Today we’d like to introduce you to Mikenzie Tavenner Hardman.
Hi Mikenzie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The Bitches N Brews story actually started when I was a child, I was a shy girl who would hide behind my mother’s legs whenever we would leave our home. However, at 8 years old I made the decision to jump out of my shell and interact with everyone I came into contact with because I felt I got different responses from people due to my initially introverted personality inspiring the desire to understand others, and I thought it would be more FUN to explore and socialize like the role models I saw – but in my own, relatable ways. As a result, craft beer became a natural passion for me because, unlike any other beverage or community, it makes people feel more open to communication and connection with others in a happy and lighthearted way. And so it comes full circle – hand crafted beer and brewing align with my lifestyle.
I first discovered the craft beer world while attending the Utah Beer Festival with my husband and friends. While exploring the different booths and vendors, I was told over and over, “Oh, you won’t like that one. Women don’t like that kind of beer.” I finally had enough and decided to just try whatever I wanted, and suddenly a whole new world of flavors and experiences opened up to me! After my experience at the festival, I started learning more about craft beers and developed a love for it. I started brewing beer with my husband and once I got into it, I was hooked, head over heels in love with brewing. I quickly became passionate about finding new flavors and brewing all different kinds of beers. And from my hobby grew a brand that I created to show that anybody, whether they’re the stereotypical brewer “type” or not, could learn to brew the types of beers they like.
As I started diving into the process of brewing, inclusivity and diversity became a big deal for my husband and me. As I began to grow and share my beers within the craft brewing community, I was shocked by the responses I received. While I would be explaining the processes I’d used to make my beers, the overwhelming response was for people to ask my husband if he brewed them. They would ignore me, pass over my expertise and work, and jump right in asking my husband questions or directing their comments to him instead.
This isn’t a unique experience that only I had, though. One of the biggest reasons our mission at BnB is about creating an inclusive and diverse space is because it is already so lacking in the craft beer industry and culture. Countless people who do not fit the stereotypical mold of the standard craft beer brewer have had experiences just like mine where they feel ignored or excluded.
So as I networked more and more with people within the industry and community, connecting with others who want to create a larger, more inclusive and prosperous community, BnB moved beyond the blog and digital space into a movement with education, connection, inclusivity and diversity as the main focus in the most enjoyable ways possible. And now Bitches N Brews, a Pleasant Grove diversity & inclusion advocate in the craft brew community, and myself, are eagerly introducing a touring festival we call the BDIF Tour: Brewing Diversity & Inclusion Fest **BDIF With Us**. This event is the first, and only, of its kind and officially begins in Philadelphia this year and will then tour different cities and states across America.
The Bitches N Brews movement touches people from every background and helps me continue to interact with those from all walks of life – especially as the Brewing Diversity & Inclusion Fest begins to travel the nation in 2023 alongside the launching of our virtual and in-person brewing workshops and food & beer tastings.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, from the very beginning I was inspired by the adversity I faced with sharing my passion for brewing not only with the craft beer community, who overlooked me when I spoke about it and went over my head to talk to my husband – a man, about it instead, but also by many of my friends who had never felt a reason to be interested in craft beer or brewing beer.
The craft beer industry and culture didn’t feel inviting to them, nor inclusive, so they didn’t want to go somewhere to even try the wide variety of flavors of beer because they felt they wouldn’t have anything there for them. For example, my girlfriends couldn’t go dancing at a brewery or taproom, my friends of color only saw white men with beards and flannel at these places and nothing that would be fun for them to do, and that’s really how most women, POC and any minority groups feel when they look at the things offered in craft beer. I couldn’t deny that and struggled with how to get my friends involved so they could see how welcoming the beer community can be if they are willing to ask questions and open up first, unfortunately, the beer world doesn’t tend to extend the hand first, but the craft beer community becomes family almost instantly when you begin to discuss beer with them at all, even if you are unfamiliar with it and only discuss it in questions that you are asking.
I have been able to open many people’s eyes by talking to them more openly about the flavors they like in foods and drinks, and then suggesting beers I can deduce they would like according to their tastes, and even doing many tastings sharing beers with people that they found interesting once I offered more information about the beer. So while there have been struggles, it has also created more opportunities for education, sharing and connecting, and including more people in ways that have never been done before and are so super fun to do! So these experiences last so much longer and create more connections that are beneficial in countless ways for years down the line! Just ask anyone who has decided to jump into craft beer as a hobby or profession, they will tell you of the sense of family and all the unexpected benefits personally and professionally that they’ve found. It’s a great thing that needs to be shared in many more ways that bring interests together from all kinds of backgrounds and cultures so we can all flourish more together.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Bitches n Brews?
Bitches n Brews is Brewing Change One Conversation At a Time. BnB is built on the pillars of education and philanthropy. We create an environment where you can learn about the process of brewing, as well as the craft beer culture, while offering ways for our business and our clients to give back to our community.
Bitches n Brews has been running since 2014 as a brand dedicated to teaching anybody who wants to learn how to brew craft beer, wine, mead, soap, natural household products, even food preservation, and more. I built Bitches n Brews as a place where anyone could learn and anyone was welcome. I discovered my passion for craft beers at a festival and then, as it developed into more than just a hobby, I started to write a blog with my recipes, tips, and tricks.
With this blog, I also became an advocate for including people from all walks of life and allowing space for a more diverse group in the craft beer world. As a woman in brewing, my experiences, my knowledge, and my outgoing, fun personality helped give others the opportunity to learn in a way they felt comfortable and fun for them too. That blog led to group classes which led to workshops and Bitches n Brews officially became a place to come and learn.
Operating on the concepts of inclusivity and diversity, we teach anybody who wants to learn, and we meet them wherever they’re at in life. Whether you’re just starting and using a hot plate and a pot in your kitchen, or you’ve been brewing for years and are looking for new ways to infuse flavors into your beers, this is a place for you to learn and have fun while doing it so you’ll actually want to keep going with it for years to come!
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I found my love of craft beer THROUGH wine! The wine community really brought me in when I would do wine tastings with my husband early on in our relationship, I started out as a total newb in wine going to wineries with my boyfriend in his hometown in Livermore CA, and the winery owners and staff would ask me questions about my palate and help choose wines for me to try. They taught me so much about my palate, giving me the terminology as I would try to describe the flavors I tasted and what I liked, being patient with me and understanding my interests so they could recommend wines and give me tastes that were aligned with my flavor interest. Because of their willingness to ask me questions about what I tasted and what I liked, and share knowledge with me about wine flavors and all that goes into each wine, my palate was opened up tremendously and I saw a whole new world of exciting wine flavors and varieties to explore. After all of this experience, I noticed the Utah beer festival was being held near me and I had many friends excited to go to it, as well as my husband. I thought about how much wine had opened up my eyes and my palate to understanding flavors and seeing that there are so many things that you think you don’t like, until you find the one that was made differently and in a way that your palate agrees with, and I decided there must be more beers than I knew of with Budweiser and all those usual macros.
I went to the beer festival with my hubby and friends, and as I stated earlier in the interview, I found a lot of surprising flavors I had never heard of nor realized that beer could taste like. From smoky, rich porters to peaty, malty Scotch Ales, and honey lavender hefeweizens then Lagunitas IPAs (which I had never liked IPAs before, as one of the few beer styles I knew, they were always a punch in the teeth…before the Lagunitas Lil Sumpin Sumpin). I was pretty much in love with craft beer and the craft community from that day forward, and I owe it all to wine and the open-mindedness they instilled in me.
Contact Info:
- Website: bitchesnbrews.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bitchesnbrews/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BittysNBrews
