Why did you choose to create a beer made entirely from quinoa, and why is now the right time for it? What drew you to enter the brewing industry?

I’ll start by saying that the brewing industry was about the last industry I ever thought I’d enter – I have never been a beer drinker (I’m the awkward one who drinks wine at a brewery), mostly because I’ve always found beer to be too malty or bitter. I stumbled my way into the industry after a trip to Peru, where I tried a quinoa-barley beer that I actually liked the taste of. It got me thinking that if someone could create healthier and more palatable options in the beer space, it might result in a whole group of drinkers, like me, reconsidering the category. 

Around the same time, I was going on a functional health regimen to address a few unexplained ailments, and as part of that, I discovered I had a gluten intolerance. So, the timing of everything just aligned to explore the idea of a quinoa beer. 

The fact that we made it all-quinoa, rather than a combination of several gluten free grains is mostly because of flavor. We experimented with so many different combinations, and ultimately, we found that quinoa, on its own, created the cleanest, crispest finish. When you mix it with other grains, that aftertaste (that gluten free beers are often notorious for) comes back.

The better-for-you movement has been steadily growing within the alcohol industry, but beer never really jumped on the bandwagon in a meaningful way. There is clearly an appetite for alcoholic beverages that are more thoughtful and transparent, and I’m enjoying bringing that ethos to meli.

You mention being introduced to beer made from quinoa and barley during your travels in South America. Can you take us back to that first sip—where were you and what was that “aha” moment like?

It was 2018, and I was on a family trip to Peru with my parents, brother, and boyfriend (now husband). We saw something called “quinoa beer” on the menu, and we were intrigued. My mom and I both avoid beer, but we love quinoa, so we ordered one. I remember tasting it and thinking, “I would drink this!” – it didn’t have the maltiness and bitterness I normally attached to beer. Even more interesting, my dad, brother, and husband - who all love beer - enjoyed it, too. We all thought there was something special about a beer that was palatable to a wide range of drinkers, that also had the health halo.

At the time, you weren’t a big beer drinker. From that first sip to launching meli, what was the turning point when you knew you had to create this beer?

When I got back from Peru, the first thing I looked into was an importing business. But the more I researched, the more I discovered that the quinoa-based beers that existed were only using quinoa as an adjunct (meaning a minority percentage of the total amount of grain used in the beer). Part of the allure of quinoa beer was the fact that it would be gluten free, resulting in less post-beer bloat, and inviting a host of new drinkers who were avoiding gluten (like I was)  into the world of beer.

So, once I realized that I’d have to create something from scratch, I was back to square one – and I knew absolutely nothing about brewing. I was pursuing my MBA at MIT at the time and got connected to two food scientists. We had no clue whether brewing exclusively with quinoa was even possible, but we got to work. The first several dozen runs were gross. We tested every kind of quinoa you can imagine, from all over the world, plus dozens of hops and yeast varieties. It was an infinite number of possibilities that we gradually whittled down.

Eventually, we identified a flavor profile that reminded me of that original beer I’d tasted, and we refined it from there. I’d always have homebrewed runs lying around in my fridge, so whenever people would come over, I’d pour some for them, and we got consistently excellent feedback. It seemed like we had cracked the code and uncovered a recipe and a product that could really be viable.

I also find most beers to be too bitter, harsh, and hard on my stomach. meli is combatting that as a gluten-free, organic, and sugar-free option. Why was making a healthier beer a priority for you?

meli started from a pretty selfish vantage-point. As I got older, the drinks that I’d typically opted for, like wine or cocktails, became too sugary and too alcoholic for me. My husband can attest to the many evenings when I would pass out on the couch or wake up with a headache – after just one glass.

A lot of people would think this would lead me to drink spiked seltzers, or other low-ABV options, but I’m a bit weird about flavored drinks. I find that many of them have an aftertaste, and I wanted something that would pair well with food but could also stand on its own.

In terms of making a cleaner option, I don’t buy anything without reading the ingredient and nutrition labels. And I opt for organic food whenever I can. If I was going to make a beer that I could see myself drinking, I knew it had to have the cleanest ingredients possible and a transparent nutrition label.

Brewing beer with quinoa instead of traditional grains is not something most people are familiar with. What’s the history there and where did science intersect with the historical process?

Quinoa is native to the Andean region of South America, and it has been a staple food of communities there for thousands of years. It’s quite an incredible crop and can thrive in drought-prone areas. In fact, some of the best quinoa in the world comes from very arid regions, where other forms of life and vegetation struggle to survive. 

