The Beery Godmother, LaTreace Harris

Buckle up, beer aficionados! In this frothy installment of The DC Beer Show, our jovial hosts Michael Stein, Brandy Holder, and Jacob Berg, along with our esteemed guest LaTreace Harris, take us on a sudsy journey that's as educational as it is intoxicating!

Pouring into the conversation, LaTreace spills the hops on her vibrant experiences at Oktoberfest in New Hampshire and her flavorful interactions at beer conferences. As the Beery Godmother, she's brewing a mission to expand beer wisdom beyond the brewery walls into the realm of restaurants and hotels while championing women of color in the industry.

Our host Brandy rallies behind the quest for female beer education while celebrating LaTreace's initiative. Sipping on a thoughtful brew, LaTreace recounts the delightful Peoples Pale Ale sent her way by DC Beer's own Jordan Harvey, diving into a sensory analysis of its aroma and taste.

Here's to being an outstanding human! Our hosts and LaTreace remind us to support black-owned businesses during Black History Month and beyond. LaTreace shares the grains of her educational journey, from the inception of "Beer Fact Fridays" to aspirations of enhancing her content with the luscious knowledge gained from pursuing a Cicerone certification.

We kick the fermenter lid off some buzz-worthy brewery news as Brightworks Brewing announces a spring 2024 opening in Manassas, with the community pitching in on beer style choices. Our dynamic trio and treasured guest dish out praise for connecting with the public's palate.

As if we haven't treated you to enough cheers, Michael extends an invite to join in on the excitement at Lost Dog, Hellbender, and Other Half for a joyous beer march, while Jacob tips the mug to an upcoming gather-around at Metro Bar with Jordan.

So, raise your pint glass and sink into your favorite chair for this hoppy mix of culture, conversation, and craft beer camaraderie. This episode of The DC Beer Show – "The Beery Godmother," is all about clinking mugs to community, education, and the sheer joy of beer! Cheers! 🍻

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Creators & Guests

Host

Brandy Holder

This southern girl got a late start in the beer world, but with such a bold and intoxicating personality behind the name, booze was destined to be a part of her endeavors.

Host

Jacob Berg

Jake’s beer education began when his dad brought home a 6-pack of Brooklyn Lager in the mid-90s. It was love at first sip.

Host

Mike Stein

Michael Stein is President of Lost Lagers, Washington, DC’s premier beverage research firm. His historic beers have been served at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Polish Ambassador’s residence.

Producer

Richard Fawal

President of DC Beer Media LLC and Publisher of DCBeer.com and The DC Beer Show

What is The DC Beer Show?

The official podcast of DCBeer.com! This is a show about breweries: the business, the beer, the craftspeople who run them and the drinkers who love them. Join us as we speak with brewers, brewery owners, and all kinds of folks involved in the craft beer scene.

LaTreace Harris [00:00:00]:
Hi. I'm the Beery Godmother, and you're listening to the DC Beer Show.

Jacob Berg [00:00:09]:
Welcome, everyone, to the DC Beer Show. We are at DC Beer across social media, and we will see some of you tonight at the Sovereign. And more of you tomorrow at Metro Bar with black breweries. Cool. Brandy, what are you drinking this lovely, lovely day?

Brandy Holder [00:00:25]:
Your girl Brandy is drinking her absolute favorite style of beer. I, in my hand, have a nut brown ale, but this would say barrel aged nut brown ale from none other than Elder Pine. Love the folks out at Elder Pine. I feel like you need to go visit again soon. 6.8, because I think feel like their their regular their normal nut brown doesn't hit that high even though it's not high, but I think the barrel aged really knocks stuff a little bit. Beautiful. You can barely tell it's a barrel aged round. I love this beer.

Brandy Holder [00:01:00]:
I wish I could have it in my fridge literally at all times, but, you know, that's kind of unrealistic. Mister Stein, it was great seeing you at the beer share recently. What a lovely beer share. Shout out to all of our new people. What are you drinking?

Michael Stein [00:01:15]:
I am having back to Earth Czech style Pilsner out of Cushwa or Cushway if you wanna pronounce it incorrectly. Kushwa coming in strong, 5.2 ABV, Czech style pilsner, lovely stuff, and I'm loving all the Czech beers. So yesterday, Brandy, seeing you at the DC Beer Share in DC at City State Brewing, have to say the dark lager, Czech style black lager at City State was just dynamite, so we are awashin' Czech style beers, and we're awash in DC beer shares in the district proper. Just knocked down city state, wonderful time with James, the owner there, met his wife and 2 kids. And then we're going to Hellbender! We're doing the DC beer share in DC again. But before we get into that, Jake, mister Berg, Jake Scoops Berg

Brandy Holder [00:02:09]:
Scoops?

