Since 1985, Dock Street Brewery has been home to one of the country’s first craft breweries and one of the few led by a woman, reports Howard Monroe, Scott Hezlep, and Mike Spatocco for CBS News Philadelphia.

That barrier-breaking woman is Rosemarie Certo.

“When we started craft brewing 39 years ago, there was no such thing as a good American beer,” Certo said. “To get a good beer, you had to buy an import. We wanted to be in charge of our destiny so we thought about buying local and making local.”

Certo and her team boast that most of their beers are drank or canned within 65 feet of where they’re brewed.

One of the more popular beers at the brewery is Citrahood, a hazy IPA with label art that pays homage to the female role models Certo had growing up and the role model she hopes to be for others.

Certo is all for supporting other women and building a sisterhood. 

When it comes to women looking to break into male-dominated industries, her best advice is to simply not give up.

“I think you have to believe that you can do it … even if it’s harder, we already know how that works, just do it,” she said.

Read more about the sisterhood at Dock Street Brewing on CBS News Philadelphia.

_____

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on PHILADELPHIA Today in March 2024.