Kelly Zimmerman leading a ladies-only tour of Clipper City

As a follow up to yesterday's post about prominent women in the national beer scene, today we are posting a list of local and localish beer-loving ladies. DC and the greater Washington area have a very decent number of beer women, from restaurant and bar owners to brewers, wholesalers, and other business folk.

And this segment of the local beer scene continues to grow, as exemplified by female-themed beer events like the Clipper City ladies night (pictured above). Tammy attended a ladies-only chocolate and beer pairing at the Baltimore brewery in July and highly recommends going next time. Better yet, why not start having events like this here in DC. Any takers?

As with yesterday's list, the group of names below is not exhaustive. For example, there are a number of great female bartenders and servers who spread the beer gospel every day. Feel free to chime in with shout-outs for other noteworthy local libation-loving ladies in the comments.

RESTAURATEURS

Diane Alexander – Co-Owner, The Brickskeller, irrefutably the DC beer institution. If you've ever been to a beer event there, she's most likely taken your ticket at the door. She's seen and heard a lot, as The Brickskeller's hallowed halls have been graced with many beer greats over the past 25 years.

Ruth Gresser – Owner and Chef,  Pizzeria Paradiso and the women who agreed to turn her restaurant's basement into the outstanding beer bar it has become. She has continued strong beer programs in her additional locations (a third one coming soon!) and is well on her way to having a little empire of top beer destinations in the area.

Jamie Leeds – Co-owner and Chef, Commonwealth, the gastropub in Columbia Heights. There are almost 30 British beers in her selection, as well as around a dozen American craft brews to sample in her U.K.-centric restaurant.

Amy Bowman – Owner, The Black Squirrel and enthusiastic proponent of all things beer. Check out one of Black Squirrel's DCBeer-sponsored events for a chance to meet her and share her passion.

BREWERS & BREWING SUPPORT

Ellie Tupper – Brewer, Tuppers' Hop Pocket and honorary Brickskeller beer event moderator (although her husband is usually the official moderator, she always ends up adding something enlightening to the conversation). She has tasted and logged over 17,000 beers around the world. 'Nuff said.

Gwen Conley – Quality Control Manager, Flying Dog Brewery who is called the "Sensory Goddess" for her ability to smell and taste subtleties in beer. She has great suggestions for beer and food pairings and is eager to share her love of beer with others.

Kelly Zimmerman – Marketing Director, Clipper City Brewing Company and general women-in-beer advocate. She heads up the Ladies' Nights at Clipper City and is a member of the Pink Boots Society.

Hollie Stephenson – Future Brewer, Black Squirrel who spent three weeks this fall taking a brewer's course in the U.K. in preparation for heading up Black Squirrel's microbrewing efforts. We look forward to seeing how her passion for beer translates to making her own brews.

Chris Ames – Manager, Maryland Homebrew who delivers very knowledgeable and patient on and off-site "tech support" for novice homebrewers like the Lagerheads. She knows beer and brewing and is eager to help get more ladies involved.

BIZ

Erin Tyler – Sales Manager for Legends Limited, a local specialty beer wholesale company. She is a beer expert and advocate for craft and imported beer (the flavorful kind) who is often called on to share her knowledge at beer events.

Susan Greene – Sales Manager, Global Brewers Guild. You are likely to run into her manning tables at local beer festivals, pouring the excellent brands her company makes available to the area. She cares about bringing the best beers she can get to you.

WAIT, ONE MORE...

YOU – Beer enthusiast and soon-to-be female beer connoisseur who, after reading this post, decided to get out that there and learn as much as you can about beer. Go get 'em! First stop: Meet & Greet with beer experts Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune tonight at ChurchKey.

Our experience reflects a national trend. It's been legal to brew your own beer since 1978, and that change in U.S. law has been responsible for the "Craft Beer Revolution" we've seen in this country over the last 30 years. These first homebrewers in the late 70's moved from their garages to starting the first wave of microbreweries in the early 80's, and then many like Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman developed their operations into today's craft beer giants.

This general mania is what we think gets more people into homebrewing each year, but we are sure that the AHA's annual event has helped things along a bit as well. Just last year, the group claims, 2,100 homebrewers taught 610 people how to brew, producing 2,800 gallons of beer in the process. So give it a try. After all, it's not all that difficult and requires a relatively tiny upfront investment in equipment, most of which you can find at your local homebrew store or here on the web. If you are not ambitious enough to go out and buy your own carboy and ale pail yet, perhaps one of the local homebrewers' clubs (DC Homebrewers or BURP) has something going on Saturday.

Meanwhile, there are two stores in the DC area that provide everything you need. We go to the Maryland Homebrew in Columbia and get plenty of advice from Chris and the other helpful folks there. If that's too far, consider myLocal-Home-Brew-Shop off Route 7 in Falls Church. Happy brewing!