Frankly, You’ll Give a Damn About Scarlet Lane Brewing

The first woman-owned production brewery in Indiana tapped its flagship beers at a Launch Humdinger Thursday night at Fire by the Monon in Broad Ripple.

Scarlet Lane Brewing Co. teamed up with Girls Pint Out for the official kick-off party that also featured music on the deck.

Here are 5 cool things to know about Scarlet Lane, according to CEO and brewer Eilise Lane.

1. The brewery’s name is a sweet tribute to Eilise’s late dog, Scarlet, a rescue pup who died three years ago of heart disease.

2. Eilise, 32, has carefully studied the roles women have historically played in the brewing industry. “In Sumerian culture, women prayed to the goddess of beer, and the first beer recipes were created by women. In the Middle Ages, women were the only ones allowed to touch the grog (or beer) because it was believed that men would spoil it.”

3. Scarlet Lane is big on sustainability. “Our wastewater goes through an internal treatment process so that it’s completely neutral by the time it leaves our facility,” Eilise said. “We work with a farming company that’s able to use our spent grains, and we also put the spent grains into a digester to create energy for use internally.”

4. Eilise pursued a career in IT and process management for a large insurance company in Indianapolis before changing gears to go into brewing. “I like this much better,” she said.

5. Scarlet Lane delivers its beer in a hearse. “We’re a little macabre, and a little bit crazy,” Eilise explained. “Most of our artwork is based on stuff by Tim Burton and Ed Gorey, so it seemed only logical we’d use something creepy and different for a delivery vehicle. We started looking at hearses, and everything just fell into place.”

Scarlet Lane’s speakeasy-style tasting room will open in McCordsville later this summer. In the meantime, craft beer aficionados can visit follow Scarlet Lane on Twitter or Facebook to find out where products are available.