Emma - Biere ohne Bart

It is not unusual for a woman to be beardless. But for a craft beer brewer to be beardless is almost an endangered rarity. In the hipster-heavy world of craft beer, you hardly see a face that is not adorned with a magnificent beard, often a full beard. Whether that is because of the beer or because of the trend is up for debate. But the fact is that Almut Zinn, the woman behind the extremely successful label Emma - Beers without Beards, definitely does not have a beard. And that is not the only way she sets herself apart from the bearded masses, she also makes exceptionally good beer.

Today I bake, tomorrow I brew

Thank heavens that not only the DIY trend has swept Germany like a monstrous tidal wave from the USA, but also the craft beer movement. Almut Zinn discovered both for herself and saw homebrewing as the ideal opportunity to combine her new-found passion for beer with that of making things yourself. On a trip through the States, she met a homebrewer and his beer and was thrilled. She had not previously realized that you can make not only cheese, bread or patchwork quilts yourself, but also beer. For Almut, beer was always something that required beer brewing equipment in the higher price range. The lady was all the more pleased when she dared to try brewing for the first time in her own kitchen. Her guinea pigs were less so, but after lots and lots of practice, Almut's friends fought over her creations. Today, beers like Kuckucksrot or Salto Orale from the label Emma - Biere ohne Bart are an integral part of the craft beer scene. By the way, their Mexican Standoff Stout was created in collaboration with Freigeist Bierkultur and the Braukollektiv Freiburg - a successful collaboration between bearded and beardless people

From teaching to brewing

Almut is actually a teacher. But that doesn't stop this powerful woman from doing anything. Not even the many voices that wanted to stop her from becoming self-employed and bring her back to the safe nest of civil service. Almut fights, but not with the others, but above all with herself. Before she gives up her teaching job in 2016 and swaps kids for hops, she first has to find the meaning of life for herself. One thing is clear: the Bavarian likes to create things with her hands. And after the first more or less successful attempts at home brewing, she has created the first really passable beers. Passable beers that are far too good not to be made available to the masses. Almut makes her decision and Emma is born. Here's to a Zapotopaz !