CINCINNATI — When it comes to beer, Hannah Kent knows what she’s doing.
“It’s amazing to be a female brewer,” said Kent, head brewer at Urban Artifact in Cincinnati.
But what exactly does a head brewer do?
“A lot of making sure that all of the things are getting done in a manner that they need to be done,” Kent said.
Basically, she makes sure everything in the brewhouse runs smoothly.
Before entering the brewery industry, Kent was in the military. She did a tour in Afghanistan and told me the loss of fellow soldiers hit her hard.
WATCH: How Kent got to where she is today and her advice for women in male-dominated fields
She then said she decided that she wanted to live her life to the fullest for those who couldn’t, and over a pint of beer with a brewery owner, she decided what her next move would be.
“I realized all the wonderful people I’d met through brewing, and at that point I just decided that I wanted to get into brewing,” Kent said.
Despite going to school for it and having the passion, Kent told me it wasn’t easy to get into the brewing industry.
“I could not get a job anywhere as a woman,” Kent said.
But one day, an assistant brewer position at Urban Artifact opened up. Kent got the job and worked her way up from there.
I asked Kent what it meant to be a woman in the brewing industry.
“It means being groundbreaking and starting a trend of my own,” Kent said.
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Kent told me her advice to other women in male-dominated fields.
“I have my own strengths that got me this job, so find your strengths and play to them,” Kent said.
Urban Artifact recently released a new International Women’s Day beer. It’s prickly pear and lemon pie flavor, and a portion of the proceeds from the beer will go towards the “women in brewing” scholarship at Cincinnati State University.