In terms of its use in beverages, there is an Andean drink called chicha, which is a fermented, low alcohol beverage that’s usually brewed from corn. There are examples of quinoa-based chicha that are still brewed today. Chicha is quite different in flavor to beer, but there are also several beers in South America that use quinoa as an adjunct - like the one I came across during my travels. 

When we set out to brew a quinoa beer, the challenge we encountered was transitioning quinoa from an adjunct (usually about 30% of the total ‘grain bill) to the sole grain. Because it’s a much smaller size than barley and has a different nutrient profile, we had to reinvent the entire brewing process to figure out how to work with quinoa on traditional equipment. We were also a tiny operation, without the luxury of lab analyses or pilot machinery, so we were sort of blindly figuring out at homebrew scale what this grain was all about. And then, based on that, we started to modify typical brewing practices to achieve our goals at commercial scale. That has been an ongoing journey, and we learn from every run we do, finding areas of improvement or new discoveries that require R&D.

Quinoa also has a ton of nutritional benefits. Do those benefits carry over into the beer?

Some of it does! In general, when you heat ingredients to really high temperatures for extended periods of time, as is done in brewing, you lose a lot of the nutrients. But we do still see some interesting features come through, like a bit of protein and some potassium, as well. The nutritional values also stand to change depending on where the quinoa is grown – the minerals present in the soil have a big impact on the nutrients in the seed, so we’re still having fun seeing how we can further develop our nutritional benefits as we do more R&D.

You worked with food scientists to create meli—how did their expertise shape the final taste?

The two food scientists (who are still a very fundamental part of the team) first had to figure out a general direction of flavor that my palate would enjoy, so they had me taste dozens of beers to try to hone in on what I liked. This gave them some direction as to the types of hops and yeast they should experiment with. But they also knew going in that I was extremely sensitive to bitterness and maltiness, so all along, they were brewing a flavor profile for my bitterness receptors rather than theirs. And fun fact – most women have a higher sensitivity to bitterness than men, so that was always in our minds, as well. 

Looking back, the flavor feels like it was actually the most straightforward part of the process. Where their expertise really came into play was in figuring out how to manipulate and maintain all the other elements of beer that an amateur, like I am, is not as attuned to – things like haziness, mouthfeel, color, and carbonation. These all contribute significantly to the experience, even if a lot of us don’t realize it.

Sustainability is a big conversation in both food and brewing—how does meli address environmental impact?

Quinoa is a really amazing, hardy crop. It’s drought resistant, so it requires about 80% less water than rice, 60% less than corn, and 25% less than barley. We are also very particular about where we source our quinoa from, so we partner with specific suppliers that transparently source organic quinoa from smallholder farmers who are paid fair living wages. We also use printed cans for our beer, which means the cans can easily and successfully be recycled. 

I’m eager to do more in this arena, but as a small brand, we have a lot of limitations for how we could make an impact. I didn’t want to just slap a 1% for the planet logo on our label and pat myself on the back, so it’s been a more in-depth process of figuring out how we can make a meaningful and authentic impact. To me, sustainability was not only about the environment, but also about the social impact we have. My background is in retail, and there’s been a huge movement over the last decade around transparent and ethical sourcing, so I felt like this was a great place to start with meli. In an industry dominated by opacity, where no one talks about where their ingredients come from, or whether they are sourced responsibly, we could make an authentic and compelling impact.

Where do you see meli headed? Do you plan to experiment with new flavors, grains, or products?

My ideas for this brand shift every day! As a team, we are throwing around many possibilities, and we have several products in R&D. In the short-term, we’ve been doing a lot of collaboration with a woman-owned, ethically-sourced spice company. There are tons of synergies between the two brands, and we’re having fun mixing our products together to create new, exciting beverages. As someone who struggled for most of my life to tell you the difference between an ale, and a lager, I’m less interested in beer styles, and more interested in the ways we can continue to invite new drinkers into this space by offering them more palatable and approachable options.

Finally, what’s your favorite restaurant in Boston?

asta – I discovered this spot when I first moved to my neighborhood in Boston, and it became a fast favorite for special occasions. Hands down one of the most talented, intelligent, and creative teams out there. They only do prix fixe menus, which change frequently, based on what’s fresh and forageable. Every visit is a new adventure, filled with surprises. In spite of their elevated cuisine, they have built a congenial atmosphere that makes every visit so much fun. 

And I’m proud to say, they were meli’s very first customer!