Michael Stein [00:02:10]:
What's in your what's in your glass?

Jacob Berg [00:02:12]:
Well, Mike, you set me up so well for that because what's in my glass is City State torn mag, Czech style, dark lager, you know, on your way out of the beer share, having, you know, purchased beer at the brewery because that's what we do. We pop bottles, but we also support the breweries. Figured may as well grab a on the way out. It just it's 5%, but it drinks very full. It's got these nice, like, kinda like pipe tobacco vanilla notes to it. It's a as as the British like to say, it's a Moorish dark lager. I wouldn't peg it, like, right off the bat as check so much as it is. Like, this is just a tasty dark lager.

Jacob Berg [00:02:54]:
Greg is doing some very very good work over at City State, I know previously I big up Air and Space the West Coast IPA, Happy to big up, Tornmag, the dark lager as well. Alright. So we got Hellbender coming up next month. Watch this space. Weird brew news in Columbia, Maryland. Hysteria Brewing is for sale, And I say this to my colleagues here. We're all homeowners, and so we know the cost of real estate up here is, like, sky high. You can buy Hysteria right off the shelf.

Jacob Berg [00:03:29]:
This is just Columbia, not the Anne Arundel County, Pasadena, Maryland tap taproom. That's different, separate ownership. Hysteria Brewing in Columbia for $699,000, which in some parts of DC

Brandy Holder [00:03:43]:
That's not bad.

Jacob Berg [00:03:44]:
Actually like a townhouse. Right?

Michael Stein [00:03:46]:
You know how much square footage

Jacob Berg [00:03:48]:
that is? I was gonna say, like, it's maybe not the best time to, like, be buying and opening a brewery given some of the recent events, brewery openings, brewery closings around here. But at the same time, you know, you've got Black Flag there. You've got Sapwood. The second Cushwa taproom

Brandy Holder [00:04:09]:
Which is huge. Huge. Yeah. Brandy Newberry. It's beautiful. It's like the old Frisco's. Yeah.

Jacob Berg [00:04:14]:
Right? Like, not too too far away. And, like, you know, you've got people who can get there from DC as the Sopwood crew does. You got people who get there from Baltimore. You know, we're we're talking about a pretty highly trafficked area and a, you know, in a place that would turn out for good beer in a cool setting.

Brandy Holder [00:04:32]:
So think Kushwa would have us for a beer share? I mean, because I'd I'd love to go to that space. Maybe hey. Hey, Kushwa. Wink. Wink. Come come, come have DC beer. Question

Michael Stein [00:04:45]:
existence, Kushwa, is it you we're looking for? Yes. Well, we really hope someone turns over that space, and to your point, Jake, there's a bunch in Colombia, you know. I was joking with another brewing friend who, because we've closed so many closures, unfortunately, in 2024, like, hey, Stein. Hey, Berg. Where you at? You haven't covered this. What's going on? So boom. We've done it. Now the question is, can I text this brewer back and be like, hey? You wanna buy? Yeah.

Michael Stein [00:05:20]:
Yeah. That's my hope, but it's just great to see, you know, Czech style beers. Yes. The city state black lager, you know, it's different than the Czech lagers. Just like how Kush was Czech style pilsner is different than Czech style pills. This would sort of be like a premium pills or a spechowny, as we say in Czech, because it's 5.2 ABV. Brandy, just like how your brown ale would not be 6.8 ABV in England Right. Like, forget it.

Jacob Berg [00:05:49]:
Yeah.

Michael Stein [00:05:50]:
No way.

Brandy Holder [00:05:50]:
No way.

Michael Stein [00:05:51]:
But we we love to see the creativity, and we're kind of all Maryland save the City State today with

Brandy Holder [00:05:56]:
That's true.

Michael Stein [00:05:57]:
You know, Elder Pine and Cushwa. Jake, thank you for holding it down.

Brandy Holder [00:06:00]:
You know, this the DC beer show in the in DC beer, we don't just do DC. You know, we're the hub for the DMV, and we we love to learn and meet with breweries and beer people, not only just in the DMV. So if you're drinking a good beer and you're in Cali, tag us. Like, we wanna know. Like, if you're going to New Orleans, just, you know, let us know. I I have some great breweries that I love down there. So we focus on the DMV because we wanna show and support and give love to our local small businesses and breweries, but we love beer from everywhere.

Jacob Berg [00:06:36]:
Yeah. I mean, when I'm out in Cali, you know what I wanna hear. Yeah. You got beer over there. I went in Virginia. You know what I wanna hear. Speaking of which, so the 2nd piece of brewery news is sort of an update to our last show of 2023. We had Mike Earl on, ex-Other Half, and NRG.

