A-B Tech Alum Kay Gonzalez: The Unicorn of Her Industry
Congratulations, you just graduated college! And you are officially unemployed. Now what? That is how things can feel, anyway, when you’re a recent graduate entering the workforce. To break into a competitive market like ‘Brewing’ in Asheville, things can seem even more daunting. Recent Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College graduate, Kay Gonzalez, says she had a few more reasons to be intimidated than just her competition.
“I knew the brewing industry was going to be male-dominated. And on top of that, being a queer woman of color, I didn't know how I would fit into a couple of these breweries,” Gonzalez admits.
Gonzalez knew she wanted to go into brewing when she was 17 years old. She had been taking college-level courses since she was 13. “I was heavily interested in science, especially chemistry,” she explains, thinking she would go into pre-med eventually. She soon decided that was not her path.
Three years later, A-B Tech announced they were going to start offering an Associate program in brewing. Gonzalez thought, “Now that is my calling.” Gonzalez explains that A-B Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute, the first of its kind in the entire nation, offers a two-year program that focuses largely on Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, then progresses into Fermentation and Brewing. “They go into depth about the ingredients, how malt is formed, how yeast does what it does, the secrets of fermentation,” she explains. “And, of course, with the studies of fermentation, you can go anywhere. You can go into wine and spirits, beer, kombucha.”
At school, Gonzalez’s Program Director called her, ‘The Unicorn,’ referring to how only about a fifth of brewing students are women. “So, we're in a smaller minority,” she says of female brewers, “but now I ended up in another smaller minority because I am one of the only women of color who's also queer. It’s a rarity within a rarity.” Gonzalez is Mexican-American, and asexual, which she reports make up only about 1% of the LGBTQ community.
The brewing program also requires students to do an internship. Gonzalez says she went from brewery to brewery, asking if they had internship availability. She finally found an opening with Oklawaha Brewing Company in Hendersonville where she went on to become Assistant Brewer after graduating.
Gonzalez graduated from A-B Tech’s Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast in 2020 with her Associate degree in Brewing, Distilling and Fermentation. While her path to fulfilling her dreams may seem unmuddled, she encourages prospective brewers to take a daring, but personable approach. “Honestly, just try to get yourself out there and talk to other people in the brewing industry,” she says to those who are trying to land a job in the brewing field. “The industry is really small right now. In my experience, I made myself known. Just make yourself friendly and approachable and be like, ‘Hey, I really like what you guys are doing here. I would love to be a part of your team.’”
She adds that, if you are planning to go through A-B Tech’s program, make sure you’re up to date on all your pre-requisites, like English, Math, Science, Humanities and Computer Sciences.
Gonzalez also professes to have found a great deal of support from The Pink Boots Society, an international nonprofit organization of women created to foster, inspire, educate and showcase the accomplishments and talents of women in the brewing industry. “I see these amazing women. I mean, this is something women have been doing for hundreds of years,” Gonzalez says. At the time, The Pink Boots Society only showcased women involved in beer-brewing, but have since broadened their reach to include women of the fermentation/distillation industry, and women who make spirits, kombucha, and even foods.
Now five years since she started in AB-Tech’s Brewing Program, Gonzalez feels very fortunate to be part of not only the industry she loves, but also working at what she refers to as ‘the most inclusive brewery in Hendersonville.’ “On top of the entrance, we have a regular rainbow flag. We have the inclusivity flag, which has bands of black, brown, blue, and pink, for inclusion of people of color and the trans community. We have my asexual flag that I got for my first Pride,” she boasts of the brewery. “A lot of people have started to come up to me and say, ‘I've never felt more inclusive in a place, especially in a brewery.’”
Oklawaha Brewing Company has recently started relocating their brew system from the front of the building to the back to create more room for seating. Gonzalez is a big fan of the rearrangement, having worked in retail and developed a dramatic fear of working directly with customers. She adds that the change should be completed just in time for the bar’s New Year’s Eve Party. “We're going to be really partying, I promise,” she says. “It's going to be so much fun!”
Gonzalez takes great pride in the fact that Oklawaha employs two brewers of color, and is “gayest bar in Hendersonville.” She hopes the brewing community will take the hint and be more open to the hiring of minorities. “I would like to see more diversity within our community and acceptance of women — Latina women in these spaces in general,” she states. “So to me, that's the first step.
One thing is for certain: Gonzalez made the right call to turn her passion into her profession. Even after so many years of working in the brewing industry, she still loves the smell of hops, the spices of beer. “I promise you when you open that bag and get that aroma,” she sighs. “It's just fantastic and I can never get enough.”
To learn more about Oklawaha Brewing Company, visit: https://oklawahabrewing.com/
To learn more about AB Tech’s Brewing Program, visit: https://abtech.edu/program/brewing-distillation-and-fermentation-aas
By Meg Hale Brunton