The Women’s Beer & Spirits Collective will launch its fourth annual Women's Month series of events on Friday, Feb. 28. from 6 to 8 p.m. at Izzy Hops, 2311 N. Murray Ave.
The event – the first of nearly 40 events in March – will showcase the beer, cider and specialty cocktails from the brands represented by the coalition members, along with raffles, drink specials and more, all in celebration of Women’s History Month.
Every time you buy a drink from one of the supporting brands, Izzy Hops will donate $1 per to the Wisconsin Women’s Network.
Women’s Beer and Spirits Collective includes 14 women who work at craft breweries, distilleries and cideries. That's grown from five breweries in 2022. Joining the effort this year are Schilling Cider, Deep Eddy vodka, Guinness and Earth Rider Brewery.
“This unique collaboration of female representatives in the beverage industry, continues to brew interest, evolve and expand,” says Julianna Pierandozzi, sales rep at Sheboygan's 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. and co-founder of the Women’s Beer and Spirits Collective.
Last year, the events series raised nearly $20,000 for the Sojourner Peace Center, which has been the main recipient of the donations to date. This year, the series will donate to a wider group of nonprofits that benefit women, including Lotus Legal Fund, Wisconsin Women's Network, 9to5, Pearls for Teen Girls, Girls on the Run, Sunshine Place and Reproductive Justin Action Milwaukee.
“There are so many charities in Wisconsin that benefit women across the state and we wanted to make sure they get highlighted,” says Pierandozzi.
“It also gave us an opportunity to work with the accounts involved in this fundraising collaboration to see if they had a personal connection to a particular charity.”
The events series, which runs through March 31, when there will be a finale at Sugar Maple, has events like Jukebox Bingo at The Pint, Dance Parties at Falcon Bowl and Boone and Crockett, Drag Bingo at Aftershock, and Battle Karaoke at The Weary Traveller.
For a list of events visit: facebook.com/womensbeerandspiritscollective.
In related news, 3 Sheeps Brewing brings back its 6 percent ABV Lady Lupulin IPA for Women’s Month. The beer – created by cellar team member Kate Thomma in partnership with Pink Boots Society – is brewedwith Simcoe, Mosaic, Chinook and Krush hops.
It will be available on draft at the brewery’s Sheboygan taproom and at the Triple Taproom in Milwaukee, 2018 E. North Ave., as well as at some of the Women’s Month participating bars.
3 Sheeps will also feature a second brew for Women's Month this year. "Pink Shoelaces is a blackberry fruited sour named after a song by The Chordettes, the 1950s Sheboygan vocal group that scored hits with songs like “Lollipop” and “Mr. Sandman.”
The beer will be on tap only at the Sheboygan Taproom from mid-March.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