Jacob Berg [00:06:54]:
He was trying to do a crowdfunding make a go of it, over at the X Bad Wolf who'd also been on the show before, when Richard Adam, the Brew Daddy's hosted. Crowdfunding to buy that and open up Wolf and Bear didn't work out, but someone else has come in. And so coming spring 2024 to Manassas is Brightworks Brewing. They are currently polling for some styles. Hey, community. What would you like to see us make? So if you go to the Brightworks Brewing, Facebook page, I think you can take a look, perhaps vote over there. You can do what the 3 of us will do and vote for, like, checked lagers, brown ale, something smoked. We are not opposed to going to Manassas.

Brandy Holder [00:07:42]:
Honestly, that's so smart to I mean, a brewery, when you open it, is for the public. It's for the public. So inviting remarks and input on what kind of styles of beer that they should brew for for their drinking crowd is brilliant.

Michael Stein [00:08:00]:
Absolutely. That they're reaching out to what will be their customers for input is great. And it's really funny because we were lamenting with some brewers at the share. We we had a couple brewers show up, and we're, like, hazy IPA, you gotta make it. You know, I don't wanna brew it, but I gotta brew it. You gotta give this people what they want. And and the funny thing about it is there's a maxim, there's a saying that's been in breweries for a 100 years. I've I've seen it in the 19 twenties, and the saying is, brew for the king, live like a pauper.

Michael Stein [00:08:31]:
Oh. Brew for the paupers, live like a king. And what that means is it's sustainable. I know. You gotta give people you gotta give the laboring classes, us poor bums, what we want, so we keep buying your product, Unlike if you brew for the palace, the 1 person who sits on the throne, you know, you're gonna live like everybody else that toils away in palace for the king.

Brandy Holder [00:08:54]:
Beautifully said, Mike Stein. Always.

Jacob Berg [00:08:56]:
Thank you, Grandview.

Brandy Holder [00:08:57]:
With the eloquent guards.

Michael Stein [00:08:59]:
I have to. I I I'm not doing my job as be resident beer historian if I don't drop that.

Brandy Holder [00:09:04]:
True.

Jacob Berg [00:09:06]:
Alright. So we've kind of gone around the DMV here. But, Brandy, you mentioned that we're not just in the DMV. We like to talk about beer lots of places, like, say, Atlanta, Georgia. Who's our guest today?

Brandy Holder [00:09:20]:
Well, luckily, we have the beer godmother on. And if you follow any sort of beer thing on social media, specifically Instagram, I feel like, because I'm the Instagram person. Jake and Mike do the Twitters or the x or whatever it is now. And he's like a prince at symbol, so, like, we know what we're talking about. I was so fortunate to get Latrice Harris on that who you know as the beauty godmother, and, we had a great long, lengthy conversation. So, we get to see her more in person in March, March 21st. So keep an eye out for that. But until then, we have a very, very special guest.

Brandy Holder [00:10:04]:
1 which I've been super excited to have on the show, a, because I admire this person, but, b, we have a lot of upcoming events. Not only are we rounding out Black History Month, but we are approaching Women's History Month, and we have an awesome event going on in in March. So please let me proudly introduce our next guest, Latrice Harris. You might know her as the Beery Godmother. Welcome to the show.

LaTreace Harris [00:10:30]:
Thank you so much, Brandy. It's honor to be here. Definitely been following DC Beer Show for a while. So as a, DMV native, I am excited to be a part today.

Brandy Holder [00:10:42]:
I can't wait to see you again. I'm I officially met you at Snally, but we're we're gonna have some some fun times coming up here in March.

LaTreace Harris [00:10:49]:
Absolutely.

Brandy Holder [00:10:50]:
Let's let's let's jump right into the questions because I I have so many questions for you. First, I do want you to tell everybody, about yourself really quickly.

LaTreace Harris [00:11:00]:
Absolutely. So I'm LaTreace Harris again, the Beery Godmother, and, I am a beer education consultant. I started my own beer education consulting company, with the Beery Godmother name back in early 2022 officially. So the Beery Godmother is really focused on bringing an awareness or illuminating, if you will, beer education and the importance of beer education, both from the perspective of making sure that breweries and brewery staff are properly educated, all the folks that are serving that beer and making sure that that beer makes it essentially from a brewery's a brewer's vision all the way into the customer's hands, making sure that they are educated when they're behind the bar or they're conveying things about the beer. But also, I have a customer facing component to what I do as well. Really just trying to make sure that as a beer consumer, you are having the opportunity to be able to learn a little bit about the beer you're drinking in a more in-depth and intimate way without it feeling unapproachable or too hard or this is not interesting because this is too far in the weeds. You know? I think that, craft beer has grown so much, and there are so many different fun nuances about it that just make it more interesting than, you know, than perhaps tasting in some ways different than beer used to taste, although I would debate that we're coming back to the middle, back to some of those older styles now. But, yeah, I mean, I think that my whole thing is really just making sure that education is not put on the back burner.

