Taking Over the Beer

There has been a lot of talk about women and the craft beer industry lately. For some circles, we aren’t really beer drinkers. Or, at least, if we talk about beer, we barely know what we’re talking about.

After Comic-Con this year, Adam and I were serenaded by a college kid who was so gobsmacked with the sour he had ordered, having absolutely no idea what he was ordering mind you. I did not entertain trying the sour to see if his repetitive crooning was accurate, but from what he tells me, it tasted just like a Sumol. (A Portuguese fruity soda) I have my most sincere doubts. And yet, to many, he would be a craft beer drinker, while I would appear to be the plebian poser.

I am exaggerating. Absolutely no one took that guy seriously. Not even his friends. They were shaking their heads in dismay. So I doubt I’d look like the one not in the know.

I used a bad example there. But, I am sure there are times when CJ and I walked into a brewery and were pegged as non-serious beer drinkers. Let’s set aside the fact that kind of thinking is bullshit for a hot minute. Let’s instead focus on why women are the ones saddled with that kind of opinion.

Why are women seen as posers in the beer world? Because, like a lot of things, beer has a gender. You’d think we were all back in Spanish class, desperately trying to remember which words were masculine and which were feminine.

It’s a beverage, not a baby.

It’s a concoction of ingredients. Not much different than a margarita or a mai tai other than this drink doesn’t get created in a hand shaker. A gross oversimplification, I know. There’s a lot of creativity and labor that goes into every batch of beer. But, it is still something born from a recipe and a process. There’s nothing inherent about beer signaling it has any gender-specific traits. And yet, here we are.

Ladies, stick to the hard Seltzers, mixed drinks, and rose. Beer is the drink of men. Because…

Because it has grains? No. That can’t be it. Is it the hops? So men want flowers? But only in their beer?

There’s no good “because” to be had. Not when it comes to the perception of gender lines and beer consumption. Not when it comes to the majority of brewers being male. None of it. An arbitrary line in the sand was drawn, and advertising was built up to support it.

The effects of the Industrial Revolution on beer went further than fancy gadgets and easier access to ingredients. Before this technological boom, women were frequent, if not dominant, participants in beer production. The advances in tools meant beer could become big business rather than an artisanal pursuit. With bottles of premade beer at hand, why bother taking four hours out of your day brewing your own? Homebrewing basically went extinct, and with it went women’s space in brewing. In short order, women were relegated to suds slingers and advertising fodder.

Despite all that, women have never stopped drinking beer. That said, it’s easy to see where the stereotype about being wine drinkers or mixed drinks popped up. If you don’t see yourself represented in an industry, you’ll probably go somewhere that you do. I’m not saying women are more represented in the wine industry, they aren’t. But, it’s one that has appealed to men and women alike without stopping to “pink label” ads. Making the appeal of wine clear.

When visiting wineries, I have yet to come across that…feeling of assumption from behind the bar. It’s subtle, but you just get the impression that the person you are talking to behind the bar is waiting for you to order the most generic option they have. Or to ask for something that’s not on the menu. I couldn’t sit down and write anything about wine without googling as if my life depended on it. Wine is smushed grapes that had fermentation happen to it. So, you’d think I’d sense a bit of side-eye when I pick the safe choice or look like a deer in the headlights while staring at the wine list. And, as far as I know, I do, and the servers are just better about hiding it than bartenders at breweries.

But, regardless of the wine industry’s ability to stoically take on uneducated consumers, I’ve come across that feeling more than once on my brewery travels. Being passed over for another patron that walked up to the bar after me. Having Adam get asked what he wants, and I’m ignored as if any question I could have would take too much time.

I’m not writing about this because it’s a hostile experience. It’s not. Really, it’s more aggravating than anything else. I order my drink, eventually, and move on. OK. I’m kind of writing about this because of that agitation. I mean, seriously, my gender isn’t a prohibitive fact to enjoying beer and understanding the brewing process. Being a woman is restrictive of nothing other than being able to effectively use a urinal, and even that could probably be done in a severe pinch.

Alright, I’ll step off my soapbox now. Cheers, Nerd Girls!