HOP TO IT…
Whenever I think of beer, I am immediately whisked back to my university days, when my male housemates, for some unknown reason, were devoted to pints of the amber liquid. Needless to say, I wasn’t tempted to join them.
In fact, figures show that 79 per cent of women in the UK avoid beer. After all, it’s a man’s drink, isn’t it – filling and fattening – although glass for glass, beer actually contains fewer calories than both wine and gin and tonic. But that could all be about to change.
A new campaign launched by Let There Be Beer aims to introduce the public to the spectacular variety of beers that are available. Perhaps even the most committed non-beer drinkers, and we ladies, will finally find our perfect pints.
Despite the fact that it has fallen out of favour with female drinkers today, women have long been associated with making beer. In medieval times, it was often made by brewsters (or ale wives), a now defunct word literally meaning female brewer.
Jane Austen not only mentioned the beverage in a number of her novels but talked about making beer in letters to her sister. She would have learnt by helping her mother, but social and economic changes saw brewing being taken out of the home, and indeed women’s hands, into factories, where it was made by men, for men.
‘By the mid 20th century, beer had been assigned a gender and that gender was male,’ says Jane Peyton, author of Beer O’Clock: Craft, Cask And Culture. Despite this, the tradition of women’s involvement in making beer appears to be coming full circle.
The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has seen 20,000 female members join its 150,000-strong membership in the past decade. On top of that, research by Let There Be Beer shows that there are 17,000 more female beer drinkers in the UK this year (in the 18 to 34 age group).
The brewing industry currently offers 700,000 jobs in the UK, which is great news for brewing graduates (yes, a degree in beer). Incidentally since 2002, 27 per cent of those with a diploma in brewing are women.
A number of Britain’s biggest breweries even have females at the helm. Marston’s and Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC have women in their brewing team. Georgina Young, brewing manager at Fuller’s (the company has brewed on its site in Chiswick for more than 350 years) started life in the brewing world after taking a Masters degree in brewing and distilling at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
Georgina’s career began at Smiles Brewery in Bristol, where she learnt from the floor upwards – starting in the lab before progressing to brewer. She then moved to Brewing Research International. Following a five-year stint running the one-barrel pilot brewery, she joined Fuller’s as production brewer in April 1999 and was made brewing manager in 2003.
Her day-to-day tasks include scheduling the beers, assessing the raw materials and making any necessary changes to recipes to ensure the batches of beer remain as consistent as possible. She also conducts a 12 o’clock tasting session to check everything is a suitable quality.
Georgina has been instrumental in the brewing of some of Fuller’s most renowned beers, such as Honey Dew, Jack Frost and Fool’s Gold. So how does it feel to be a woman in a man’s industry?
‘Originally we did the brewing, it’s the fine art of cooking really, scientific cooking. I don’t really notice that I’m a woman, apart from the shoes,’ she laughs.
Bearing in mind there is only one other female brewer at the brewery, why does she think that fewer women are found in the industry? ‘It’s very physical and when you are starting out you cannot come in at a certain level. You might have done a degree but you have to get your hands dirty. If you’re going to be accepted you have to be able to do the job so you just have to get on and do it, really.’
Standing in the Hock Cellar at Fuller’s trying one or two (or three or four…) of the pints the brewery offers, which one is her favourite?
‘When people ask brewers “what is your favourite beer?” it’s a bit like choosing your favourite child. I like ESB, but there is a different beer for each occasion.’
Does she believe there is space in the market for women-specific beers? ‘It’s more about finding a flavour you like than creating a specific beer for the female palate,’ she says.
Interestingly, owing to women having a more sophisticated palate, the vast majority of sensory panels for breweries around the world are made up primarily of females, beer sommelier Steve Livens tells me. ‘It’s very difficult to find men who can taste beer as well as women can.’