LaTreace Harris [00:12:43]:
You know? I think it's something that as a consumer and as a as just a beer drinking individual, can really help change your experience and perhaps change the things that you buy, things you know, things that you try, buy, and, consume overall. So that's it, in a nutshell. Agree.

Brandy Holder [00:13:03]:
Yeah. So let's talk about social media real quick. You would be considered to the general social media public slash platform to be an influencer. There are varying levels and ways in which one is a, quote, unquote, influencer from just posting cans and can art to posing and using your body image to sell an influence. And then there are educational informative, informative content creators. I absolutely love and respect how you are approaching content creation and using your platform and expertise as a cicerone to educate and inform, which, in my opinion, makes your content more powerful and beneficial. What led you to begin this beer godmother journey, and how do you feel you stand apart from the other beer content creators on, say, Instagram?

LaTreace Harris [00:13:49]:
Oh, wow. That's that's a great question. So I've always been, I would say, for the last 15 years or so, very heavily into beer. I think, you know, my journey was similar to everyone else's in terms of introduction to beer, you know, starting with some of those staples that we can most easily grab from, you know, the grocery store or, you know, the liquor store or whatever, you know, your your Blue Moon, your Heineken, your, you know, Coronas, etcetera. And after that growing into just a general curiosity around beer. I think that, you know, as far as what I knew I wanted to do with The Beery Godmother, I wanted to become exactly what you pointed out which is in the state of, educational content influencer. I mean, I think, like you said, that the term influencer to me initially was kinda like, well, that doesn't really fit me. Right? Because I was thinking about it only in kind of the one lane of, okay, I'm not my my only thing that I'm gonna do, I'm not just going to necessarily post a can or post when I'm at a brewery or something like that, and there is definitely space for that.

LaTreace Harris [00:14:54]:
That is not what I'm not knocking that at all. That there's a huge space for that, a huge need for that. But I knew that what I wanted to do was going to have to be very educational facing and I kind of struggled a little bit in the beginning because I was like, how do I make sure I'm reaching my audience with something that is genuine to me that I think is super important, but how do I do it a little bit differently, than what I've seen before? You know? How do I take something that, you know, can be semi short format, you know, and and make sure that it's interesting, make sure that it's engaging, and, make sure that it's still putting, what I would call objective education at the forefront. And so I've been very deliberate about that. You know? I do I'm gonna take things that you can actually go and read more about on your own, do additional investigation on your own. I'm gonna introduce it from that perspective. So, you know, when I started Beer Fact Fridays, which is something that, you know, I think I probably become the most known for, it was very much like a, you know, like a I don't really know. I'm throwing something at the wall type thing.

LaTreace Harris [00:16:04]:
It kept staying on my heart. You know? I'm I'm not a, in my, like, personal life, I'm not like a real, like, social media presence. It's not like I'm on it all the time or doing all these things or whatever. And so I was like, I have to step my toe into the social media space and do this. And so one of the things that I know I wasn't seeing as much of like, I would see on Instagram, like, or YouTube, like, full fledged conversations about beer, right, you know, where people are sitting around kinda chatting about it and trends and all these things, and I was really enjoying that. But I was like, I wanna bring that down to a more bite sized component. So, that's where, you know, Mere FAQ Fridays was born and and I really also wanted to be consistent. Right? I wanted to do a a day that everybody was gonna expect this to come out.

LaTreace Harris [00:16:52]:
That also held me accountable for making sure that I would do it because, you know, I I just like everybody else, I'm busy with a lot of other things and 9 to 5 and all these things. And so, really just wanted to make sure that I could use my background in tutoring actually. I used to be an in home math and science tutor for like 15 years, use that ability to convey information and put it into the Beer Godmother. So my biggest thing, the way I wanted to stand out was, okay, I wanna break this information down, I wanna give enough so that people are, like, okay, I feel like I've got something there but, like, not so much that they're bored. And that is a constant balancing act as Beery Godmother and as, yeah, as my own credentials have grown. You know, you mentioned I just became a certified sister owned about a month and a half ago. So that was cool. But as the content has grown, as the audience has kinda grown with me, you know, as I've started to tackle some of these things that are harder to touch.

