MCCORDSVILLE, Ind. — The main goal at Scarlet Lane Brewing is to make amazing varieties of beer. But there’s also another reason they’re in business, according to their founder and CEO.
“I'm a woman, and I feel like a lot more women should be involved in this artistry, in this craft,” Eilise Lane said of her McCordsville brewery. “I've been working really hard within the industry to make sure that women realize that ‘she’ can do this, too.”
The craft beer brewing industry is an extremely male-dominated field, with very few women in charge.
“We’re getting better,” Lane said. “We're getting better at getting more women involved, all over the industry whether it being a head brewer, an owner, working in the tap room. But there's still a lot more work that needs to be done. So we are working to do that! We go to colleges, universities, we do outreach programs.”
This is all in an effort to get more women into beer making, where Lane believes they can thrive.
“Women have amazing palettes, and they're able to create flavors and pair things that some people didn't think about,” she explains.
After graduating from Butler, Lane found herself in a generic corporate role with no happiness in sight. Then, she and her husband bought a home brewing kit, and she immediately fell in love with the art of craft beer brewing.
“That was 2008,” Lane said. “I had been traveling around Oregon and trying these different beers that's when my husband and I bought our very first brew kit. He only lasted (one brewing) and he said he would never do this again. I kept loving it, so I kept buying more and more pieces. Over the next couple years, I had filled out our entire kitchen, our entire garage and part of the carport with brewing equipment.”
Suddenly, Lane's outlook on life began to change.
“One day, I was outside and it was brewing, and my parents and my husband looked at me and said, ‘You're smiling! You haven't smiled in years!,’” she said. “And I'm like, ‘Well, I love doing this!’ Then it finally came to the idea that I could do this (professionally).”
When she opened Scarlet Lane Brewing in 2014, she wanted to focus on stouts, Northwest IPAs and pale ales. But she also wanted to focus on getting more women into the brewing game.
“90 percent of the our investors and the people that form our team are women,” Lane said. “Women resonated with what we were doing and how we were going to build our company.”
In addition to McCordsville, there are three Scarlet Lane Indianapolis locations and a new one in Beech Grove. And Lane is always looking to add more women to her staff.
“Give me a call anytime!” she says to any woman interested in becoming a brewmaster. “We're here to help you out, and we want you to do well because we know it's your heart and your soul. And if you do your absolute best, that's going to be the most important thing.”