Girl Power for Craft Brewers
What does craft beer conjure up for you? Bearded hipsters in cheesecloth shirts? Warm, weak, tasteless, flat drinks that only your dad would like? Then think again. Because in Sandown on the Isle of Wight, the beer tables have turned, and in 2020 two enterprising women opened the Island’s first micro-brewery and tap room, Boojum & Snark and are proving that beer isn’t just for boys.
For childhood friends Julie Jones Evans and Tracy Mikich, the journey towards brewing their own craft beer began with a trip to America six years ago where they sampled craft beers, saw how the brewing was done and so their idea took off. They were both struck by how small bar venues were playing an integral part in local communities, providing places where people could get together casually to watch tv, play a board game and in some cases could bring their own food along to enjoy with the beers. Tracy says, ‘It was dialled into local products, helping the community; these weren’t big corporate brewers and that resonated. Everyone believed in the rationale behind it and that made us feel that this could be perfect for the Isle of Wight. Communities were using the breweries and putting the heart back into things again.’
The first hurdle was funding. Both Julie and Tracy have much experience in grant applications as Julie is a local councillor and Tracy a marketeer and so they applied for and got a £99,000 grant through the Coastal Community Fund application (the only successful application for the Isle of Wight). Having located a former shop on the high street in Sandown, they partnered with The Common Space who are the coastal communities’ team for the Sandown Bay area and work began. Claire Hector of The Common Space is full of praise for the project saying, ‘Boojum & Snark has been such an amazing demonstration of how to put the buzz and bubbles back into a coastal high street. In a town that's often self-perpetuatingly negative, Boojum's show how creativity, hard work and positivity applied to a project of any size can change perceptions of a place.’
Now collaborating with Goddards Brewery, the offerings from Boojum & Snark have moved on a pace. Julie says, ‘Much of my focus recently has been on refining the recipes for our collaboration range, Brewed in the Bay, with Goddards. We are all now happy with the beers and Goddards have brewed Barista’s Breakfast Stout South Island Pale Ale and Riptide (Red IPA). Orders are coming in and available for supping from all good pubs soon. We will also be serving fresh from our taps and have the ales bottled under our own labels available for purchasing directly from us.’
A massive risk or an adventure? ‘An adventure,’ says Tracy. ‘ We never thought that we couldn’t do it and it’s about changing public perception of how two women brewing beer might be seen in a male dominated environment and we’re bucking the trend. Women were traditionally the brewers, so it's reclaiming that space a bit.’