What began as a club to teach women about the beer and the brewing industry has turned into something more. It was meant to educate women on the craft, so they would feel more comfortable going to and ordering beer at breweries, but the impact it had led to the creation of something bigger.
Located in Barrio Logan, Mujeres Brewhouse stands tall amongst the residential area that borders it. The all-female-run and Latina-owned brewhouse opened in July 2020. The owner, Carmen Velasco-Favela, opened it after the pandemic shut down the educational club.
“When you go to a brewery, it’s mainly men, so what makes Mujeres stand out is just having women do everything. This way we don’t have men mansplaining everything to you,” head brewer Sam Olson said.
Olson has been in the beer industry for ten years. Working for Mujeres has given her a completely different experience than what she’s used to. The drinks are catered to women since it’s their main clientele. Their beers have more flavor and are unlike ones you may find on other menus.
“I like being able to experiment with more flavors for the beer. It’s fun when men come here because they like our beer better, but they just don’t want to admit it,” Olson said.
Their bestseller is a beer called “Buena Vibras” which is a “blonde ale with highlights,” according to Olson. Then it’s “Frutas Magicas.” Both are more on the sweet side. Besides the beer, the menu includes seltzers and cocktails, because the brewhouse knows beer isn’t for everyone.
Erica Chandler was a first-time visitor at Mujeres Brewhouse.
“I don’t like beer at all, but I actually really liked the beer at Mujeres. The vibe there was my favorite part, it just felt so comfortable,” Chandler said.
The brewhouse was created with the help of Velasco-Favela’s husband, David Favela, who is also the co-founder of Border X Brewing which is located four blocks down the road.
Border X was where the original craft beer club that started the Mujeres story began. Now that the brewhouse has had the time to get established, they hope to get back to education with the events they put on.
“We do fundraising for events that are taboo for the brewing company, but we do want to get back to the education aspect of it,” said Olson.
To get back to those roots, Olson does her part by having internships at the brewhouse. So far she’s had three women and two men intern under her to learn the craft.
Because of their location and newness to the Barrio Logan scene, they aren’t as integrated with the community as Border X. But for this reason, Olson said, they focus on targeting outside of the community and the residential area that borders them.
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