Tara Hankinson believes craft beer has been leaving customers behind. Too many breweries feel like toxically masculine spaces — so she decided to build a brand unapologetically designed with women in mind. Six years later, Hankinson is the co-founder of Talea Beer Co., New York City’s first production brewery exclusively owned and operated by women. The 2015 Stern MBA graduate and her co-founder have raised millions of dollars, opened five taprooms across the city and built a brand that sells beer in everywhere from Trader Joe’s to Michelin-starred restaurants.

Hankinson spoke to WSN about her Stern experience, Talea’s approach to inclusivity and the decision behind the company’s physical spaces.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

WSN: What impact did your experience at Stern have on your path to founding Talea?

Hankinson: I was working in philanthropy and wasn’t feeling very challenged, so I decided to apply to 12 business schools. A lot of the grants I had worked on created diversity programs in STEM, which helped me get a full-ride scholarship to NYU through the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, which targets minority students and those who’ve supported underrepresented communities. Now, 10 years out of school, a lot of my mission in building this company is putting that commitment into play. We’re specifically looking to hire people who aren’t represented in beer, such as women, queer people and people of color.

WSN: How do you approach building an inclusive craft beer company?

Hankinson: A lot of craft beer has been made by craft beer lovers for craft beer lovers, selling to the same echo chamber. I want us to create a customer experience as creative as the best restaurants in New York City, as friendly as the staff at a kid’s store and as beautiful of a space as the coolest coffee shops. We believe that in order to stay competitive, you need to evolve craft beer — our strategy is to make approachable beers in fun packaging that’s very digestible, and convert people into beer lovers. When someone says, ‘I don’t like beer,’ we help them find something they like. Maybe they start with a sweet dessert beer and eventually trust us to try IPAs and pilsners.

WSN: How do you achieve this through your beers’ flavors?

Hankinson: We have a pumpkin beer called ‘Basically Pumpkin,’ which is a play on people being called basic for getting pumpkin spice lattes, and we’re leaning into that because we don’t want people to feel alienated when they go to a brewery. We’re also known for our sours — tart beers with fruit added, inspired by desserts like key lime pie and strawberry rhubarb pie. We just released a pizza beer with Tabasco sauce that uses ingredients like oregano and tomatoes to taste like hot sauce on pizza. Everyone’s experienced Tabasco sauce, so by working with a brand like that, we’re able to expand where craft beer is.

WSN: How did you break into high-end restaurants?

Hankinson: Craft beer in New York restaurants is 10 years behind other parts of the country. Some nice restaurants have a 500-bottle wine list and two beers. It’s crazy when restaurants use local ingredients but ship average beer across the ocean. We’ve done well because we have really high quality beer: It’s expensive, but high-end restaurants can pass prices on to customers. We have five or six beers available year-round so restaurants know our flagship pilsner is always there, but we also have fun seasonal beers we commit to for four months. Those restaurants get a lot of tourists and one-time diners, and we support them in telling a story — female-founded, mom-owned and brewed in New York — that makes it easy for bartenders to sell.

WSN: Why did you focus on building physical taproom spaces?

Hankinson: Shipping beer isn’t financially viable. In wholesale, your distributor takes 30% and you’re selling at discounted prices. A bar is the best way to keep the majority of the profit because it’s our version of direct-to-consumer. There’s also so much more we can control: the temperature, how it’s served, the menu and the overall experience guests have. The more taprooms the better, because they all contribute to the bottom line. Our vision was to make spaces beautiful and aesthetically different — fun, bright, colorful and airy. What’s exciting is people are choosing this as a third space for private events, because it’s hard to host in your home as a New Yorker. We have a lot of weddings, baby showers and birthday parties. It’s the ultimate compliment to have someone spend a significant amount of time and money on a special occasion with us — a lot of people would never do that in another brewery.