy, and being a woman in craft beer is changing," says Kara Berardi, co-partner and Director of Marketing and Events at Peekskill Brewery.

Sure, there are still the occasional bartenders steering a female drinker away from hoppy, high-alcohol IPAs and recommending a delicate fruit beer in its place, or a festival organizer requesting pretty girls to pour samples, but the well-educated women in beer have learned to laugh it off.

"You can't fake authenticity, but if you know your stuff you'll get where you need to go," Berardi says.

Follow:The lohud Craft Beer Trail

As far as small and independently owned artisanal products go, craft beer is extremely mainstream. In the Westchester or Rockland, you'd be hard pressed to find a bar or restaurant with only macro-beers available as the modern beer drinker becomes more sophisticated, and more interested in how their drink is made, what strain of yeast or hops are used and the style's cultural relevance.

Sofia Barbaresco, assistant brewer at Broken Bow Brewery in Tuckahoe, was homebrewing for years before she decided to turn passion into profession. She spoke to other women about breaking into the craft beer industry and they all said the same thing: get a proper brewing education.

"They all told me, you won't be taken seriously if you don't get an education." So, she completed a year-long brewing school program in her native Brazil before the education paid off and she joined the team at Broken Bow last year.

Women who make, market and sell craft beer in the Lower Hudson Valley are a passionate bunch. And they all agree, there's no room in the business for anyone who doesn't have the passion or know their stuff — regardless of gender.

Whether you're putting out a saison or a stout, it's imperative that you can talk the talk. "People want to challenge you," says Berardi. "Festivals are notorious for that."

The craft beer industry is booming nationwide, and recent guidelines from Gov. Cuomo indicate more growth is expected as its now easier for small, independent brewers and distillers in New York state to get started. There are currently six craft breweries in Westchester and Rockland and two more are hoping to open in 2016, one called Six Degrees of Separation at the Ossining downtown waterfront and another in an undisclosed location from Jeff O'Neil, former brewmaster at Peekskill Brewery.

And while brewery jobs overall tend to be held by men, plenty of women are finding their way to essential brewing company roles.

Just about all of the local women we spoke to in the beer business are members of the Pink Boots Society, an international non-profit network designed to empower women in the craft beer industry through local meet-ups, forums, job posting and scholarships for Cicerone certification, a three-level accreditation akin to wine sommelier.

"You don't have to be bearded and flanneled to get the job done," says Kristen Stone, director of marketing and one of the founding partners at Broken Bow Brewery in Tuckahoe. "We're all equal here, and we all get equally dirty."

Sonya Giacobbe, KelSo Brewing Co.

"The biggest misconception is that Kelly got me into beer," says Sonya Giacobbe, who owns the KelSo Brewing Co. in Brooklyn with her husband, Kelly Taylor. They live in Mamaroneck with their two children.

Giacobbe says her beer education began in the 1990s when she was waiting tables at the Brickskeller in Washington, D.C., a now defunct (and somewhat legendary) craft beer bar that was ahead of its time with around 700 beers on its menu. "I've met a lot of people in the beer industry who came through Beerskeller."

As KelSo's director of marketing (and mom of two), Giacobbe spends time part of her week at the brewery and part at home in Westchester. On weekends and evenings, she works as many events, tastings and festivals as possible. "I really like to go to the events, see people and what they're drinking, how they react to the beers."

Best advice: "Understand that it's a manufacturing job at heart, and not nearly as glamorous as it sounds."

Kara and Morgan Berardi, Peekskill Brewery

The two sisters-in-law are co-owners with Kara's husband, Keith Berardi. "People always assume he's the owner and I'm the hostess," she laughs. "People give me tips!"

Kara is director of marketing and events, and Morgan manages the brewery and restaurant's finances. Peekskill Brewery opened in 2008, and while both agree they are seeing more and more women in the field every year, Morgan says that wasn't case seven years ago. "Sonya [Giacobbe] was really it on this side of the country."

Peekskill Brewery is a popular gastropub, too, and hosts plenty of private events, so there are a lot of moving parts and creative personalities. "We focus them," she says.

Best advice: "There's room for you," Morgan Berardi says. "But you have to have the passion."

Broken Bow Brewery

Michael LaMothe is the brewmaster, but when he launched the brewery in 2013, his two sisters, Kristen Stone and Casey LaMothe, and mother, Kathy LaMothe, all came on as co-founders. Now, Broken Bow's staff is about half female, with Sofia Barbaresco serving as assistant brewer and Danielle Romano as events coordinator.

The women roll their eyes and laugh when they tell stories about festivals requesting "pretty girls" to pour beers at the table or when bartenders frequently suggest a Blue Moon, but they take it in stride. "Our pretty girls know what they're talking about!" says Kasey LaMothe, head of Microbiology and Quality Control for Broken Bow. "It's fun to watch their faces drop."

LaMothe planned to follow a medical route after graduating with a degree in biology, but her family's brewing plans were a lot more appealing. "On a regular day I go anywhere from brewing, to testing. I run a lot of the canning, too," she says.

Best advice: Know your stuff. "It's just knowledge that you should have if you're in beer at all," says LaMothe on completing a Cicerone certification.

Jackie Rubbo, Yonkers Brewing Co.

Rubbo's title is director of Creative, Culture and Chaos, and the role is exactly as Jane-of-all-trades as it sounds.

"I handle the marketing, social media, outreach," she says. "And keeping the guys in check."

Her background is in marketing and event management, and managing the Yonkers Brewing brand is Rubbo's top priority. Either she or one of the two co-owners, her brother John Rubbo and Nick Califano, are at every event pouring beers. "Nobody can talk about the beers better than we can."

The brewery space, in the historic Yonkers trolley barn, required a major DIY overhaul to get started, but Rubbo's workload since the opening hasn't slowed down just yet. "I've made it a point lately to take off one day per week," she says. "I'm not great at it yet though."

Best advice: "It's fun and it's worth it, and it's exciting. I mean, I work in a brewery."

VISIT A LOCAL BREWERY

Broken Bow Brewery, 173 Marbledale Road, Tuckahoe, 914-268-0900, www.brokenbowbrewery.com.

Peekskill Brewery, 47-53 S. Water St., Peekskill, 914-734-2337, www.peekskillbrewery.com.

Yonkers Brewing Co., 92 Main St., Yonkers, 914-226-8327, yonkersbrewing.com.

Kuka Andean Brewing Co., 300 Corporate Drive, Blauvelt, 646-450-5852, www.kukabeer.com.

Defiant Brewing Co., 6 Dexter Plaza, Pearl River, 845-920-8602, www.defiantbrewing.com.

Captain Lawrence Brewing Co., 444 N Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, 914-741-2337, www.captainlawrencebrewing.com.