‘It’s extremely rare’: N.B. brewer makes special beer for International Women’s Day

An International Women’s day event is brewing at a N.B. taproom.

Sophie Zimmer loves brewing lagers and on Saturday a special new creation of hers will be front and centre.

Zimmer, the head brewer at the Tire Shack Brewing Co. in Moncton, has made a small batch of Mango IPA as part of an International Women’s Day event the brewery is hosting.

“It’s a New England IPA. Very hazy, very juicy, very fruity,” said Zimmer, who has a unique role in the male-dominated world of brewing.

There are very few female head brewers at craft breweries around the Maritimes.

“It’s on the more rare side for sure,” said Zimmer. “There’s a lot of stereotypes and pushback that you get from all different types of personalities working in the industry.”

Her boss is a bit of a rarity, too.

Jerrica Kennedy co-owns the Tire Shack with her husband Alan Norman.

“People often assume that he is the sole owner or that my role isn’t as important or I don’t contribute necessarily as much as him,” said Kennedy.

Originally from Halifax, Zimmer joined the Tire Shack team last year and is in charge of production.

“I think it’s extremely rare,” said Kennedy. “We were so excited when she applied for the position. We never expected to have a woman brewer, they’re so few and far between.”

Zimmer was working as a server at a Halifax tap room a few years ago when staff members were asked to collaborate on a beer for International Women’s Day.

“That was my first ever introduction to brewing and it was really, really wonderful. It kind of set everything into motion for me,” said Zimmer.

She got the itch to work in production, so she enrolled in a brewery program in Ontario.

“When I graduated from my program at Niagara College there were four women in my class out of 25. So, not a massive percentage, but the most women they’ve had in a while,” said Zimmer.

She calls working at the Tire Shack a “dream job” because she gets to be creative and work in a community setting.

Kennedy didn’t have any experience in the brewing world when she and Norman started the Tire Shack five-and-a-half years ago.

“I had a lot of experience drinking craft beer and enjoying craft breweries living in Toronto, but my background is actually a business background,” said Kennedy.

Like Zimmer, she enjoys the sense of community craft breweries have and she too is very passionate about the industry and the brewing process.

“I just kind of fell in love with it,” said Kennedy.

On Saturday, the Tire Shack will be holding a special pop-up market in their event space for International Women’s Day to acknowledge other female entrepreneurs from the Greater Moncton area.

There will 12 vendors on site – all women-owned business – with a wide variety of goods for sale.

Zimmer’s Mango IPA will also be available with the proceeds being donated to Crossroads for Women, a Moncton-based organization that assists victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Saturday’s pop-up market will take place in the Tire Shack’s event space from noon until 4 p.m.

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