Best of Indy: Beer Club

The unofficial rule at Girls’ Pint Out (facebook.com/indygpo) events is “pour another”; accordingly, the social group’s cup is overflowing. Since being established in Indianapolis in 2010, the club for lager-loving ladies has toasted 35 chapter openings in 25 states. Each group hosts two monthly events—one social, one educational—to learn about microbrews and raise money for chosen causes. Here, Indy’s original Angels of Ale spill about the best activities GPO brews up:

Magen Peters, 29

Day Job: Operations director for an Indy construction company and event director of Oranje. 

GPO Job: National president. 

Favorite GPO Activity: Pints and Pedis, a tasting at a salon with treatments. 

Best Bathroom Trip: Some GPO chapters host a Stall Crawl, when the ladies rate their favorite bars by their facilities—with pretty pink scoring cards.

Maureen Basenberg, 38

Day Job: Director of child-advocacy programs in Arizona. 

GPO Job: Founder of the Arizona chapter. 

Favorite GPO Activity: The Style Series, an educational format that focuses on one style of beer at a time, such as porters or IPAs. 

Best Weird Recommended Pairing: Firestone Walker Pivo Pilsner and Annie’s
Organic Cheddar Bunnies.

Rebecca Millette, 32

Day Job: Event planner. 

GPO Job: Head of the Massachusetts chapter. 

Favorite GPO Activity: Team GPO, an interchapter runners’ group that caps off 5Ks with a pint or three. 

Best Fundraiser: The tastings to raise money for Boston-based Harpoon Brewery’s philanthropic arm, Harpoon Helps, which supports charities throughout New England.

Jennifer Litz, 31

Day Job: Reporter covering the craft-beer industry. 

GPO Job: New York City chapter head. 

Favorite GPO Activity: The tapping of a New Belgium Brewing and GPO collaboration beer, Sin and Tonic, a spin on gin and tonic that was shared with chapters nationwide. 

Best Crasher: In Houston, a man once dressed in drag to sneak into a GPO tasting.

Amanda Wishin, 31

Day Job: Lawyer. 

GPO Job: Head of the Indiana chapter. 

Favorite GPO Activity: Queen of the Pumpkin Ales, a seasonal event that toasts fall’s signature flavor with four different pumpkin beers. And anything that gives members a chance to talk directly to a brewer, as many GPO events do. 

Best Bar Joke: “As a lawyer, I don’t joke about the bar.”

Cari Crowe, 35

Day Job: Co-owner of Bent Rail Brewing Company. 

GPO Job: Co-founder. 

Favorite GPO Activity: Cards Against Humanity night, a monthly tradition for Indy’s GPO chapter dedicated to the Mad Libs–esque drinking game. 

Best Beer Trivia: Beer is older than bread and wine—and in ancient Egypt, workers who built the pyramids were paid with beer.

This article appeared in the December 2013 issue.