We were lucky to catch up with Rachel Benkowski recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Women’s presence in the beer industry in North America is ever-expanding, and with this growth we are witnessing women-owned beer businesses pushing boundaries for change and equality. For me, it is this expanding presence of women in the beer industry that inspired a unique business opportunity. What ultimately blossomed into the now international nonprofit organization called the Beer Babes Family, began with a mutual interest in beer between two women.

The Beer Babes Family is a nonprofit organization in the United States and Canada. The organization’s mission statement is to collaborate with breweries throughout North America to help raise money for the Beer Babes Family Grants Fund. This funding is awarded to women in the beer industry trying to improve their beer business.

The Beer Babes Family is a product of COVID. I met fellow beer enthusiast, Roxy Brossoit, on Instagram in the summer of 2020, and we began an online interaction group for women sharing their beer drinking experiences. As a fun social outlet, we named the group “Beer Babes Family.” As the women in this group from around the globe started using the hashtag #beerbabesfamily, questions began arising such as “What is the Beer Babes Family?” and “How do I become a part of the Beer Babes Family?” While the initial group was just for fun, the growing interest in “What the Beer Babes Family was” brought pause to us, and we began asking ourselves “what could we turn this small community in to?”

As the online community began to grow, there was outreach from homebrewers and breweries interested in how they could participate. What made the most sense to us was to brew beer and have proceeds from the sales go to a woman-focused charity. In February of 2021, the Beer Babes Family’s first collaboration beer helped raise money for the Pink Boots Society (a charity that gives scholarships to women going to school for beer-focused degrees).

After this first collaboration beer, there was more and more interest in the Beer Babes Family, and Roxy and I had the serious conversion of, “What if we become our own charity?” Because we both work in the beer industry, and over the years had witnessed many women pursue careers in beer, it made sense to to create a charity that would help support women in the beer business.

After becoming an official nonprofit organization in the USA in April of 2022, and then the same in Canada in December of 2022, the Beer Babes Family has been raising money through collaborations with breweries throughout North America. These collaboration beers are called Babe Brew™. In 2023, the organization will collaborate with one brewery per calendar month (with locations ranging from Montreal, QC to Glendale, CA), with portions of sales being donated. In 2023 their goal is to give $5,000.

Babe Brew is a series of beers dedicated to the women of our personal lives and of the world: who inspire us, push us, make us think deeper, mentor us and lead by example. To the women who break rules and norms, speak their truth with compassion, live each day with unapologetic confidence, and champion equality for all.

Rachel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi there, I’m Rachel Benkowski, and I’m known as Beerkowski. I am a Certified Cicerone, Historian, and Beer Educator. I work at Bone Haus Brewing in Fountain Hills where I wear many different hats. You can find me teaching Beer School, slinging beer at events and festivals, behind the bar, or working on marketing content. I am also the co-founder of a nonprofit organization in the USA and Canada called the Beer Babes Family, which gives business grants to women in the beer industry.

I love beer. That’s where all of this begins. But much like the history of beer, there is a complex and rich history that has led me to this point. My background includes many years of the academic study of ancient societies, specifically ancient Egypt. I have worked as an archaeologist abroad and in the USA, and I have also worked for several museums. No matter what part of history you study, beer is always there. Beer served as a crucial part of the progression of the development of modern civilization. From the birth of farming in Mesopotamia, all the way to the Alewives in Medieval Europe, beer was ever-present and ever-necessary to our sustainability.

Working in the beer industry, I continually witness several parallels between modern brewery culture and ancient society: beer brings people together–we gather and enjoy it as a community, we celebrate and mourn with it–it’s still a crucial part of who we are as a species. I just love that, and I want to continue to nurture it. I think that’s why I love talking about beer history so much because even though society is different now than it was in ancient Egypt, we are all still very much the same as people were back then–we can all relate to beer in some way.

Working in the beer industry also sparked the idea for the Beer Babes Family. As a woman in the business, I have witnessed firsthand that women are an up-and-coming force in the beer world, but they still need a lot of support. We have a lot of work to do to level out the ratio of women to men in the industry.

Did you know beer in ancient societies was almost exclusively made by women?! Beer’s history wouldn’t be as rich and complex without the women who developed the traditions and methods that we still use today. So naturally, I am very interested in helping cultivate and sustain women in the beer world, because we’ve always been here!

As a woman in the modern beer industry, I feel immense pride and passion for sharing beer and beer’s story, and how women have always played a crucial role. Moreover, I love helping support other women in the industry who are trying to perfect their craft and build their businesses. It is my goal to help as many of them as I can.

The Beer Babes Family is all about maintaining support and creating community for fellow women in beer. We are also an online community, and a no tolerance for online bullying platform. We strive to support and positively engage all women in the beer community. This includes the casual beer drinkers to the highest level of brewers, Cicerones and Beer Judges. There is a place for everyone in the Beer Babes Family.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My career in beer began while I was going through a divorce. I knew I was going to need a second income, and I knew that I was interested in beer, so I made a beer-centric resume highlighting what I knew about beer, why I loved beer, etc.

After I landed a job at Bone Haus Brewing, I started off working behind the bar a few nights a week. This then led in to taking on more tasks, like marketing and beer education. Soon I found myself fully engaged in the beer community, and seeing my career trajectory going full speed in to the beer industry.

When I was studying ancient history in school, I never could have imagined I’d be incorporating beer, history and women’s studies into one! But here I am, and it’s all melding together splendidly!

I advise you to view any life event, good or bad, as an opportunity to grow, and experience new things. You never know where it could lead.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

It’s all about being consistent and genuine. Be true to yourself at all times. When people can feel and see your authenticity and passion, they are more likely to be interested in what you are doing.

Myself and the co-founder of the Beer Babes Family is committed to being as present as possible at beer releases, brew days, and fundraising events. To us, it’s important to be present and to demonstrate that we care. We want feet on the ground with the people that help our organization be successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brewswithbeerkowski.com
• Instagram: brews.with.beerkowski
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@brews.with.beerkowski
• Other: www.beerbabesfamily.com