Imbibe 75 Person to Watch: Ayla Kapahi

Consulate generals don’t regularly ask brewers to speak at foreign embassies. But last year, Ayla Kapahi, the director of operations for Borderlands Brewing in Tucson, Arizona, traveled to the U.S. embassy in Nogales, Mexico, to discuss Las Hermanas (“the sisters”), her project that unites Mexican and American female brewers to brew a collaborative beer, sharpen technical skill sets, and broaden cultural apertures. “It showcases beer diplomacy,” says Kapahi, who has mixed Mexican and East Indian heritage. “There has to be a deeper level of connection to beer.”

At Borderlands, Kapahi leads an all-women production team that draws on local ingredients and traditions to make beers like Viejo Pueblo, a blonde ale featuring Native American–grown corn. “Our brand is conscious of the fact that we’re 45 minutes north of the border,” says Kapahi, who came to brewing through passion, not her alma mater’s prestigious brewing program. She graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in human development and psychology; homebrewing was a hobby. “I never thought it would turn into a career.”

“I was hungry to make my mark in beer.”

After graduating, she moved to Tucson to work at the University of Arizona. A burgeoning interest in local beer led to bartending at a brewery, where she began brewing professionally, before joining Borderlands in 2018 and becoming head brewer the following year. “I was hungry to make my mark in beer,” says Kapahi, which meant linking her social justice work with brewing. This sparked the education-driven Las Hermanas project, which paused during the pandemic before resuming in 2022.

The latest edition was a Vienna lager, a style that honors the 200th anniversary of U.S.–Mexico relations. (The lager is enmeshed with Mexican brewing history.) The Borderlands edition debuted in September, with proceeds defraying costs for Las Hermanas brewers. And Kapahi traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico, in November to reprise the recipe at Cervecería Cielito Lindo—also an all-female brewery. “Women drive for a couple of days just to go to the brew day,” Kapahi says. “We’re already planning for next year.”

Click here to read more about some of 2024’s other Imbibe 75 People and Places to Watch.