Sara Gayle McConnell at Tradesman Brewing in Charleston, S.C., on February 16, 2017.

Sara McConnell is the co-owner of Tradesman Brewing in Charleston, S.C., along with her husband Scott. McConnell moved to Charleston when she was seven years old, while her husband’s family has been in the city since the mid to late 1700s.

“I jokingly say I’m related to everyone in Charleston county,” McConnell said.

McConnell is witty and smart and when it comes to beer, she knows her stuff. But before she tapped into the brewing industry, she was a neonatal intensive care nurse for 25 years, “the exact opposite of a brewer,” she said.

Her husband had been home brewing for about seven years until she told him to open Tradesman. They moved from a three tap refrigerator to a 2 barrel system where they have now maxed out production, brewing 800 barrels of beer in the last year.  

McConnell deems herself the “head minion and bean counter” of the brewery because she’s in charge of the books, manages the taproom and helps the crew stay on task when they start goofing off.

McConnell created a women’s brewing club along with the help of Macy Martin, the resident brewster at Frothy Beard brewery in Charleston. Their mission is to bring more women into the industry by teaching them how to brew beer. In the two years her Brewster events have taken place, they have had eight brewster events and have raised $9,000 that they donate to local women’s charities.

Sara McConnell discusses her Brewster events and how they are bringing women into the brewing industry.