Bombshell Brewing Company
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BY J. ERIC ECKARD
t might sound cliché, but the beginnings of Bombshell Brewing Co. in Holly Springs literally started on a golf course. Bombshell owners Michelle Miniutti, Ellen Joyner and Jackie Hudspeth all knew each other originally from Devil’s Ridge Golf Course in Holly Springs, where the three met playing golf. And through the twists and turns of fate and hops, the three opened Bombshell Brewing in 2013. But don’t let the name fool you. Bombshell might harken back to the days of Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Jean Harlow, but Miniutti, Joyner and Hudspeth are all business when it comes to brewing beer. “It’s about the hops, not the hype,” Miniutti said. With gold medals in the 2018 N.C. Brewers Cup and Beer Army Wars competitions for its H Town lager, Bombshell’s true beauty is inside its kegs and cans. The ladies also have won awards for their Hipster Handshake wheat ale, Lady in Red ale, Oktoberfest and Woman Full o’ Trouble porter.
18 | Carolina Brew Scene | Summer 2019
And their best-seller is the Head Over Hops IPA, a traditional IPA with plenty of fruit tones. “We wanted to make it about the beer, not the hype,” Miniutti repeated. But when the partners were brainstorming for a name, they decided to cash in on the fact that Bombshell Brewery is owned by three women — something unique in the male-dominated craft brew industry, said Miniutti.
I was brought up being taught that I could do anything. Going into a ‘man’s world’ didn’t faze me. I hope that starting Bombshell shows other women not to let gender get in the way.
- Ellen Joyner “We didn’t want it to be so much about the sexy part, but we did want it to have some femininity to it,” Miniutti said in reference to choosing a brewery name. “Here are three
women in the brewery business. Wow. Who expected that? “That’s the definition of bombshell — something shocking and amazing.” And it’s true. Fewer than 4 percent of the nation’s craft breweries are run by women, according to the Brewer’s Association. And another study indicates that 25 percent of craft beer drinkers are women. "I was brought up being taught that I could do anything," Joyner said. "Going into a 'man's world' didn't faze me. I hope that starting Bombshell shows other women not to let gender get in the way." Joyner and Miniutti first hatched the Bombshell plan almost a decade ago. When rain washed out their weekend rounds of golf, they ventured out to breweries in the region to sample the craft beer fare. They were friends and co-workers at Siemens Healthcare, but the two dreamed of running their own business and controlling their own destiny, Miniutti said. “There are (hardly any) women in the brewing
