
Women have had a turbulent journey when it comes to beer.
Historically, brewing was a household chore and so fell under the remit of the woman - the brewster. But from the 17th century, things began to change. The reputation of brewing was maturing, becoming more well known and well thought of - and with that, the trade began to slip away from women and into the hands of men.
Over time, gendered stereotypes of the real ale brewer and drinker have emerged - from the old bloke to the young hipster - and become ingrained in society. Marketing campaigns have assisted in portraying men and women in positions of opposing status in relation to the product.
But now, the industry is coming full circle - women are brewing, drinking, and becoming experts in beer.
ALES & FEMALES (A&F) is an independent, journalistic project into this complex relationship between women and beer in the UK. The site explores the existence of stereotypes and sexism in a historic, everyday and advertising context and acts as a platform for people to voice their opinions on the state of the industry today.
The people contacted and featured on this site are from a variety of regions and a variety of positions in the brewing industry. All views presented are those of the credited individual and not necessarily those of the site or author.
About the author
This site was produced and administered by Jessica Pitocchi.
Jessica is a masters student in Multimedia Journalism at the University of Sussex. This site acts as part of her final project/dissertation for her MA.
Jessica does not have a vested interest in the subject matter and is not a member of any relevant group(s) that may question her objectivity.
The topic was chosen out of a want to discover more about a male-dominated industry and to give the women within it a voice which, she feels, has largely been overlooked in both a media and academic sense.
The logo was created by Jessica. It was designed to merge the project's two themes: ale and traditional representations of women - i.e. stick women.
You can contact Jessica here
A FemAle View on Beer - beer sommelier & journalist Sophie Atherton
'Beer: The women taking over the world of brewing' - BBC
International launch of 'feminist beers' - the Telegraph & the Guardian
'How can CAMRA lead in combatting beer sexism?' - beer blogger Robbie Pickering
Jane Peyton - beer historian and author of School of Booze
Let Me Tell You About Beer - beer sommelier Melissa Cole
Protz on Beer - Good Beer Guide editor
'Stop distributing the sexist 'Young Members' leaflets - change.org
Useful links
Testimonials

