The University of Toledo (UT), where I work, has a men’s and a women’s basketball team. I am not a basketball fan, so I really do not follow the fortunes of either one. On average, I probably attend a college basketball game once every five years or so. Back in January one of our doctoral students forwarded me an e-mail she had received promoting upcoming games for both the men’s and women’s teams. I am sure I had received the same e-mail, but upon seeing from the subject line that its content was about basketball, had probably deleted it. In sending me the e-mail, the student drew my attention to two upcoming UT basketball games – one involving the men’s team and one involving the women’s team. The men’s game was promoted as “Men’s Basketball Craft Beer Night”, while the women’s game was promoted as “Women’s Basketball Wine Night”. Fans were invited to come early to the Men’s game and sample some craft beer beforehand; come to the Women’s game and sample some wine beforehand. The student who brought these promotional ads to my attention questioned whether those responsible for them had given much, if any, thought to gender stereotypes. For both ads were clear examples of gender stereotyping – beer for the guys and wine for the gals. When I first saw these ads, I have to admit, they made me cringe.

In defense of the ads, one might argue that the UT Athletics Department were simply recognizing the reality that more craft beer drinkers are male than female, and more wine drinkers are female than male. According to a 2018 Nielsen Harris on Demand survey, 68.5% of craft beer drinkers who drink craft beer “at least several times a year” are male; 31.5% are female. Interestingly, the survey identified two markets where female craft beer drinkers outnumber male craft beer drinkers – Portland, OR and Providence, RI. In contrast, a 2018 study by Sonoma State University found that 60% of wine drinkers are female, and 40% are male. Despite these demographic differences, I will still submit that the the ads were an unnecessary exercise in gender stereotyping. Why not simply advertise the first game as being one where craft beer would be available beforehand, and the second as one where wine would be available beforehand?

Of course, this type of stereotyping is nothing new. A 2012 study by researchers at The University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University found that alcohol-related ads in women’s magazines were primarily focused on champagne and sparkling wine, while alcohol-related ads in men’s magazines focused on beer. Indeed, craft beer and gender stereotyping is a topic I have written about before.

Not only do many women enjoy craft beer, but they also are a number of women who own breweries and/or commercially brew beer. Last month, I attended the annual Nebraska Tourism and Adventure Travel Workshop in Nebraska City, NE. In addition to giving a presentation at the workshop, I was also a member of a panel on “Maximizing Your Exposure with Partnerships”. There were three of us on the panel. I was the only male. The other two panel members were Jessica Kraus, co-owner of Lost Way Brewery in Holdrege, NE and Jessi Hoeft of First Street Brewing Company in Hastings, Nebraska. The panel was moderated by Gabby Ayala, Executive Director of the Nebraska Craft Brewers Guild. Jessica is also Executive Director of the Holdrege Chamber of Commerce. These are smart, intelligent, successful women who know what they are talking about when it comes to beer and the craft brewing industry. For me, it was honor to share the stage with and learn from them.

Unfortunately, and undeservedly, female brewers are often less highly regarded than their male counterparts. A recent study by researchers at Stanford University found that “craft beer described as produced by a woman is evaluated more negatively than the same product described as produced by a man.” According to Sarah A. Soule, one of the researchers on the project, “our research suggests that customers don’t value and are less inclined to buy traditionally male products if they think they’ve been manufactured by women . . . There’s an assumption that your woman-made craft beer . . . won’t be as good.”

It is easy to forget that before men arrived on the scene, brewing beer was primarily a task done by women. Indeed, in both Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt the beer that was brewed was done so almost exclusively by women. It was the same in pre-industrial Europe, where making beer was just one of a number of household tasks performed by women. Such was the case for Katharina von Bora, wife of the 16th century leader of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. Von Bora brewed all the beer for the Luther household. And her husband loved it, often heaping praise on his wife’s brewing skills. In one of his many letters, Luther wrote, “I keep thinking what good wine and beer I have at home, as well as a beautiful wife.” In discussing the historical role of women as brewers, Allison Schell of the National Women’s History Museum refers to it as a “forgotten pairing“. What an apt description. It became forgotten because, in shifting from an economy based on agriculture to one based on manufacturing, the brewing of beer moved from small-scale home production to larger scale commercial production – and when that happened, men took over the brewing process.

So when it comes to beer and the brewing industry we (and by that I mean men) need to treat our female peers with respect. Whether they are brewers or consumers we have to understand that their gender does not define them. Rather, they are defined by their love, passion, and knowledge of beer. They are co-equals and partners in this wonderful journey that we, who love are craft beer, are taking.

Further Reading:

Tak, Elsie, Shelley J. Correll, and Sarah A. Soule. 2019. Gender inequality in product markets: When and how status beliefs transfer to products. Social Forces, Volume 98, Number 2, pp. 548-577.