- Pink Boots Society’s Hong Kong chapter teamed up with a craft brewery to create a beer, Resting Bitch Face, to encourage more women to drink and brew the stuff
- ‘The idea was to make something that looks like a stereotypically female drink, but is actually strong, pungent, dry and sour,’ co-chair Stella Lo explains
Stella Lo Yin-ting pries the top off an amber bottle, pours a carmine-coloured drink into her beer glass and takes a sip. She examines the label, gazing at her own likeness rendered in cartoon form alongside those of the beer's other creators.
"I'm happy with how this turned out," she says. Her smile contrasts with the drink's name: Resting Bitch Face, or RBF, a phrase used to describe someone (most commonly a woman) with a neutral facial expression which others interpret as angry or unfriendly.
A beer enthusiast and brand ambassador for Hong Kong-based Young Master Brewery, Lo is one of the leaders of the Hong Kong chapter of the Pink Boots Society, an all-woman brewing collective founded in the United States to promote women's participation in the brewing industry.
The society teamed up with Yardley Brothers Beer, another Hong Kong brewer, to produce the limited-edition Imperial sour ale; raspberries give it its distinctive hue. The Hong Kong public can try the beer for themselves this weekend at its launch party at The Globe pub in Central.
The Pink Boots Society's goal is to dispel sexism around women's drinking habits and bring greater equality to the brewing industry, and creating a pink beer might seem to run counter to those aims. However, in the same way that the name of the beer subverts a sexist phrase, the colour is a bit of a Trojan horse too.
"The idea was to make something that looks like a stereotypically female drink, but is actually strong, pungent, dry and sour. It smells fruity and inviting, but you can definitely taste the sourness," Lo says.
As well as containing naturally tart fresh raspberries, RBF is made using a kettle souring process that involves Lactobacillus bacteria (the same organisms found in yogurt) to give it a light, clean, sour tang. At 8 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV), RBF packs a punch that warrants its "Imperial" label, a tag popular among American brewers to denote especially boozy or bold drinks.
A Hongkonger born and raised, Lo discovered her passion for beer while studying in the famously boozy city of Newcastle in the UK. Once her classes were done for the day, she worked as a bartender at "the one classy bar in Newcastle", where the emphasis was then on wine and cocktails.
"I learned a lot about drinks and hospitality and knew I wanted to do something along the same lines, but didn't want to work late nights."
Following a brief spell of travelling after she graduated, Lo moved back to Hong Kong and began working in the wine business, first for an online seller, then for an importer, before specialising in beers and joining Young Master. With an almost 50-50 gender split in its staff, Young Master is unusual in an industry dominated by men, Lo says, and is stronger because of its diversity.
"People always think of brewing as a very hands-on job and always associate beer with men," the 31-year-old says. "But you shouldn't really associate gender with whatever you drink. Women can drink beer, men can drink fruity drinks … I just think having a balanced team and having not just women and men, but just having people from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, races is a bonus for the team and also for the industry."
Beer is a very sensitive product: it's very sensitive to light, it's very sensitive to oxygen, and it's very sensitive to time as well. Most beer you should really drink freshStella Lo, one of the leaders of the Hong Kong chapter of the Pink Boots Society
RBF is the second beer Lo has overseen as co-chair of the Pink Boots Society: earlier this year, the group collaborated with Carbon Brews, a brewery in Fo Tan, in Hong Kong's New Territories, to make a canned IPA (India pale ale) infused with floral notes, mango and lychee. Named G.L.O.B (Glorious Women of Brewing), the beer, like RBF, helps fund the society's educational events through its sales.
Pink Boots was founded in 2007 by the US-based brewers Teri Fahrendorf and Laura Ulrich, who saw there was a gender imbalance in their industry and wanted to form an organisation that would support women already in the profession and encourage new recruits through education, scholarship funding, and social events.
The idea soon went international and, by 2015, Pink Boots had 1,800 members worldwide, with the Hong Kong chapter the main locus for Asian members. As well as collaborating to create new beers in various countries, the society supports global initiatives such as International Women's Day.
While Lo doesn't feel sexism is a problem for Hong Kong's female beer enthusiasts, she says that stereotypes around beer could be holding the alcohol industry back.
"People will say things like, 'Women don't drink beer', 'Women don't drink high-alcohol booze,' 'They only drink fruity pink drinks.' We get a lot of that, not just in beer," Lo says.
One member who has been supported by Pink Boots in her career is Jess Li, who this year became the first Asian representative selected for a brewing education scholarship at the University of California. Speaking at the time, she said the opportunity would enable her to bring validity to her chosen career path.
"I am respected within my team but I have no face or voice within the industry. I have become very passionate about changing this, as I feel like I am more than capable (of speaking and debating) publicly. I do hold myself back and I am working on confidence, but I believe this course will give me the boost I need to feel like this is my profession," Li said.
Hong Kong's craft beer scene is less than a decade old; around 20 producers are based in the city. Small batch brewers, such as Young Master, Moonzen, Lion Rock Brewery and Gweilo Beer have gained profiles among local beer enthusiasts through distinctively Hong Kong branding, links with bars and restaurants, and community events, such as concerts.
International craft beers first became available in Hong Kong around 2010, but the taste was often impacted by poor shipping and storage conditions, which left drinks oxidised and flat, Lo says.
"Beer is a very sensitive product: it's very sensitive to light, it's very sensitive to oxygen, and it's very sensitive to time as well. Most beer you should really drink fresh," she says.
"Local breweries started changing the scene in Hong Kong by supplying fresh beers. People realised craft beer tastes really good when it's fresh. I think the freshness of the beer and the quality of the beer is one of the important deciding factors of people choosing a Hong Kong brand."
Although she is an outspoken advocate for having more women in the industry, Lo wants to raise beer's profile as a whole in Hong Kong, a city where the market for beer has historically been dominated by commercial lagers such as Tsingtao and Blue Girl.
"People have a lot of knowledge around wine and spirits in Hong Kong, but not beer: you only drink it to chug it. I think a lot of education is needed in how to perceive the product. When the restaurant or bar manager cares, it shows on the beverage list."
The message behind all this is that it's not just a gender thing. Gender is a big part of it, of course. But it's about just going with what you like and what makes you happyStella Lo
Whether it's women choosing to go into brewing, or Hongkongers opting for a high-end craft beer with their restaurant meal, instead of wine, Lo's hope is that anyone who wants to make beer or drink beer is able to do so without prejudice.
"The message behind all this is that it's not just a gender thing," she says. "Gender is a big part of it, of course. But it's about just going with what you like and what makes you happy."
Resting Bitch Face will be launched on tap at The Globe in Central on Saturday, and bottles of it will soon be available at HK Brewcraft. For more information and updates, see https://www.facebook.com/pinkbootssocietyHK/
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