Chamber officials often receive recognition for the work they do on behalf of their member businesses. But Nancy Hoffman Vanyek, chief executive of the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce, took home a special honor last month when a company named a beer after her. “We know all the business leaders and community leaders in the Valley, and they have buildings named after them and those sorts of things,” Vanyek told the Business Journal. “I have a beer.” Vanyek celebrated her birthday last month at 8one8 Brewing, a Chatsworth micro-brewery and tap room where co-founder Bryan Olson opened a container of Hef’n Persistance, a hefeweizen-style beer named for Vanyek’s efforts in helping reduce fees paid to the city by small craft breweries. The name is a tribute of sorts to how Vanyek didn’t give up over the 480 days it took 8one8 to open its tap room’s doors. “Nancy made calls to the resources she had to help us open up,” Olson said. He operates 8one8 with his cousin Derrick Olson, who handles the brewing end of the business. Both Bryan Olson and Vanyek mentioned that since breweries are still relatively new in the city, there were issues that a small place like 8one8 faced. One change that Vanyek was able to get through the L.A. City Council was in reference to the fees paid for water discharge permit and inspection fees. The council approved updating its payment schedule to take size into account when assessing wastewater fees for the brewing industry. Previously, brewers paid the same amount for water discharge permit applications and quarterly inspections, regardless of whether they produced 6 million barrels of beer a year or only 6,000. “We started asking for help from the mayor’s office of economic development and from some councilmembers and before you know it, they were able to reduce some of their fees by over 50 percent,” Vanyek said. Another change the Van Nuys-based chamber was able to get was the Southern California Air Quality Management District matched the state in how it classified breweries by size. The chamber is continuing to work on making changes to how long it takes to get a conditional use permit for a brewery to open. To brew a 30-gallon test patch of Persistence, 8one8 used its El Jefe del Trigo pale wheat ale as a base. Brewers added mango, passion fruit and a habanero puree for flavor. “That was at her request,” Bryan Olson said. “It’s to show that she is a little bit sweet and can be spicy at times.” “Everyone thought I was sweet and then I started kicking butt,” Vanyek added.