Anyone who watches beer advertisements may assume that beer is not a drink for ladies. Sure there are women in those commercials drinking bottles of the stuff, but they're usually off to the side in bikinis, sometimes playing volleyball, as most of these ads deliver similar messages: "DRINK YER MAN BEER, YOU BIG MAN YOU!" Even someone going out of their way to try and find a beer ad targeted to women gets search results like this:
Despite what these advertisements imply, there are lots of female beer lovers and connoisseurs out there. Just look at the crowd lining up for the BeerWeek events, and you'll see women doing a hell of a lot more than standing around in bikinis looking coy. If you're reading this article you're probably one such beer drinker yourself. I am of your ilk, sisters, and I'm writing this through a Beer Week day six hangover which was totally worth getting because beer is delicious. My love for beer has grown and evolved over the years and I can appreciate everything from a gorgeously crafted IPAs to tallboys of Bud Lite Strawburitas (for when you like fancy beer but can't afford it). I'm lucky to be in a city with not only a gigantic variety of beers but also a huge community of women who brew and drink them. These women are destroying the concept of "girly beers" — i.e. that women only drink light and fruity beers — once and for all.
Amanda Wishin is president of Girl's Pint Out, an organization that serves as a social network for female beer lovers. She says, "It's a misperception that women don't enjoy beer, that it's not feminine or sweet enough," adding that the idea of a girly beer is a bad one. Michael Stearns, president of the San Francisco Home Brewer's Guild says he also doesn't believe in stereotyping the kinds of beers women drink either. "I know some women who are total hop heads and some who prefer a sour Belgian. To each their own," Stearns says.
Meredith Maier, one of the founders of Six Rivers Brewery, says that more often than not she sees men drinking beers that go against gender stereotypes. Six Rivers brews a bright pink raspberry lambic that is a big hit with the guys. "I love when I look down our bar and every beer in front of the 20 men at the bar is pink and the couple of girls and swilling something amber," she says. Maier has been in the business for years and says that even though she' been a victim of the industry's "boy's club" mentality on occasion, she still manages to come out on top. "This past summer, after winning an IPA competition, I overheard a male brewery rep mocking me to his male counterparts about how he doubted 'some chick' knew what a good IPA even was," says Maier. "I guess losing to some chick was more than he could take." Still, she rose above and "proudly took my trophy over and bought him a pint of our IPA."
A 2013Atlantic article reports that beer making was a woman's domain early in the industry's history, but as the process became industrialized, men took over. But the recent "good food movement" and push for more locally made craft beers has brought women back into the brewing arena.
Maier says that the increase in female brewers is immediately perceptible at industry events. "There is sometimes a line at the women's bathroom now," she jokes. Stearns agrees. "It's easy to find beer-loving women at your local watering hole or at any of our breweries. You're starting to see a lot of women brewers come onto the scene as well, so there's plenty of inspiration for women who want to learn more about brewing."
Hopefully in years to come, pop culture will catch up to the reality of female beer drinkers. Who knows, maybe this will be the year advertisers start making commercials where gorgeous men bring us a drink for once!
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