A lot of ideas can come out of having beers with friends—but it’s pretty special when those ideas are actually good.
“Really the idea is seeing if we can use beer to make the world a better place,” said Kate Power, co-founder of Lady Justice Brewing in Mountain View.
The idea came to Power and the other Lady Justice founders, Jen Cuesta and Betsy Lay, a few years back when they were all working in AmeriCorps in Arvada.
“We had been drinking some beer that night I think that maybe had something to do with it,” said Jen Cuesta. “We thought it would be so fun to use something we all enjoy and that the community enjoys, but also that engages people and would allow us to do this work without having to fight for grants and funding.”
They went their separate ways for a bit—Power and Cuesta to law school, and Lay to a job in project management. When they finally reunited in Denver, they decided to make good on the conversation that had years prior—a non-profit brewery that would benefit groups in their community through the sale of craft beer.
“If people are going to buy beer and drink beer and love beer, why don’t they buy a beer that exists for the purpose of helping their community,” Lay said. “Just the idea that businesses and people can get together to make their communities better—I loved that that was our goal and our focus.”
Lady Justice Brewing has only been around for a few months, but the three women plan to donate all profits over costs to organizations and individuals that help women and girls.
“Brewing and knowing that this beer is going to make a very real impact on the Denver and Colorado community makes it all the better,” Lay said.
They call themselves a community supported brewery. Customers need to sign up as members—a $90, six-month membership gets them a 22-ounce bottle of beer. So far, Lady Justice has more than 80 members.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said customer Aaron Lazorwitz. “I’m an OBGYN physician, so I personally spend a lot of time helping women, so I think that having a community supported brewery that’s a socially- minded brewery is a fantastic idea.”
Lazorwitz also said besides helping the community—the beer is actually good.
“It’s good beer--good beer for a good cause and that’s always a good thing,” Lazorwitz said.
Currently, Power and Cuesta are both lawyers and Lay works in the dean’s office at the Iliff School of Theology.
They all say that someday they would love to expand Lady Justice, even adding a taproom. But their priorities remain aligned.
“The primary focus is seeing what sort of positive change we can make using beer,” Power said.
To learn more about Lady Justice Brewing, go to their website. They will be opening up for more memberships sometimes in spring.
