By Brenda
Well, kind of. Back towards the end of January, we decided to take a trip up to Milwaukee on one fine frigid Sunday to a favorite brewery of ours, Torzala. While we were there we noticed quite the ruckus going on in the back brew room and asked Renee (one of the owners) what was up. She told us about Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day, a movement that celebrates women and non-binary individuals in the brew and alcoholic beverage industry and raises money to support professional development opportunities. Renee and her sister Trish (her co-owner) opened up their brewery to women in the community to collaborate on an elderflower golden ale entitled ”Secret Hero” to be debuted on International Women’s Day. Their hope was, and is, to encourage more women to become interested in the brewing process, which – like many fields – remains a male-dominated industry.
Even though I had not signed up for the event and the day was already half spent, they invited me to come back and join in on the fray. The group of gals who had already invested much of their time and efforts were happy to make room for me and were able to squeeze in a few ingredients for me to add to the brew. It was SO much fun, not just to be a part of the brew process but to get to know these ladies and Trish and Renee who are always so wonderfully welcoming and friendly to us every time we visit. We could not have picked a better day to drop in.
We were invited back to the release party, and gang…Secret Hero is DAMN DELICIOUS. Am I saying that because I had the tiniest part in brewing it? No. Should I be surprised that it was so good considering I’ve never had a beer I didn’t immensely enjoy from Torzala? Also no. Should you try to get your hands on some if you have the chance? Also no, because I want it all. But I want to take a second to talk about this Secret Hero the beer is named after because she’s a total badass.
Her name is Mildred Fish-Harnack, and she was a ANTI-NAZI SPY from Milwaukee. She studied English at UW-Madison where she met a German student who would become her husband in 1926. She hyphened her name because she was a progressive independent lady even though it probably caused most of her peers to clutch their pearls in horror. She and her husband (Arvid) relocated to his home country in 1929 where she worked on her DOCTORATE and also taught American and English Literature. During the rise of the Nazi regime, she and Arvid joined the Red Orchestra, a small resistance group that relayed secrets of the Nazis back to the U.S. and Soviet Union, as well as helped Jews escape Germany. She doubtless saved hundreds if not thousands of lives. Mildred and Arvid were unfortunately discovered and put to death, Mildred being the only American woman to die by direct order of F*off Hitler1.
Clearly a woman worthy of having a beer named after her.
The description of Torzala’s Secret Hero brew is as follows: “Secret Hero, an Elderflower Golden Ale, designed to honor all the women in our lives and to raise a glass to those that continue to demand better. The backbone of this beer is a clean malt bill, hopped exclusively with this year’s Pink Boots blend, and elderflower (also known as a secret hero in folklore). Fun Fact: the beer name applauds Mildred Fish-Harnack, a Milwaukee native, who was known as Germany’s Secret Hero.”
I’m so honored to have been included in this project by the women of Torzala, and looking forward to the next Pink Boots Collaboration Day next January. And when the Secret Hero runs dry this season we luckily have all the rest of Torzala’s amazing beer to hold us over until next March. My personal fav is the NaZdrowie, but you literally cannot make a bad choice.
Happy Women’s History Month! (And screw the Nazis).
Wisconsin Brewery Adventures 