Feature Friday - @brewerybabema - The Hoppy Flight Attendant

Welcome back to another Feature Friday post! In the past year I have created so many friendships with flight attendants, travel bloggers and craft beerstagrammers! I really wanted to start showing off some of my favorite people that I’ve met and start building up a community of like minded people.

Contents hide

1 Tell us a little about who you are?

2 How did you get into craft beer?

3 Your first beer &/or first brewery you went to?

4 Beer you recommend to everyone?

5 Worst beer you’ve ever had?

6 What styles of beer do you prefer?

7 Your favorite brewery?

8 What brewery is on your bucket list to visit?

9 Seltzer or Nah? Do you drink anything besides beer?

10 Anything else to add?

11 Pin this post on Pinterest!

If you’d like to be featured please email me: willtravelforbeer@thehoppyflightattendant.com Or message me on Instagram @thehoppyflightattendant

Below, meet Kelsea who you can find on Instagram @brewerybabema We actually met through Erika from my last Feature Friday post & even though we’ve only met in real life a few times we talk on a daily basis about iced coffee, tv shows, Paris, and of course beer.

Tell us a little about who you are?

My name is Kelsea, I am 28 years old. I am a French teacher by day, beertender at the Guild in Rhode Island by night. My interests beyond the beer world include reading, working out, and healthy cooking (but I mean, I have been known to make ridiculously decadent mac and cheese or a chilis copy cat queso recipe or two!).

How did you get into craft beer?

My friend actually brought me to Untold Brewing in Scituate, MA and I really enjoyed having a flight and having the opportunity to try a few things. I think of flights like appetizers, they are these little tastes of different beers and different styles. The more I drank, the more I noticed the lack of women in tap rooms, and decided that I would talk about my experiences drinking at breweries. It’s been a few years, and it is awesome to see that beer is going from a man’s drink to a drink for everyone to enjoy!

Your first beer &/or first brewery you went to?

My First beer (and I refuse to include Coors light at some trash college party) was probably a hefeweizen in France, specifically Hoegaarden, I am a huge fan of theirs. It was my go to 6 pack for my fridge for a really long time. I still would take that beer over any other in the world on a hot day!

Beer you recommend to everyone?

In general, Allagash, they are just the OG of craft beers. They really put in the time and care to produce some of the best products on the market. There are a lot of breweries that are being called out recently due to corners being cut or products that just miss the mark but are still being distributed.

Worst beer you’ve ever had?

A bourbon barrel aged stout with cayenne pepper and chocolate. It was too much of too much. It was super boozy upfront, then a lot of chocolate, then it was really spicy and then you got hit with the booze again. I had two sips and drain poured it. I ended up throwing up later that day and I am totally blaming it on that beer.

What styles of beer do you prefer?

I am a huge fan of Belgian styles! A good farmhouse saison, a wheat beer, a tripel, pack it on baby! Can you tell why I love Allagash so much?

Your favorite brewery?

That’s an unfair question. There are breweries I go to drink, breweries I go to socialize at, and breweries I go to just chill. I think off the top of my head: Widowmaker in Braintree, MA, Untold Brewing in Scituate, MA, and Second Wind in Plymouth, MA. Oh WAIT! I visited Interboro in Brooklyn and Other Half in Brooklyn and those DEFINITELY deserve to be on this list!!!

What brewery is on your bucket list to visit?

Allagash (Sorry, I know I know! I keep saying Allagash, but I am a serious fan girl!!!) I would also like to include Lone Pine in Portland, ME and Tin Bridge in Westfield, MA.

Seltzer or Nah? Do you drink anything besides beer?

Ok, I think year 1 of spiked seltzers, we were all down on them. Now I am a total seltzer girl! I love them! I am really digging Hoot from Night Shift and Artic Summer (shout out to the Pineapple Paloma) made with Polar Seltzer at Harpoon! If I am not drinking those, I am drinking a Jameson and Ginger ale with lime or an Aperol Spritz, I like to keep y’all guessing!

Anything else to add?

I would love to see the brewing industry diversify more and not just diversify but also INCLUDE BIPOC peoples and women in the brewery. Right now we are having amazing conversations about diversity in the industry, but there still is a huge lack of inclusion across the board. You know we still call female brewers “female brewer” instead of just “brewer”. I think there is definitely room for improvement but I love all the conversations we are having that I feel are really forcing positive change in such a wonderful industry!

Well that’s all for this Feature Friday! Make sure to follow Kelsea on Instagram @brewerybabema to follow along with all her New England beer adventures & tune in on Tuesdays to watch her #whatsmysnack where she tries a random snack every week!

Check out my previous Feature Friday posts here.