Women in brewing

I think the main reason women don't get as much credit as they deserve within the craft brewing community is due to their inability to grow thick beards.

 

So basically you said 'Women should stick to their stereotypes' and then added, 'Seriously though, I respect a woman'---not that convincing.

 

In the UK the beer gender barrier has finally been breached. Not only am I seeing more women in cool beer pub/bars drinking good beer but there are a fair number of female beer enthusiasts/writers and beer sommeliers who are really making excellent social media contributions to everyone's favourite hobby. And then there's the 2012 British Guild of Beer Writer's brewer of the year-Sara Burton. About time girls. Any chance of doing the same for the construction industry?

 

Look up Throwback brewery in NH. 2 women brew and own.

 

In the last 2 years I've noticed more and more women not only showing up at tasting events, but also representing the breweries at these events as well. I've been able to speak to some of them and most of them are interns or assistant brewers. They're smart, passionate and hard workers, all of which leads me to believe that in the next 10 years or so we will see a surge in women run breweries as these younger women gain experience in the business.

I'm excited that new brewers, regardless of race, nationality or gender, will bring fresh ideas to brewing. It think that's how the industry will continue to grow.

Oh, and I use my photo as my avatar because it was the FB photo I was using when I joined BA. It was the easiest thing to grab when signing up. Never really though about it since.

 

If there is systematic inequality, oppression, or implicit cultural bias going on, then it is not only appropriate, but morally necessary to talk about those who are the victims of such inequality.

Sexist norms in Western culture have made it quite difficult for women to achieve the same things that men take for granted. Talking about women who have achieved these things despite the barriers raised against them is part and parcel of combating sexism, whether overt or not. Ignoring gender might be appropriate in an ideal world devoid of sexist cultural norms or inequality, but in our world it is tantamount to ignoring the suffering of others.

Of course, someone's being a woman or man has nothing to do inherently with how good they are at brewing, but that's not the point of highlighting women in brewing. The point is to show that women are equally capable of brewing, and to bring inequality out into the open so that people don't ignore it.

 

Sara Barton (not Burton by the way) set up her brewery-Brewster's-back in 1998. The name reflected the correct term for a female brewer.She was brewing with high levels of west Coast hops long before they became fashionable in this country , as well as a range of good traditional beers.The Marquis of Granby at Granby is the brewery tap and she's had a beer festival devoted entirely to beers from female brewers of which there are many.
She was also a prime mover in Project Venus http://siba.co.uk/2011/04/women-brewers-launch-project-venus/
Sadly she has moved the brewery out of our area and into nearby Grantham .

 

The Pink Boots Society is all well and good, since it gives women already in the brewing industry a peer group with presence. However, in order to get into the PBS, you must already be in the industry. The problem here is that it's extremely exclusive, as it isn't all that easy for a woman to get a job brewing. What they should be doing is opening their ranks to women who are 1) homebrewers or 2) interested in becoming a brewer, then helping to find jobs for those women commensurate with their skills/abilities.

For example, I applied for a job as a brewer's assistant several years ago. The job description said no formal training or prior experience was required (homebrewing exp, which I had, was preferred over no training), you'd basically be starting at the bottom and learning the trade from the brewers as you went. Perfect for me, so I applied. I was told I was the only female applicant, and even though I was able to demonstrate that I could lift 50 lbs (10 more than the 40 required), I was told I wasn't getting the job because I "didn't look like I could lift that much." The guy who told me this said it right after he watched me lift and carry the 50 lb. sack. WTF? If it were possible to be vetted by a group, like the PBS, and have that recommendation backing your application, then maybe more women would be able to get into brewing. If it were really that easy for women to get into the industry, there would be considerably more female brewers around today than there are. I'm sure my experience was not a one-off -- I bet there are plenty of women who have gotten turned down for similar "reasons."

 

Oaky -- little forum etiquette lesson here: SirSteve's use of the emoticon smiley was indication that his first comment was completely sarcastic, not at all serious. Just sayin'.

 

They're not brewers, but definitely advocates. the beer chicks. http://www.thebeerchicks.com/about

I will brew one day...

 

Thank you steveh. I notice cookiequiz join date is less than a month ago so yes a smiley face meant I was joking. No offense meant ladies I love you all.

 

Man is society getting soft...

 

There is, in fact: Indian Joe Brewing in Vista, CA.

 

While I agree that at the end of the day, what matters is the end product, any instance where minority groups tred on new ground is a good thing. It's very easy for you to assert your point of view when you're part of the majority or dominant group. Those outside of the dominant group may feel intimidated, at the very least, by having to go through some of the very basic social hurdles that one must experience when attempting to gain acceptance by the dominant group. Let's say you're a trained chef and all of a sudden you wanted to become a master at making soup dumplings and hand pulled noodles for Taiwanese style beef noodle soup. You'd have to gain employment at a restaurant known for making these creations. While not impossible, you'll have to do a lot of convincing in order to be chosen over a Chinese guy with equal qualifications. In short, let's not pretend that these obstacles don't exist.

 

Since I started with harsh pedantry, I'll finish with harsh pedantry: the emoticon---a wink ---is open to interpretation, but it's reasonable to see it as a winking endorsement of the preceding statement. If it's a joke, it's unenlightened and poorly delivered.

Fine, I've put my foot in my mouth before (c.f. this thread), so given another go I'd just pass on commenting. If it's etiquette we're looking for that's what you should be preaching rather than defence of silly posts. Sorry for raising hackles.

 

Thanx.

 

Extremely well said.

 

McAuslan recently sold to Les Brasseurs RJ, and from this story:

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/04/26/mcauslan-brewer/

I learned that Ellen Bounsall has been the brewmaster, for as long as 20 years. Their pale ale is very good, and their oatmeal stout is really, really good. It got me into craft brew, for which I owe them, especially Ellen, a huge "thank-you". Decades in the business? Good reason to recognize Ellen Bounsall as a quiet but effective trail blazer, at least here in Canada.

 

http://nocrapbeer.com/blog/2013/03/beer-news-orvals-new-master-brewer-is-a-woman/
Not only a woman in brewing, but a woman who is the brewmaster for a major trappist brewery ( which are male-centric for obvious reasons). Pure awesomeness.

 

I think I strained my eyes rolling them so hard as I read this.