LaTreace Harris [00:18:00]:
Right? Like, in order to give it justice, you have to do it in a way that's a little bit more complete. So like I think, viewers will have seen how in the beginning, I think I was always around like 92nd, you know, like, boom boom, quick hitter. And I still do some of those, you know, 2 minute, 3 minute content, but some I've stretched out a little bit more because you just can't do certain topics justice without proper, you know, discussion of them or proper description of whatever that thing is. So, yeah, I I I continue to think about where I wanna take, Beer Fact Fridays, you know, to make it different. You know, I think people have probably been seeing me feature, some breweries and brewers a little bit more on it, and that actually hasn't brewery. Right? It was more so there is a topic area that as, you know, a Cicerone in my space, yeah, I could talk about it, but it does it more justice for people to see it or to hear about it from the folks that do it every day. You know, and so as a result of that, yeah, it kind of evolved in that way. So, you know, I continue to kinda just do what I feel and and do, you know, what I think is what folks want to see slash what I'm into.

LaTreace Harris [00:19:29]:
Beery Godmother and everything I do with Beer Fact Friday is very much driven by what I want to talk about at the time. You know, I mean, you have to be in when you're conveying information, you have to be into it. Right? You have to be, like, you

Brandy Holder [00:19:43]:
know tell people this all the time.

LaTreace Harris [00:19:44]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yes. I mean, I will have a list. I have a running list of things that I have always said, like, I wanna do this, this, this, all these different topic. But I'll get to the point where I'm getting ready to record content. I'm like, I'm not feeling that right now. Yeah.

LaTreace Harris [00:20:00]:
Not not a good thing, but I'm not feeling it.

Brandy Holder [00:20:04]:
Well, you're you're you're jumping ahead because I have I was gonna ask you all these specific questions. But Cool. Yeah.

LaTreace Harris [00:20:10]:
Go ahead. Sorry. Go ahead.

Brandy Holder [00:20:12]:
But but before the next question, pick quick question real quick. Hot fire rapid round. Okay. Pick 1. Lambic or Rausch? Gotta pick 1. Go.

LaTreace Harris [00:20:22]:
Rausch.

Brandy Holder [00:20:24]:
Okay. That's my girl. Okay. Yeah. What what what led you to earn your Cicerone certificate?

LaTreace Harris [00:20:33]:
So I wanted first of all, I'm I'm a big advocate of education, period. Right? So that's not just your education, but all levels of education. And so education has always been really, really big in my life. And so when I got into this, I'm so into it, and there were so many different facts that I wanted to make sure I could convey that I wanted a measurable concrete way to be able to give people an opportunity of what I to give people a taste of what I know. Right? And Cicerone was something that I got into really, really quickly in terms of understanding, like, oh, it's a quantifiable way of, kind of showing the bar of knowledge. Now Cicerone is not 100% needed for all people in beer. Right? I think you have to be very specific about what you wanna use it for, but that was why, I decided to pursue it. I mean, as an educator, I feel, it was not just me saying, okay.

LaTreace Harris [00:21:30]:
I want to prove, quote, unquote, that I, can, you know, teach this class or I can have this interaction with this brewery. It was you really learn if you are genuine to the process and take your time through the process and learn and ingest all that information, you really are learning a great deal about all aspects of the brewing process, style, history, back of housework, line cleaning, all that stuff. You're learning the essential and if you're internalizing them, you will be a better conveyor of information to others. That was my

Brandy Holder [00:22:06]:
big thing. Yeah.

LaTreace Harris [00:22:07]:
Mhmm.

Brandy Holder [00:22:07]:
That's that was that's a incredible answer. And what one I expected you to to kinda say, but I it's great to hear that, especially being a woman who is into beer. Yeah. I'm curious. What has been your favorite or most memorable highlight from being the Beery Godmother over the past year? And and I'm I I think I'm asking specifically, was it with a specific follower or a a company brewery that you worked with or, or even traveling, like, when you visited snow? Like, what what do you frequently look back upon and say, oh, wow. I maybe wouldn't have been able to do this if I wasn't the beauty godmother or, like, you've had interactions with your your followers and which you've made such an impact. You know? We love sharing your content because it is educational, and you are a woman in beer, and I we all respect that. So I'm I'm curious.

Brandy Holder [00:23:03]:
And maybe we can circle back to it if you need to think about it for a second. Yeah.

LaTreace Harris [00:23:07]:
Well, I I will give 2. I will give 1 can I give 2? Okay. 1 is

Brandy Holder [00:23:11]:
1 is interaction. Yeah.

LaTreace Harris [00:23:12]:
1 is interact yeah. Part part a, part b. So because I think it's one thing is interactions and one thing is experiences to me. Gosh. I mean, I think as far as experiences, I think one of the most incredible experiences I've had in the last year was I went up to, Oktoberfest at Schilling Brewing up in New Hampshire. And it was the most incredible experience I mean, because I took a whole kind of road trip. I went from Boston up to New Hampshire into Maine and Vermont and spent kind of a whole week doing that, like, northeastern corridor. Absolutely incredible.

