Hot Plate Brewing Co. Named Finalist in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards

PITTSFIELD — Hot Plate Brewing Co., the only Latina-owned brewery in Massachusetts, was recently named a finalist for USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for Best New Brewery.

Since opening its doors in downtown Pittsfield in February 2023, this mission-driven organization has been garnering attention on a local, regional, and national level, for both its beers and the impact it is making in the community.

Sarah Real, owner and head brewer, was also recently elected to the Massachusetts Brewers Guild board of directors as well as the Pink Boots Society board of directors, largely because of the work she has been doing to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in an overwhelmingly male industry.

“For years, I didn’t see myself reflected in the brewhouse or in most leadership positions at other breweries,” said Real, who discovered that fewer than 1% of all breweries in the U.S. are owned and operated by women of color. “And while I know how much representation matters, I also wanted to make sure that I’m empowering and supporting other marginalized people in this industry, which is why we have a mostly female and mostly queer staff, and why so many of the vendors I work with are also small, local, and women-owned.”

While Hot Plate is garnering attention in the world of craft beer, it has also been awarded for its work by organizations as varied as Mass Econ, National Alliance on Mental Illness Berkshire County, and Berkshire Pride. In 2024, it raised more than $10,000 for a variety of mission-aligned nonprofit organizations, including the Pittsfield Area Council of Congregations, which collectively raised more than $27,000 for this year’s Fuel Fund, which the brewery supported in several ways.

“Even though we’re new to the Berkshires, we’re incredibly proud of the partnerships we’ve formed here with mission-aligned organizations and individuals founder,” co-founder Mike Dell’Aquila. Said. “We’ve been able to make a measurable difference in this city.”