Bigger Than Beer

Alexa Weathers of Sodbuster Farms strives to bring her very best for the family farm and the team she works with. With a "boots on the ground" mentality, she is always striving to challenge herself, ask questions and learn new skills to bring to the farming operations that will deliver quality hop for your beer-drinking pleasure!

Liz Coleman is co-owner of Coleman Agriculture, a sixth-generation family business. Liz shares how she transformed the farm into a thriving 21st century company. Listen to learn more about she inspires evolutionary - and revolutionary - change within agribusiness.

Maggie Elliot and Jessica Stevens represent and promote Washington-grown hops in their roles at the Washington Hop Commission. Providing critical communication to hop growers, advocating for the hop community legislatively, and developing crucial research in protection of hops are all in a days work for Jessica and Maggie. Listen to learn about the value of women in leadership roles in agriculture and how they think we can create more opportunities for women in this field.

Ashleigh Hayden and Kelly Lohrmeyer join the Bigger Than Beer podcast to discus Networking and Relationships in the craft beer industry. With different approaches, but the shared goal of building genuine customer relationships, Ashleigh and Kelly share their experiences and philosophies on how to connect with customers on an authentic level.

Steph Howard serves as the Sales & Marketing Support Manager for Cryer Malt, a Australia and New Zealand malt, hops and yeast distributor. Listen to Episode 4: Supplier Perspectives to learn how Steph is finding ways to positively impact the industry through creative sustainability and adopting a mindset centered on finding educational opportunities all around her.

Victoria Garza, Latin America Sales Manager, has been instrumental in the Sesiones del Migrante IPA collaboration that has brought breweries together from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border to raise awareness and celebrate migrant workers who travel to the U.S. to harvest hops each year. Listen to learn more about Victoria's leadership, career journey and passion for supporting the local community - all while sipping on the delicious Sesiones del Migrante Mango IPA!

During their visit to hop country as part of their Pink Boots Scholarship educational trip to Yakima, Erica DeAnda of Tumbled Rock Brewing and Sarah Real of Hot Plate Brewing join the podcast to discuss finding community, perseverance, mental health and continuous education. Their different perspectives with Sarah being a homebrewer opening a brewery in planning and Erica working her way up to head brewer, these two inspiring women share their stories and explore how to create a more empowering and inclusive craft beer community for all.

Welcome to the first episode of Bigger Than Beer! Yakima Chief Hops is pleased to initiate a platform dedicated to highlighting the larger impact of the craft beer community. The first season of this annual podcast is focused on Women+ in the Industry! Tiffany Pitra, Sensory Manager at Yakima Chief Hops and Tessa Schilaty, Sensory & Brewing Scientist at Yakima Chief Hops, share their experience within the STEM career field and explore solutions to create a more equitable and inclusive industry. Listen now and don't forget to like, subscribe and review!