LaTreace Harris [00:23:50]:
When I think back on beer memories, that is one of the things that I really, really, really look back on and I'm like, Man, you know, like, this was just an experience that I will never forget. So that is like location. That's like a location related experience. You know, met a lot of really cool people. Obviously, nature is beautiful there, fantastic beer, etcetera, etcetera. Natalie also goes in that same. We'll put those side by side. Yeah.

LaTreace Harris [00:24:19]:
In terms of yeah. For sure. In terms of, I think, interactions, I mean, I think it's been like, some of the festivals that I've been able to go to or or, and when I festival slash conferences that I've been able to go to specifically, Crafted For Action, which is a beer conference that's held here in Atlanta by another fellow, beer connoisseur, Jen Price, here in Atlanta that has been involving over the years. I think having an opportunity to participate participate in that conference is like a structured mini beer conference. Has been fantastic similar feeling about the crappers conference, CBC. I went to my 1st CBC in 2023. Fantastic, you know, opportunity to just rub elbows with folks and talk to people and all of that. I mean, the nerd and me.

LaTreace Harris [00:25:18]:
The beer people are the best people. I mean,

Brandy Holder [00:25:21]:
that's very place. Nice. Literally, the best.

LaTreace Harris [00:25:24]:
So nice. Had the opportunity like, you know, anybody. You just walk up to anybody, you're like, hi. You know, this is what I do. It's so friendly. You know? Yeah. Super friendly. And so I think, you know, from those 2 experiences and I think also, you know, not just BBC, but also the National Black Brewers Association had an opportunity to convene their first kind of, like, bob share slash, you know, folks that were interested in becoming members of the National Black Brewery Association, all convened in Nashville as well.

LaTreace Harris [00:25:53]:
So that has those are, hands down, experiences and interactions I've loved.

Brandy Holder [00:25:59]:
Great. And I I was hoping I I was hoping to get some, good, content here. So I'm that was I love your answer. I can't I can't wait to hang out with you in person. Oh my god. By the way, everybody, the Beery Godmother, LaTreace Harris, will be visiting DC, the weekend of March 21st as that is a huge, weekend. Well, March 21st is the women in craft beverage panel at other half, and I have curated 10 absolutely star studded, big impact women and nonbinary people in the industry. And I one of my first wants was, Beery Godmother.

Brandy Holder [00:26:40]:
And I reached out, and I was like, this might be out of the left field, but would you be able to come? And she's like, yes. Because I do respect and appreciate what you're doing. I have a couple more questions. Before before the last big, big question, last quick pick question pick quick. Right? Double IPA or oyster stout?

LaTreace Harris [00:27:03]:
Double IPA.

Brandy Holder [00:27:05]:
Alright. Okay. Mhmm. I mean, that's not what I was expecting you to answer. Okay. Yeah. So for me, specifically, I know that last when I'm with women in beer, I become more I am very much admiring of those who continue to pave the way, and get back to women being in beer, you know, because it that was not in the equation for such a long time. And when you think of beer, it's you don't think of women and you don't think of women in color, but it is absolutely empowering and important to see not only more women providing beer education, but also being a woman of color doing so.

Brandy Holder [00:27:48]:
Where do you see this heading, and what is your ultimate goal or impact that you'd love to come from this? And let let's just say 5 years from now.

LaTreace Harris [00:27:58]:
Oh, wow. So when I am looking at my vision board and wanting to dream big and think about, all the different spaces that I'd like to touch. I mean, I think they are expanding, the education I do around beer outside of breweries into other spaces. You know, whether that be food and beverage, whether that be, you know, like restaurants, whether that be hotels, whether that be let's just make a big sports team, like place anywhere that they serve beer, there needs to be an education around what that beer is, what that beer contributes and some type of strategic thinking, to be really honest, around how that's going to be marketed. And so I plan to really push in those spaces, you know, continue to go into the space of maybe not just education but consulting in some other ways. I mean, I think allowing my, my, expertise and, you know, my 9 to 5 of strategic planning and, you know, kind of brand building, if you will, you know, kind of helping people plan a little bit differently around the way that they work in beer. That's one of the things I'm hoping for. Also, you know, just continuing to be yeah.

