RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — In honor of Women’s Month and International Women’s Day in March, seven of Long Island’s East End breweries have come together for a women’s collaboration which includes women from each venue in management, sales, marketing, hospitality, or production. The collaborative group has called themselves The Lady Brewsters of the North Fork, and will include Eastern Front Brewing Co. (Mattituck), Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. (Peconic/Greenport), Jamesport Farm Brewery (Jamesport), Long Ireland Beer Co. (Riverhead), Moustache Brewing Co. (Riverhead), North Fork Brewing Co. (Riverhead), and übergeek Brewing Co. (Riverhead).
Proceeds from each pint sale of this beer at all participating breweries and their correlating events in March will benefit Family Service League of Suffolk County, a non-profit organization that operates 60+ social service programs in more than 20 locations across Long Island, primarily in Suffolk County. Donations will be designated towards their programs that support women in need on the East End, covering a variety of concerns such as homelessness and housing, addiction, trauma, mental health, continuing education, healthcare and family support.
The recipe for this brew was developed by Catie Callaghan (cellar, Greenport Harbor Brewing), Michelle Demetillo (hospitality & community manager, North Fork Brewing) and Christine McCormack (brewer, Jamesport Farm Brewery), with the guidance of Peter Barraud (co-owner and brewmaster, North Fork Brewing) and the production team at Greenport Harbor Brewing. “Lunar Ascent” is an IPA brewed with hibiscus tea and ginger, hopped with local Nugget hops from North Fork Brewing’s farm in Peconic, as well as a variety of citrus and floral hops.
The brew day was hosted on Monday, February 10th, at North Fork Brewing, and the beer was infused with moonstone and black obsidian for their reported metaphysical benefits. The hibiscus tea was purchased from North Shore Tea Co., owned by former Long Islanders, and husband and wife team, Dan and Daneal O’Leary. The black obsidian lavastones were acquired from Earthly Secrets of Westhampton Beach.
“We wanted to come together and collaborate, highlighting the dynamic, creative women in this industry. It’s a male dominated field, but we are all strong women who appreciate craft beer, who want to have an impact, empower one another and support our community,” said Michelle Demetillo of North Fork Brewing Co. “And whether you believe in the healing properties of tea, plants, or crystals, we wanted to brew a beer inspired by their holistic benefits for an important cause.”
The idea behind the name Lunar Ascent was inspired by Sheila Malone of Long Ireland Beer Co. She explained that “it being lunar represents women in general and the ascent part pertains to us as a group of women taking roles and excelling in predominantly male environments like brewing.”
The Women’s Month Kick-Off Party with the release of Lunar Ascent will take place at Digger’s Ales N’ Eats of Riverhead on Wednesday, March 4th from 6-9pm. The breweries will host a myriad of charitable events throughout March, which will include yoga, meditation, speaking engagements, spa services, portrait photography, artists, self defense workshops, live music and more. To find out about their events, visit ladybrewsters.com. Follow along on social media @ladybrewsters.
For More Information: https://ladybrewsters.com/