Meet Chicago's Women Of Beer: Melissa Modlinski of Paramount Merchants

By Lorna Juett in Food on Nov 20, 2012 8:20PM

Photo by Jim Jurica.

Meet Melissa Modlinski of Paramount Merchants, our first Chicago Woman of Beer. Melissa has a BFA in Illustration but, like so many other people in the beer and beverage industry, other creative passions led her to her current career. We asked Modlinski a few questions to better understand how she got into the craft beer industry, her current role, and advice to women who are thinking of breaking into the field.

While doing freelance product development and graphic design, Modlinski picked up a part-time job at a craft beer bar and became more and more curious about the subject. She educated herself, and soon found that she was in a teaching role for the rest of the staff. Like many things one becomes excited about, it’s hard to pinpoint the reasons why and where the progression begins. Modlinski told us, “I wasn't really sure why I got so serious about beer or what I was going to do with it. I just knew I was having a ton of fun with it.”

Modlinski started picking up hours at SmallBar Division, which she credits with giving her more education about beer and the most important thing to making it in any industry, relationships and connections. She began doing tastings and off-premise events with Paramount Merchants, a company who represents craft breweries and small distilleries from all over the world within the Chicago area. Eventually, the part-time Paramount Merchants gig led to a yen for a full-time job beyond bartending. Modlinski explains, “about a year ago I got this itch. I kind of wanted to try things on the opposite side of the bar. I wanted to get even further involved with craft beer. I started talking to various companies about any future opportunities I might have with them and in the mix I got asked to work full time for Paramount Merchants.”

Now, Modlinski works as a representative for North Coast, New Holland, Southern Tier, Almar Orchards (JK's Scrumpy), Belukus Imports, and Sunshine Imports. On a day-to-day basis, she manages the Chicago market for these brands, and finds herself hitting the streets every day, talking with buyers at restaurants, bars, stores as well as running events, promotions and tastings. About her role, Modlinski admits that “unlike being a rep for one specific brewery, I represent multiple. It can be both amazing and challenging at the same time.“

We had to ask if she felt being a woman, a near novelty in the industry, was an asset or a hindrance. Unsurprisingly, Modlinski feels that “being a woman in this industry has been a total asset-and I'm not necessarily saying that it's been easy because of it. I like the challenge. I like surprising people with my knowledge of craft beer and everything that comes with it. The ‘wow, so you're not just a pretty face’ response from men is always amusing.”

As for making up a small section of the industry, she says that “the number of women in the industry is constantly growing. I do however feel it's still a male-dominated atmosphere. Often times I will be at a promo or simply out for some beers, look around the room and realize, ‘oh yeah, I'm the only gal here!’ Not to say this is a problem. I love being one of the guys.”

Of course, feeling comfortable as “one of the guys” will get you pretty far in the industry, but she does have other advice for women who want to rock the beer industry. She says, “go out, work hard, be aggressive, be real, be you. Being personable and building great relationships will get you a long way. Really, my advice is no different than I'd give anyone-male or female.”

In closing, they say everyone remembers their first, so we wanted to know if she had any standout first favorite beers that sparked her interest in craft beer, she told us, “I had several firsts that really got me curious about craft beer: Allagash White, Tripel Karmeliet, Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale, North Coast Old Rasputin, to name a few.”

Modlinski can be found all over town, discussing and drinking her favorite beers with colleagues and friends. Catch her if you can!