LaTreace Harris [00:29:21]:
I think being a woman in beer, absolutely big monitor moniker to carry, being a woman of color, being a black woman in beer is enormous. And I think there's, for me, a constant consciousness of that, but at the same time, wanting to make sure that I'm not just being chosen for things because I'm a black woman. You know? I I want to be chosen to be at the table and be a part of these conversations because I am a knowledgeable woman, a knowledgeable individual around these topics. And, yeah, you know, it's a lot of conversation, you know, around this and I think a lot of, you know, people come out of the weeds, particularly around Black History Month and Women's History Month to try to be inclusion you know, inclusive of us. But, you know, you need to be inclusive about all year round, us being women and women of color. And so, yeah, just trying to think about that. Also, I, you know, intend to continue to, expand my knowledge in terms of judging, and being at the beer judges table. I think that is a space that, you know, I think we're seeing more women slowly creeping into that realm.

LaTreace Harris [00:30:30]:
I've been super excited to see, you know, some of my mentors be at the judges table, for some of these large scale, you know, judging competitions around the country. But, you know, women of color aren't there. You know? And so I wanna do more of that. You know, I think it's just trying to make the impact as big as possible without diluting it, I think is is the is the key, you know, without kind of saying, okay, well, I'm the message of Beery Godmother is getting diluted. Always gonna be the balance I'm gonna be trying to strike. So 5 year goal, big pushes into some different spaces, you know, and continuing to just raise awareness around beer but also around how education at all levels can help to kind of grow the and continue to foster growth in the in the craft beer community.

Brandy Holder [00:31:26]:
Wonderful, wonderful response. I am very passionate about this. Last year after speaking at the women's panel, I wanted to create the women's brew culture club, Mhmm. Which is a very educational based, environment because a lot of women and beer get they assume that, you know, you just want a fruity drink or you

LaTreace Harris [00:31:48]:
don't know anything about beer,

Brandy Holder [00:31:50]:
but mansplain to it a 1000 times. Yeah. So, like, so many times. Can you tell can you tell me about this beer? And they're like, oh, well, it tastes like a wine. I'm like, that's not what I'm

LaTreace Harris [00:31:58]:
That's not no. No. That's not it. That's not it. Yeah. Yeah.

Brandy Holder [00:32:03]:
So I not only respect you, as a person, but I respect what you bring to the beer, platform. And before we before we say goodbye, I want to tell our listeners that you'll get even more of an opportunity to talk to LaTreace in person and get to know her because she's so fantastic at this women's panel. It's gonna be more of a roundtable, round robin. You know, everyone's gonna break off into groups, and you'll get to actually have 1 on 1 and and learn and get to know more about the berry godmother. Before we say goodbye, LaTreace, what are you drinking right now?

LaTreace Harris [00:32:44]:
I got a package in the mail, from, you all very own Jordan Harvey. Hey, Jordan. Beers around the way. He is, you know, a friend of mine. And so he sent me the Peoples Pale Ale, which is you all collaboration with Strange Fruit, also loved them. They sent me, some of their approachable guys as well as his beer that he did with the, the Harvey Wilder Foundation. So that's what I'm drinking.

Brandy Holder [00:33:15]:
What what are your thoughts? Let's let's get a Well, this is gonna be fun.

LaTreace Harris [00:33:19]:
Let's get a a live, yeah, a live, they're gorgeous. They're what I brewed one of my first beers with. So absolutely love this. Love the aroma there because you can you know what you're about to get and I'm, like, excited about this. Oh, man. So instantaneously, I love how it is hop focused, yet still staying in that pale ale range. Not super bitter, but you can taste the hop, which I like because right where it should be, and it's not too sweet. Like, it's not you know, you don't have any of that cooling sweetness.

LaTreace Harris [00:34:09]:
It's actually finishing kind of a little dry ish to me, but, I'd love that. Like, this is I mean, I'd wanna, like, chug it down, I'm like, honestly.

Brandy Holder [00:34:19]:
Go for it.

LaTreace Harris [00:34:20]:
Used to be a big IP yeah. I used to I was a huge IPA lover. I will say, like, before I started deeply, deeply studying for all the aspects of the throne, which involved, like, a tasting exam. And so I had to get deep into lagers and pillagers and other types of beer, but I was always, like, an IPA lover. And over time, I've moved more so into, like, the pale ale states because I just can't now I mean, my my body won't you know, it rejects, you know, the and all these things the way that, you know, I just can't drink as I love them, but I can't drink as much as I used to. So this is fantastic.

Brandy Holder [00:34:56]:
We're very proud of how that turned out. Beautiful, beautiful Paris, beer godmother, I'm so so thankful that you came on to the DC Beer Show. And for everyone, please come hang out with us. Mark your calendars for March 21st. You'll get to meet the Beery Godmother in person, which is kind of a big deal, and we're all gonna be drinking and learning together. So, miss miss Beery Godmother, the queen Yep. The Beery Godmother queen, thank you so much for joining us, and I will see you in a month. Cheers.

