'Shut up Rose': Windsor women in fermentation craft a new brew

A brewer, distiller and two winemakers—all of them women — have combined their knowledge and expertise to make a new beer.

“No one will ever match what we have created,” says Aislin Henrickson, the lead distiller for Wolfhead Distillery.

“I am loving how it turned out,” says Tammy Joho, one of the brewers at Chapter Two Brewing Company.

The women worked with the winemakers at Colio Estates Wines and Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery in Essex County.

“I think we were all really happy with the aroma and the flavour and obviously the colour turned out, you know, just how we wanted,” says Joho.

The idea started back on International Women’s Day, when Joho got a special package of hops from the Pink Boots Society.

It’s an agency geared to getting more women into the fermentation industry.

Joho wanted to take it to another level, by calling her colleagues in the local industry.

“We're all doing pretty much the same thing at our respective jobs,” says Joho. “We're just using different ingredients.”

Wolfhead provided botanicals for the mix.

“I took the hops strain, did a complete flavour analysis on it,” says Henrickson. “And then I tried to find flavours that would bring forth a little more juicy, bring a little bit more depth and more excitement to the brew.”

'Shut up Rose' is a new brew created by women in the fermentation industry in Windsor, Ont. on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (Michelle Maluske/CTV Windsor)

Then once the beer was fermented, the wineries pitched in some red wine to give the beer a pink hue.

“It’s a totally unique product,” says Henrickson. “Adding wine and spirits and all together. No one will ever match what we have created.”

All that was left to do was give the beer a name. The group settled on the late Betty White.

“She’s a trailblazer in her industry and we're the Rose City, so we thought it all just made sense,” says Joho.

Plus, Joho says the hops have a rose aroma and they threw in some dried roses to the beer itself.

But the name, ‘Shut up Rose,’ has more to do with female empowerment, according to Joho.

“Just because women in male-dominated industries, a lot of times we are ignored or told to be quiet and (are told) we don't know what we're talking about,” says Joho.

Henrickson agrees there aren’t many women in their industry.

“I thought it was such a cool initiative and so I wanted to be a part of it,” says Henrickson.

“I'm just trying to kind of recruit,” says Joho. “(By) getting more women into the brewing industry and showing women that you know, if you are interested in science, this could be another path for you.”

“There’s a certain kind of romance to it,” says Henrickson who admits working in a distillery isn’t entirely what she was expecting.

“You think every day you’re going to be running your stills and free flowing liquid and you can do whatever you want there but there a lot of rules you have to stick with,” says Henrickson.

‘Shut up Rose’ will launch Thursday, April 7 at 1 p.m. at Chapter Two Brewing Company on Walker Road, with a pastry pairing at 4 p.m.

The beer will be available on tap and in cans until it sells out at all participating businesses, with a portion of the sales going to the Pink Boots Society to fund scholarships for women looking to get into the industry.

Pink Boots Society hops in Windsor, Ont. on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (Michelle Maluske/CTV Windsor)