I didn’t fall in love with craft beer at a brewery or on a patio with friends. I fell in love with it while I was pregnant.
Before my daughter was born, beer was … fine. But suddenly, when I couldn’t have it, it became fascinating. I’d ask my husband to order the most intriguing saisons, the juiciest IPAs, just so I could sneak a whiff or savor one tiny sip. When I became a mom, something shifted. Craft beer wasn’t just a drink—it became part of my evolving identity. It was a little rebellion, a little indulgence, and a way to connect with myself in the whirlwind of new parenthood.
That’s the thing about beer, from crafting to enjoying. It’s about more than just a beverage. It’s about belonging. It’s about making time for pleasure in the relentless scramble of new motherhood. And for these moms, it’s about building community and creating meaning.
This article provides a snapshot of three women who’ve carved out their place in the craft beer world while raising children. Whitney Selix of Lua Brewing in Des Moines, Lindsey Mrav of Grain & Grit Beer Co. in Hamilton, Ontario, and Amanda McLamb of Resident Culture Brewing in Charlotte, North Carolina, are redefining what it means to be a brewer, a business owner, and a mom.
A Newborn, a Brewery, and a Toddler
For Whitney Selix, co-owner of Lua Brewing, the craft beer industry wasn’t just a career path—it was where she felt at home in the world. She started in craft beer right out of college at the University of Iowa, eventually managing restaurants in her home state, while her husband, Scott, started brewing. Their shared dream became reality in 2019 when they opened Lua Brewing in Des Moines.
“I was nursing during interviews,” Selix recalls, juggling opening a business with parenting a newborn and a toddler. “There were times I’d have my baby in a jumper in the office or asleep on a pillow near the bar while I worked.”
Whitney and Scott made a conscious choice to make Lua a family-friendly place—because, for them, family is at the heart of everything. Their three kids—Kit, 7, Lawson, 5, and Lennon, 3—have grown up alongside the brewery. “Our kids run around like they own the place,” Selix laughs.
Running a brewery and raising kids isn’t easy. The hours are long. There’s no daycare open for a shift that ends at midnight. But Selix sees the value in what her kids are witnessing. “It’s good for them to see us working hard and building something.”
She’s also working toward broader change, advocating for family-friendly policies in the hospitality industry, making sure parents get the leave and hours that make managing work and family doable. “Parenting changes your perspective,” she says. Selix believes being a mom has made her both a better leader and a better person.
When work gets overwhelming, Selix finds that her family grounds her. “Motherhood has given me a deeper well of empathy, patience, and perspective that I never fully appreciated before,” she reflects. “I’ve learned to navigate chaos, pivot when things don’t go as planned, and approach challenges with more grace—all of which have made me a better leader.”
The activities involved with raising young children have also sparked creativity.
“Children’s shows are great inspiration for beer names,” says Selix. “Stay tuned for a beer named Dance Mode to be released inspired by a Bluey episode.”
The brewery’s piña colada sour was conceived by watching one of her favorite episodes of the show. “Who doesn’t love the whole Dance Mode concept?” she explained. “The idea that you can flip a switch, and someone has to start dancing, is amazing.” Their new beer seeks to channel that same feel-good energy. “Kids are a great inspiration for the light in life, and keeping things happy when adulthood is so heavy,” she says.
The Mom & Pop Brewery
For Lindsey Mrav, co-founder of Grain & Grit Beer Co., the journey started as a hobby. Her husband, Joe, began homebrewing while Lindsey was freelancing as a graphic designer and raising their two young kids, Evan, 11, and Ella, 14, and Joe was working as a mechanical engineer.
In 2017, they transformed an old auto garage in Hamilton, Ontario, into Grain & Grit Beer Co. It took blood, sweat, and tears to transform the rough space into an inviting brewery. “We opened with a four-year-old and a seven-year-old,” Lindsey says. “It was relentless and hard.”
They envisioned Grain & Grit as a true “mom and pop” brewery—and not just because of who owns it. Their taproom isn’t just a place to grab a beer; it’s a space for events such as mom meetups, clothing swaps, vintage markets, and book clubs. (Lindsey pointed out that there are plenty of baby-centric events; she prioritized creating gatherings with moms at the center.)
“Being a mom goes hand in hand with what we do,” Lindsey says. “It’s made me better at planning, at juggling, at building community.”
She’s also focused on making the brewery a better place to work for other parents. “We’re a small team, but we make sure people can take time off when they need it—whether that’s parental leave, appointments, or just the flexibility to be there for their families.”
Where Your Weird—and Your Family—Is Welcome
“I truly believe this is the best industry in the world,” says Amanda McLamb, co-founder of Resident Culture Brewing in Charlotte, North Carolina. “There’s such a sense of collaboration, kindness, and a rising tides mentality. [It’s] the heartbeat of everything I believe in.”
McLamb’s love for gathering around food and drink runs deep. Growing up in the U.S., many of her memories are centered around big family meals—her grandparents, who immigrated from China, filling the table with food, conversation, and connection. Later, as a young traveler, a visit to the Guinness brewery sparked something bigger. “The process of fermentation, the history—it blew my mind. It brought together everything I loved: nature, agriculture, science, flavor.”
McLamb and her husband, Phillip, started envisioning a life centered around hospitality and community. They moved to Charlotte and found an old warehouse in a neighborhood full of shuttered buildings. They rolled up their sleeves, and together—with Amanda bringing her food writing background and newly minted real estate license, and Phillip bringing his expertise in project management—they transformed that warehouse into Resident Culture Brewing.
When they opened in 2017, their daughter Piper was just five months old. “We were two crazy kids in love with a wild idea,” McLamb laughs. “We opened a business and became parents at the same time. Both were intense identity shifts, full of extraordinary challenges and deep, hard labor, sometimes literally—I broke my tailbone giving birth to Piper.”
Eight years later, Resident Culture is thriving. So is their family, which now includes Isla, age four. Their brewery has become a neighborhood hub, a place where kids are abundant during Friday food truck nights, where regulars gather, and where innovation is baked into the culture. They even host one of the city’s biggest Lunar New Year celebrations—an event McLamb created because she wanted her daughters, and her community, to share in the culture that shaped her.
The brewery’s name itself is a nod to that sense of belonging. In fermentation, “resident culture” refers to the wild yeasts and bacteria that inoculate the sugary wort and turn it into beer. At the brewery, it also refers to the people who shape Resident Culture’s space—employees, customers, family, and friends.
McLamb doesn’t sugarcoat how hard it’s been to juggle motherhood, business ownership, and leadership—especially through challenges such as Covid when they chose to close their taproom days before they were required to. “The heavier responsibility of leadership is extremely hard, and I take it seriously,” she says. “But I love the me that was created out of all these hard times. I wouldn’t hit replay, but I wouldn’t trade who I’ve become.”
At Resident Culture, a sign sums up their ethos: Where Your Weird Is Welcome. It’s not just a slogan, it’s how McLamb shows up—for her team, for her family, and for the community she’s helped build, one beer and one wild, wonderful day at a time.
The post From Bottles to Beer: How Three Mothers Are Shaping Craft Culture appeared first on CraftBeer.com.