There’s a new Queen B around here in Colorado, and by “B” we mean beer. Queen Beer, to be exact. This week, Shawnee Adelson was named director of the Colorado Brewers Guild just in time for beer season events like Great American Beer Fest and Oktoberfest.
Adelson has served at the organization for four years and the decision by the board of directors to officially crown her came Monday, according to Westword. She replaces former director Andres Gil Zaldana.
According to Westword, the board performed an “extensive search resulting in more than fifty candidates, many hours of interviews, discussions, and some soul-searching into trying to determine what skills and experience the best person for the job would have, right here in Colorado, at this time in the brewing industry, and at this stage of evolution of the Colorado Brewers Guild,” said CBG board president Matt Cutter of Upslope Brewing. “Shawnee, with her experience in nonprofits, her success that she has demonstrated in the last four years at the CBG, and outlook to further strengthen the guild and its members, made her the obvious choice.”
Adelson, a Telluride native, is taking over during a time when craft beer is bigger than ever. There are more than 400 breweries in Colorado and Adelson played a large role in growing CBG’s membership to include about 65 percent of those breweries.
The brewing industry has long been (and still is) a male-dominated industry so it’s exciting to see a woman at the helm. Cuz, ya know, women like beer, too.
Amanda Push
