PNW Beer Moms

         So you didn't get to actually brew our beer collaboration with Stemma Brewing Co. and you hear me keep calling it YOUR beer or OUR beer and you are thinking to yourself, "Well, it's not really mine, not technically."  Well, I'm here to tell you why that's not in the slightest possible way true and I'm gonna tell you why!     Two years ago on August 13th I officially took the leap and started PNW Beer Moms and we had our first in-person meet up that September in Bellingham.  Since then we have grown to over 1000 members through out the PNW, with multiple chapters meeting up in person (or planning to) and even more relationships have been forged across Facebook and Instagram.        We've taken brewery tours, had our own virtual tasting, played bingo, zoomed, thrown axes, gotten tipsy on a boat, rushed beer festivals, held food/diaper/book drives, beaten out trivia masters, shared beer and brewery recommendations, paired cookies with beer, gone

     I have a confession to make!       PNW Beer Moms is my very first rodeo in community service and social causes and I feel pretty guilty about that fact.      I attended Gonzaga University as a transfer student for the final two years of my bachelors degree way back in 2005-07 where I was surrounded by a student body and institution that stressed the importance of community service, social justice and volunteerism.  Most everyone I knew was doing some sort of volunteerism and giving to the community in some way, but not me.  I'm not sure if it was a sense of shyness, or indecisiveness, or if I just didn't know how to do it, but I did not join in, I didn't give any my time to helping others.  I was a total slouch on the community front and I felt pretty lame about it. But I also knew I didn't want to stay that way and the feeling of wanting to be better has driven me to grow up a bit.       PNW Beer moms has so many important aspects to it, but community volunteerism

    W hen I started seeing Axe throwing places pop up two years ago, I was very skeptical of my abilities or need to embarrass myself. My only experience throwing an axe had been when I was a kid throwing a hatchet at a tree and watching it hit broad sided again and again, denting the tree and falling to the ground. So when some PNW Beer Moms expressed interest in going to the newly opened Bellingham Axe in the late winter of 2020, I burgeoningly agreed, not expecting to enjoy myself. But then Covid 19 hit and axe throwing, like everything, was put on the back burner for the unforeseeable future. Fast forward a year later and Matt Kinney the owner of Bellingham Axe reached out to me wanting to throw a private party for PNW Beer Moms, setting the course for the best meet up we've ever had!     I'm always a little skeptical when someone reaches out to me, thinking okay what's their angle, why are they being so nice and giving? What do they want? So when Matt messaged me sayin

         Yes, Another Beer Cake Recipe!           If you haven't been baking with beer, you're cheating your taste buds.  I've been baking cakes as a hobby for a few years and after this last batch of cupcakes, it's been decided, ALL CAKES SHOULD HAVE BEER! And it is so easy.  It will be the moistest cake you'll ever made and the beer helps the cake rise and be fluffy. So it's a fail safe cake!        You can use beer in any cake recipe, whether it is from a box or from scratch. If you have never made a cake from scratch, you should give it a shot.  All it takes is a few extra measurements and ingredients to make a better than box cake, cake. You'll kick yourself once you realize how easy it is. No shame either way! If you are using a box cake, substitute the water in the recipe for beer. That's it! Pick a beer that compliments the flavor of cake you are using. I've made yellow and lemon cakes with Blue Moon, chocolate cakes with Guinness, and spiced

   So I may regret this and it may come and kick me in the ass, but I've got to say it!    I'm new to Instagram and I love all the craft industry community I've found on it, but I had no idea how many woman there would be seductively posing with beer! Maybe it's because I don't have the boobs or the fact that I'm not a super hot babe like them, but I'd like to think it's because I want more for women in the craft beer industry. So here I am, a mom of two girls, encroaching 40, and totally wishing these women would cover up! Yep, I've turned into Karen!  "Oh my eyes!... oh hey, wait is that Cigar City Brewings latest beer dripping onto her breasts?" But I'm okay with being Karen. Usually, I'm all about a "you do you" and don't judge attitude, be sexy if you want, wear what you want, celebrate all women... yada yada yada, I'm totally a feminist, but sometimes I just have to speak up for women to be sure they know the

     What a time to run a social club for Beer Moms! We can't meet up, socializing activities are cancelled, kids are at home 24/7 (going on 75 days straight)!! Ugh! But there is a silver lining to Covid 19 'Stay at Home' orders. For example:             Of course, I'm joking...sort of... The only thing I drink every single day is coffee (and a lot of it), but the frequency of consuming beer has increased quite a bit the last few months, as it has for many of you, as you have confessed to me. But hey! We are just doing our part to support the local beer economy in these trying times, right?!       Which brings up some more silver linings: We now have curb side pick up and beer delivery! Even the Utopian ideal of an ice cream truck version of beer delivery has become a reality in some places! Breweries who dreamed of delivery, or their own canning capabilities, souping up their online and website capabilities and even tackling some remodeling projects, have had every exc

     My two daughters and a fellow beer mom and I had the pleasure of joining the Pink Boots Society of Bellingham in their annual collaboration brew at Stones Throw Brewery in the historic Fairhaven district of Bellingham last week! The Local chapter of the Pink Boots posted on social media that all women were welcome to participate and I jumped at the chance to get some PNW Beer Moms up in there! This year they had two brew days for a double batch of goodness! We missed the first brew day, but there was no way we would miss the second. We adorned our feet with our rain boots (a flowery pink pair, an owl pair, and my black and white plaid pair) and headed down to the brewery! We were welcomed with cookies, banana bread, a beer for me and lots of smiles!     The Pink Boots Society of Bellingham was formed not to long ago as a way to commemorate a good friend of the founding members, who passed away before fulfilling her dream of starting a chapter in Bellingham. Her friends took u