Women in brewing

Can't believe I'm saying it, but Candace woulda shut this one down pages ago and it would've been fine with me. Did I just say that??!!

 

This. It's one of the reasons I lurked for so long before starting to participate in the forum. Some folks seem very easy going, laid back, laissez-faire, but others come across as misogynistic assbags. Thankfully, there aren't too many of the latter, but you do tend to remember the negatives more than the positives, so the few bad apples stick out more and leave a stronger impression.

 

Well I agree with him I wouldn't touch that shitty Chick Beer either.

 

Too drunk to comment on the main debate right now, but I will say that I've encountered nothing but kindness or indifference from the men on this site; nothing terribly sexist or horrible (the few sexist things I've seen were either jokes and/or not directed at me personally). I've never felt unwelcome here and love it. I also hope to get into homebrewing someday when I live in a bigger home that can accommodate it, so I'm looking forward to joining those threads eventually. I've also never experienced an issue in real life at craft bars or breweries. While I know that may not be the same for other female BAs, I hope it gets better for them. I live in a craft-heavy area so that may be part of my experience.

 

Check out this great event being held during Chicago's Craft Beer Week, spotlights all local women brewers and a collaboration brew (Saison w/ ginger and chamomile) was made specifically for the event.

http://www.brewbound.com/news/celebrating-chicagos-women-of-craft-beer

 

I don't care who it is that brews, so long as it comes out great. Good beer knows no bounds!

 

you're seriously mentioning fritz maytag and hardship in the same post?

 

Believe it. There was a thread in the Pacific forum about the "first out and proud LGBT brewery" where certain users, some of who are participating in this thread, asserted that it was all either marketing hype or purposely divisive.

 

The best brewer the Wellhead Pub in Artesia ever had was Diane Riley, (BA liv2brew I think). She was a great brewer, great friend and I learned a lot from her. I really wish she was still there but hopefully she'll open a brewpub in Baja California and I can drink her beers again.

 

How is it not? I'm not saying it is good or bad but it is certainly purposely divisive. I don't particularly want to know anything about a brewer until I know I like their beers.

The pink boots society lists 936 members so it certainly isn't rare anymore for women to be brewers, as we have seen in this thread too.
Personally, while this comment may be positive (let's not forget that differentiation is in itself still sexist), I feel that there are many things women are inherently better at than men. Process, attention to detail and solving ineffienceies to name a few. All things I would want in a brewer. Physiologically women have the more accute senses of taste and smell.
One thing I will point out, and not pointing fingers, but there seems to be an implied statement of "we SHOULD have more women brewers." And I would counter that by saying, No more women SHOULD BREW, if they want, but no one owes them anything because of what they are.

 

936 seems like an impressive number, until you consider how many active breweries there are. My very rough estimate is that there are upwards of 20,000 breweries. (BA lists over 28k places, including eateries, homebrew shops, etc., so I cut ~8k from that number, assuming that most places listed on here brew beer in some way.) Averaged out, that places a female brewer in less than 1 in 20 breweries. How is that not a rarity? Sure, it's better than it used to be, but it's not exactly a superb number. I bet that number would rise significantly if the PBS helped women get into the brewing industry to start with, no just helped their current members find other jobs. They've got the presence to do it, and yes, it could be a logistical headache, but if it helps level the field or encourage more women to pursue their passion, why not?

 

From the Brewers Association:

Brewpubs​

1,124

Microbreweries​

1,139

Regional Craft Breweries​

97

Total US Craft Breweries​

2,360

Large Non-Craft Breweries​

23

Other Non-Craft Breweries​

33

Total US Breweries​

2,416
Restaurants, bars and retail stores do not count as fas as this discussion is concerned.

 

It was admittedly a very rough estimate, and I did deduct a portion for restaurants, bars, and retail stores. Still 2416 seems WAY too low. I honestly haven't done much research, so I should probably find some time to delve into this a bit deeper before I make a further fool of myself. If 2416 is accurate, that puts one woman in about every 2-3 breweries, which is much better, but the perception still remains (maybe due in part to the fact that I have never personally met a professional female brewer).

EDIT: When I click on Members on the PBS page, it lists 73, not 936, so I'm not sure where you got that number from.

 

This is probably useless since the OP stopped reading a long time ago, but anybody know if Abby is still at Three Floyds?
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/...ack-unicorn-inside-three-floyds-brewerys.html

This could have been a good topic thread, a useful one for the archives. Thanks for running her aground guys.

 

Well, if you doubt the figures quoted by Sargeantstogie from the Brewers Association, would you believe the US Federal Government's Dept. of the Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)?

From their 2012 ANNUAL REPORT (page 15):

 

You're advocating for truth, and your source is the White House (in 2011)?

Dude, that's hysterical.

 

Skepticism isn't a bad thing. Blindly accepting what others tell you is, especially when they're essentially strangers in an impersonal setting, like an internet forum. There is nothing wrong with me wanting to find out more for myself, and the figures you've just provided are ~500 higher than the ones Sargeantstogie posted, which demonstrates my point. I'm not casting aspersions on Sargeantstogie for wanting to learn more.

 

I read somewhere that classes at Siebel are now 5% women. So I'm not sure how many women brewers there are total, but now we know 5% of the good ones are female.

 

Skepticism is not a bad thing! No worries on the aspersions cast my way. Ha. Something to keep in mind, the Brewers Association keeps track of the breweries operating, the TTB would track those that are operating and have applied for licensing or obtained a license yet may not be open. Also keep in mind that as I've typed this, another one has shut it's doors forever. Ooops there went another one.

 

i'd say this thread went as expected.

anyway, cheers to women brewers getting a leg up in a heavily male-dominated field (or heavily male-dominated forum)