To celebrate International Women’s Day this year, the Women Brewers Collective of India huddled together once again to brew the third edition of India’s All-Women Collab brew for 2023, this time in collaboration with Alchemy, a micro-brewery at the Chancery Pavilion Hotel in Bengaluru.

Brewers for this year’s collaboration were Lynette Pires (Master Brewer at Seven Rivers Brewing Co.), Varsha Bhat (Head Brewer at Mannheim Brews), Aishwarya Ritti (Co-founder of Barley & Us), Megha Dalimbe (Head Brewer at Byg Brewski), Kajal Manchanda (former Head Brewer at By The Peepal), Divya Baviskar (Assistant Brewer at The Pump House), and Saloni Pokharkar (Senior Brewer at Big Pitcher).

The girls, together with Nate Ross, Head Brewer at Alchemy, launched ‘Herding Cats’, a Hopfenweisse-style brew. The beer is a true multifaceted, medium-bodied wheat beer with subtle hints of honey, banana and clove spice, paired with bold tropical notes of pineapple, mango and mosambi – owing to the generous addition of Mouteka, Astra and Mosaic hops.

Especially in the brewing industry, it can often be challenging for women to own their leadership ability, much like ‘Herding Cats’. This year’s launch is an ode to their journey and how far they have all come.

The Women Brewers Collective aims to collectively encourage more women who aspire to become brewers. Starting with just five women brewers, its membership has since more than doubled.

In 2021, Lynette Pires took the initiative to bring an all-women brew crew together at Seven Rivers Brewing Co. for the first time ever in India.  The brew, named the ‘West Coast Lady’ is also the country’s first official Pink Boots Society collaboration brew.

The trend continued in 2022, when they collaborated with Geist Brewing Co., South India’s first distribution craft brewery, to launch the Stratosphere lager.