Craft Beer and Women: Not Just for the Boys

I came across this article the other day posted on craftbeer.com. It's short, but it brings up a very interesting perspective. More often than not, when you think about beer, you think about guys. One of the most interesting things to me is seeing how that's changing.

Based on the events that I've been to, and obviously a little bit biased by the group I tend to drink beer with most often, i.e. the Beer Barons, there are a lot of men drinking beer. It can be intimidating to be the only girl in the group, and sometimes I wonder if that's not what holds us back from participating more.

So I'm doing my part to bring more women into the world of craft beer. Basically that means whenever I'm drinking a great beer, I try to get one of my friends to take a sip and try it or I invite my girlfriends to come to different festivals or other events. Some of my friends are enjoying what I share with them and we've had fun at different events or just doing a flight in a brewery. Some of my friends have tried it and decided it's not for them after all. Which is also totally OK. I'd much rather see someone try something new and not like it than never try it at all.

I've mentioned Girls Pint Out before. I think it's a great social organization to get women involved with craft beer and the craft beer community. They provide a great venue for women to talk with each other and they provide some great educational opportunities. Here's a link to their Facebook page with the upcoming events. I'm sure I'll be going to at least one of them- on Feb 26 our very own Brewnibomber will be giving a presentation about glassware. Will I see any of you there?

For those of you who are in the beer industry, there's another group that I've recently become acquainted with- the Pink Boots Society. When I say that I've become acquainted with, what I really mean is that I've signed up for their newsletter. I had the opportunity to hear Teri Fahrendorf, the President and founder of PBS at a conference for brewers and beer writers. She took an amazing trip, traveling across the country visiting and working with different breweries at each stop along the way. Every time she met another female brewer, they all had the same questions and the same need to connect and share knowledge.

This isn't any sort of call to arms about making women 51% of all the brewers in the world. I'm not going to be burning my bra or asking any of you to do the same. I'm not that kind of feminist. Having said that, if you are a woman interested in learning more about beer or trying more craft styles, I encourage you to do it. There's no reason to avoid getting involved in craft beer, or thinking that because you're female there's no place for you. The craft beer community is about being inclusive and exploring this shared interest together. I think there's room for everyone who wants to be there. Try some new things, attend some events, and find out what works best for you.

I hope to see you at something soon!