CONTROVERSY ALERT!!…Or is it? The subject of women in the beer industry has always intrigued me, especially recently as I found out that one of my favorites in LOST COAST BREWING was founded by a woman. Further research didn’t really provide much else as far as the state of California goes, but what about nationwide? An article I read on Thrillist says that women account for about 32% of American craft beer consumption… but how many own breweries? How many women are head brewers?… Really though, there is not very much information on the interwebs.
Sure, there are quite a few recent articles highlighting women rocking the beer industry but, come to find out, most of them are in some sort of marketing position. Where are the articles on the statistics for breweries owned by women that sprung up within the last year? It appears as though this industry is so overwhelmingly dominated by males that there aren’t enough stats to appease the average researcher.
And what of the average female craft beer consumer? If they account for at least one-third of total beer consumption per year, I would think manufacturers should want to raise their marketing budget in that demographic to drive more of their business. The names of some beers out there, for example, are pretty provocative… but are they offensive?
I dunno, maybe I’m looking too much into this. Perhaps I am just feeling some sort of guilt for being a man and projecting it onto this topic. How could I possibly know if your average local woman even cares about the beer industry or if she just likes drinking beer? I didn’t want to make any assumptions on the matter so, rather than make an uneducated guess, I went straight to the source.
I gathered five names of beers I thought would get a decent reaction and polled 20 women on their thoughts; ten while I was out at a brewery or pub setting and ten at other places of business such as a grocery store and a laundromat. I am aware that the sample size is a bit small but, to my surprise, only 3 of the women had an unwavering negative reaction to the names… or maybe I shouldn’t have started with “Raging Bitch” from Flying Dog Brewing. The other names, I believe, are not as harsh since they are terms you would have heard or seen at some point from watching a movie, binge-watching a show, or if you subscribe to the ‘word of the day’ from urban dictionary. For the most part they all seemed to agree on one thing… that sexually explicit names might be part of the fun about going out for a drink. While they may not necessarily want to order a “Pearl Necklace” at the top of their lungs at a run-down, dingy dive-bar, it certainly would not deter them from drinking one if it was a beer style of their liking. After all, there IS a shot called the “Blowjob” and a drink named “Sex on the Beach.”
I don’t give a rip what the beer name is, I don’t care… as long as it tastes good… I would be [more] insulted [if] it was such a low percentage, not insulted at the name.”
-Ashlee from Loud But Harmless
To help me get a little more perspective on the subject, I solicited the help of a fellow podcaster and friend Ashlee from loudbutharmless.com which is a fashion and lifestyle blog based in our wonderful city of San Diego. She is a well-known morning radio personality and is now paving her own path so check out her YouTube channel and follow her on other social media platforms by searching for Loud But Harmless, as well as her podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes.
Her calendar signing event at Slaters 50/50 in San Marcos was held in early January of 2018 so when you hear this podcast, please keep that in mind. Here are a few shots from the night… stay tuned for more episodes coming soon! In the meantime, enjoy the conversation and you can even chime in! Submit a question to our email thepubcrawlers@yahoo.com and we will read it on a future show. CHEERS!
What are your thoughts on women in the beer industry? Do you think bringing awareness helps or hurts the cause? We would love to hear your thoughts! Please subscribe and comment below.