There are few male bonding experiences more stereotypical than a bunch of guys getting together in someone’s man cave for some beers, cracking open some cans or bottles, running them through the Fizzics Waytap machine to get the carbonation and head just right, and watching sports or playing cards. In fact, if you were to go by the brewing industry’s advertising and marketing campaigns, you couldn’t be faulted for thinking that pretty much only men drink beer, and woman are only around to get more wings. In actual fact, if it weren’t for women, men may not have any beer to drink.
Women have been instrumental throughout the amber nectar’s history, and are likely responsible for its invention in the ancient world. In Egypt during the time of the pharaohs, beer was almost entirely made and sold by women. Hieroglyphics depict women brewing and drinking beer, and the importance of women’s role in beer was even demonstrated in religion. The goddess Tenenet watched over both beer and childbirth, while another goddess, Hathor, was credited with inventing brewing itself. One of her temples was even called “the place of drunkenness”, showing that the problem of drinking in moderation has always been with us.
In nearby Babylon and Sumeria, it was much the same, and many scholars believe it was the women from those cultures who spread the knowledge of how to brew beer to Africa. And, in Europe, Roman reports tell of the men in Germanic tribes (the infamous barbarians at the gates) drinking ale that was produced by their women.
In what is now Japan and Russia, the indigenous Ainu people prayed to the goddess Kamuii Fuchi to guard their brewing, which was done exclusively by women. And, on the other side of the world, the same was true. Elite Inca women ran that empire’s breweries and Mayan women were making beer from cacao beans long before they invented hot chocolate. Further north, women in the Apache, Maricopa, Pima and Tohono O’odham tribes all brewed beer made from Saguaro cacti.
Because women were more involved with gathering (as opposed to hunting), it was a natural development for them to discover fermentation and invent brewing. This remained the case throughout all of antiquity in Europe until one major change: the creation of the middle class and the rise in importance of guilds: groups formed by tradespeople practicing the same craft. The Worshipful Company of Brewers was one example, forming in 13th century London. This and other similar guilds were given royal charters and became the sole supplies to not just rulers but also armies, navies, and all city dwellers.
In the countryside, women continued to brew beer (and often were accused of witchcraft), but in the cities, they were reduced to roles such as alewives who only sold beer. As time passed and Western culture shifted from being primarily agricultural to industrial, beer also became more mass produced, and almost exclusively run by men. In the 18th century, women were accepted as barmaids and pub operators — but not brewers. One hundred years later, jobs were restricted to bottling and secretarial duties.
Today, women are taking a more active role in brewing than ever before. Two of Anheuser-Busch’s top brewmasters are Jill Vaughn and Rebecca Reid, who have created, among other styles, Shock Top, a hugely popular Belgian White Ale. In 2013, Sara Barton was the first woman to ever win Brewer of the Year from the British Guild of Beer Writers. A year later, Emma Gilleland was named the U.K.’s most influential brewer by the BBC, the country’s national news outlet. Also in 2014 but in the United States, Annie Johnson won the American Homebrewers Association’s Homebrewer of the Year award.
The Pink Boots Society has been created, supporting women in the brewing industry, with chapters in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. And, since 2014, March 8 has been recognized as International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day, a free event that aims to encourage women to network, learn and hone their beer-making skills.
So, the next time you want to have some guy time with your buddies, don’t forget to invite some women along and raise a frosty mug in their honor. Without their inventiveness and hard work, you might be stuck drinking Cosmopolitans and Lemon Drops. And, even a Fizzics Waytap can’t put a decent head on those.
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