LaTreace Harris [00:35:30]:
That sounds great. Cheers, Brandy. Thank you so much.

Jacob Berg [00:35:34]:
Thank you, Latrice. Thank you, Brandy. Save that date. Obviously, also in March, the aforementioned hellbender beer share. It will be open to everyone, not just the good folks at Patreon. Again, yes, 10th. We'll have the RSVP form up for you in short time, but, you know, save the date, all of that. Also save the date because Maryland Craft Beer Fest up in Frederick, Carol Creek.

Brandy Holder [00:36:02]:
Oh, I love that event.

Jacob Berg [00:36:04]:
May 11, 2024. That's a Saturday. We've got a date. So, you know, keeping things very Maryland today, we'll throw we'll throw that out there. Brewers Association of Maryland, tickets are on sale for that as well.

Brandy Holder [00:36:22]:
What about the lost dog people's pale Sunday session on March 3rd or 2nd. Is it 3rd? 3rd. It's 3rd. Yeah. March 3rd.

Jacob Berg [00:36:32]:
Why I hear that you could get for $5, 1 16 ounce tallboy can of the people's pale ale currently sitting at about, like, a 4 or so on Untapped, is a nice place to be. Granted, I think untapped sucks sometimes if you look at where, like, Alec Ash White is or say Port City's award winning Oktoberfest. But, you know, the the $5 a can dig.

Michael Stein [00:37:03]:
Are you are you yanking my chain?

Jacob Berg [00:37:05]:
I am not. You meant you mentioned brewing for the poppers. We're pricing this for the poppers, Mike.

Michael Stein [00:37:11]:
When I when I go to my, local food co op, I can't even get my vegan ready whip for $5 a can.

Brandy Holder [00:37:19]:
Exactly. Also, our Patreon members get to come to a beer share once a month with for minimum, a $5 a month, membership fee. Like, our our beer shares, you drink for 3 hours, you bring in special bottles. It's basically, it's a $5 3 hour beer share at minimum. Obviously, we support our our hosts, but, I mean, what a

Michael Stein [00:37:48]:
Yeah.

Brandy Holder [00:37:49]:
Silly thing not to do. You know? And then you get to Nothing gotta do. Listen to great

LaTreace Harris [00:37:53]:
Gotta deal

Brandy Holder [00:37:54]:
with that. Guest and y'all y'all if you aren't a member of DC beer, you get discounts at city state. You get discount at the Arlington Brew Shop, at DC Brown.

Michael Stein [00:38:05]:
Brown.

Brandy Holder [00:38:06]:
I mean, there's there I mean, I'm not even gonna sit here and list all of the things because it's gonna it's not a Yeah. Long episode. So just do it. It's fun. We're cool. Help keep the podcast going. Yeah. Yeah.

Brandy Holder [00:38:18]:
Yeah.

Michael Stein [00:38:18]:
We're we're we're

Brandy Holder [00:38:19]:
we're gonna be annoying and give you that little banner that Wikipedia does. Like, hey. Support. If you want this to keep going, support now.

Michael Stein [00:38:29]:
We promise you not to pop up on your search, but we will say for $5, you can become a patron on DC Beer's Patreon, and you get beer share in the deal is such a deal.

Brandy Holder [00:38:43]:
Yeah. So Agreed.

Michael Stein [00:38:45]:
Join us.

Brandy Holder [00:38:46]:
Well, I'll see you all at the at Lost Dog Cafe on 3rd, and I'll see you at the beer share, on 10th, and, of course, the women's women and beverage panel at other half of 21st. We will have a a podcast between now and then, so keep your ears open. But until then, enjoy the rest of your February Black History Month. Please, obviously, always go support your black owned beverage, black owned beer, black owned small businesses, and be a good person, of course.

Michael Stein [00:39:20]:
33. You know the place to be. Lost dog. Me, Brandy, Justin, Steve, all of your friends and not yet soon to be friends will be there. Come see us at 33 Lost Dog. Come see us at Hellbender on 310. Come see us at other half on 321. It's gonna be a big march.

Michael Stein [00:39:40]:
And as you know, our feelings are the same as doctor Jay. Black History Month is every month. So come see us 33, 310, and one.

Jacob Berg [00:39:49]:
Yeah. And come see Jordan and I at 2/24 tomorrow at Metro Bar. We'll take you out. On that note, be well, everybody, and, please welcome both Notch and Dovetail and their lovely, lovely loggers to DC, Virginia. Maryland sucks to suck. Sorry. Alright. You owe everybody.

Jacob Berg [00:40:10]:
We're out.

Brandy Holder [00:40:11]:
Bye, guys. Cheers.