Lauren Hughes Is In The Right Place
The head brewer at Pittsburgh’s Necromancer Brewing is guiding the Next Generation of brewers.
Lauren Hughes is a twin, bicycling enthusiast, mom, and (to her knowledge) one of only two female head brewers currently working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She’s also an Extremely Nice Person, which is obvious to anyone who follows her Instagram or gets a chance to chat with her. But beyond just being very cool and interesting, she walks the walk: notably in terms of making beer a more inclusive place. One of her ongoing goals is to bring more women—especially queer women—into the brewhouse. Her plan to achieve this? Strategic hires at Necromancer Brewing, ensuring long-term support of said hires through consistent mentorship, and plenty of community-facing events that signal safety and support for marginalized people. “Having people enjoy beer in a place where they feel welcome and being able to give back to the community so much, that means a lot to me,” says Lauren. Let’s hear more from her now.
When Lauren Hughes isn’t brewing, biking, playing music, or parenting a one-year-old with her wife, you can probably find her practicing sweet moves with a German longsword.
“I’m hooked,” she says about her pandemic-inspired hobby. “You get to hit people with a four-foot-long sword. It’s a lot of fun!”
But before she aspired to be an amateur fencer and professional head brewer, Lauren grew up in Miami not just with a twin sister, but also a separate set of twin brothers(!) She assumed she’d work in the field where most of her family does: music. And she did for a good while, earning her undergraduate degree from Florida State University as a French horn performance major before heading to Indiana University Bloomington. There, she earned a master’s degree in performance as well as a doctorate in brass pedagogy, “which is a fancy way to say that you’re trying to teach college kids how to play brass instruments,” she explains.
At the tail end of her schooling journey, Lauren and her partner (now her wife) moved to Indianapolis for an adjunct professorship/assistant chairmanship of the music department at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (“say that five times fast,” she challenges) while simultaneously working at Sun King Brewing. For two years, she managed the taproom, dabbled in the cellar, and did “pretty much whatever they threw at me.”
Eventually, working two jobs left her—understandably—feeling burnt out. She had to choose: to pursue what she went to school for or what she loved doing?
Thinking practically, she took a job at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to manage their classic and pops programming. “It was a good job, I loved that job,” Lauren says. But after three grueling years, the long hours chipped away at her. Eventually, she decided “it just wasn’t for me. My heart wasn’t in it.”
When her wife suggested she return to brewing, Lauren was surprised. But with that encouragement, she quit the symphony and started to work her way towards becoming a brewer, starting at Hop Farm and Hitchhiker before scoring her first assistant brewer job at Rock Bottom. From there, she moved to Penn and finally connected with Ben Butler, who was on the cusp of opening Necromancer.
“I was sold,” she says of his vision. She came on board and they opened their doors in May 2021.
“The reason it’s called Necromancer is because necromancers resurrect dead things,” Lauren says. “We resurrect old beer styles that are gone or people don’t make any more.” This fascination and commitment to history was a big attraction for Lauren when she was first approached with the opportunity. For years, she’s been an integral part of her local Pink Boots Society chapter, the Pittsburgh Brewery Diversity Council, and the part of the Master Brewers Association of the Americas’ chapter leadership (just to name a few), as well as a longtime homebrewer obsessed with rediscovering and reviving antiquated beer recipes. Getting the chance to explore, experiment, and innovate full-time is a rare opportunity and one she’s making the most of.
“To see people come in and try all different beer styles they’ve never seen, styles people don’t make or have even heard of, that’s pretty dope,” says Lauren. “As a brewer, it’s a dream to mess around with stuff and figure it out.”
Her arrival at Necromancer also happened to coincide with another life-altering event: becoming a parent. Her partner gave birth two weeks before opening, which also happens to fall at the same time as their wedding anniversary. “Good things happen in May!” she laughs.
Now a year in, Lauren doesn’t see herself going anywhere for the foreseeable future. She points to her tight-knit team and shared vision of expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion as huge opportunities to make great beer and change the culture of craft beer in their community and beyond. She’s particularly dedicated to offering employment opportunities to people from underrepresented identities, which can be tough when working on small teams. But, she says, not only is it worth it, it must continue happening.
“Not only do I get to give someone a job, but if people can have an easier time than me getting into the industry and I’m able to mentor someone, to give them a chance, I’m stoked,” Lauren says.
While she describes her local craft beer community in Pittsburgh as moderately forward-thinking, Lauren says there’s still “so much to be done.” Take the Brave Noise beer initiative. “To see a lack of participation in Brave Noise is a bummer,” she says. “I know it’s tough for some breweries to be super accountable, but I think it’s something that has to happen. You’re putting your money where your mouth is.” Still, she’s quick to point out, there are plenty of like-minded people she can turn to for support, and they’re a big part of what she loves about Pittsburgh.
For Lauren, success means opportunities for more people to not just work in beer, but to push beer into a better space than it was when she came on board. Yes, making great beer is a given, but if certain people don’t feel comfortable coming to drink it, what’s the point? And hey, if anyone hassles her, there’s always the longsword.
Follow Lauren and Necromancer on Instagram.
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Do you know of a woman or non-binary person working in beverage alcohol who hasn’t seen the spotlight—and should? Nominate them for a future feature!