An exploration of the existence of stereotypes and sexism in the UK brewing industry and culture
ALES &
FEMALES
Craft industry leading the way with women and beer, says top blogger
24 July 2015
A selection of IPA and craft beers
Credit: The Digitel Beaufort/Flickr
The craft brewing industry has been praised for ‘solving one of the biggest problems in beer’ by a renowned UK beer writer and blogger.
Pete Brown, who was named the British Guild of Beer Writers’ Beer Writer of the Year in 2009 and 2012, recently wrote ‘Why women love craft beer’ for the beer and pub trade magazine, Morning Advertiser.
Pete wrote: “It really isn’t difficult to make beer appeal to women.
“As it has been proven countless times, you don’t do it by trying to create a ‘beer for women’ that patronises them.
"You do it by not insulting or alienating them. You do it by simply taking gender out of the equation altogether.”
He said gender targeting should be ‘irrelevant’ in beer marketing, and compared the sense of the tactic to the masculinisation or feminisation of big brands such as Apple, Starbucks or Coca Cola.
In the article, Brown recalled the experiences of his wife and her friends at pubs and beer festivals.
“Every single one has been patronised and insulted … when attempting to order beer,” he wrote.
But when they visited the opening of a new craft brewery in Camden, near to where they live in North London, Brown said their experiences were much more positive.
“They loved the beer. They loved the flavour. They loved the way it was presented and served, and they loved how the bar staff didn’t ask if they were sure they wanted pints, because it was quite strong,” he wrote.
Craft beer in the UK
The term 'craft beer' originates from the USA and began being used from the 1980s.
While it’s difficult to quantify how popular craft beer has become since coming over to the UK, the main media headline is that the UK is experiencing a craft beer ‘revolution.’
Howeve, mainstream lager still makes up 75 per cent of the beer consumed in the country, and the production of craft beer in the UK showed only a seven per cent increase last year, according to the Society of Independent Brewers.
Craft beer has caused some confusion and frustration with its arrival amongst brewers and drinkers alike as no clearcut definition exists for what makes a beer 'craft.'
The closest is from the US Brewers' Association, America's equivalent to CAMRA, which defines a craft brewer simply as: "small, independent and traditional."
The number of breweries - more specifically, microbreweries which share most of the defining features presented by the Brewers' Association - continues to increase in the UK each year, so perhaps this can be used to explain the 'revolution.'