Ultimately, Georgina believes that the best way to find the beer you like is to taste as many as you can. ‘I think it’s great that women are showing more interest in beer and I also think there have always been beers out there for women… People shouldn’t be frightened to ask for a taste before they buy. ‘If people are creating beers for women or women are making beer, then wonderful.’
Let There Be Beer’s expert Steve Livens suggests the perfect beers for new drinkers.
IF YOU LIKE…
English breakfast tea
Try a pale ale, a refreshing, lighter beer style with a dry biscuit malt flavour and floral, zesty and lemony hop character.
Which beer?
Timothy Taylor’s Landlord for the classic pale ale.
Co ffee
Porter offers a lighter, livelier alternative to stout with dry, smoky and intense flavours tinged with fruit and liquorice.
Which beer?
Try Fuller’s London Porter to experience this deeply historic beer style.
Dark chocolate
For the full experience, kick back and try a stout made with chocolate.
Which beer?
Young’s Double Chocolate Stout.
White wine
Try a golden ale, blondes and even lagers such as pilsners.
Which beer?
Curious Brew from Chapel Down vineyard.
Rosé wine
Fruit beers can achieve the same e ect.
Which beer?
Kriek (cherry beer) or Framboise (Raspberry beer).
Red wine
Delectable flavours can also be found in a dark winter or vintage ale with its complex bouquet.
Which beer?
Brakspear Triple.
Champagne
Champagne’s dry, biscuit flavours are mirrored in a bottleconditioned, light gold, sparkling pale ale.
Which beer?
Adnams Sole Bay Celebratory Ale.
Sponge cake
English summery ales are a quintessential collection of buttery, warm malts, light, fragrant and juicy hops and hints of fruits such as elderflower, tangerine and lemons.
Which beer?
Hall & Woodhouse Golden Glory.
In fact, figures show that 79 per cent of women in the UK avoid beer. After all, it’s a man’s drink, isn’t it – filling and fattening – although glass for glass, beer actually contains fewer calories than both wine and gin and tonic. But that could all be about to change.
A new campaign launched by Let There Be Beer aims to introduce the public to the spectacular variety of beers that are available. Perhaps even the most committed non-beer drinkers, and we ladies, will finally find our perfect pints.
Despite the fact that it has fallen out of favour with female drinkers today, women have long been associated with making beer. In medieval times, it was often made by brewsters (or ale wives), a now defunct word literally meaning female brewer.
Jane Austen not only mentioned the beverage in a number of her novels but talked about making beer in letters to her sister. She would have learnt by helping her mother, but social and economic changes saw brewing being taken out of the home, and indeed women’s hands, into factories, where it was made by men, for men.
‘By the mid 20th century, beer had been assigned a gender and that gender was male,’ says Jane Peyton, author of Beer O’Clock: Craft, Cask And Culture. Despite this, the tradition of women’s involvement in making beer appears to be coming full circle.
The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has seen 20,000 female members join its 150,000-strong membership in the past decade. On top of that, research by Let There Be Beer shows that there are 17,000 more female beer drinkers in the UK this year (in the 18 to 34 age group).
The brewing industry currently offers 700,000 jobs in the UK, which is great news for brewing graduates (yes, a degree in beer). Incidentally since 2002, 27 per cent of those with a diploma in brewing are women.
A number of Britain’s biggest breweries even have females at the helm. Marston’s and Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC have women in their brewing team. Georgina Young, brewing manager at Fuller’s (the company has brewed on its site in Chiswick for more than 350 years) started life in the brewing world after taking a Masters degree in brewing and distilling at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
Georgina’s career began at Smiles Brewery in Bristol, where she learnt from the floor upwards – starting in the lab before progressing to brewer. She then moved to Brewing Research International. Following a five-year stint running the one-barrel pilot brewery, she joined Fuller’s as production brewer in April 1999 and was made brewing manager in 2003.
Her day-to-day tasks include scheduling the beers, assessing the raw materials and making any necessary changes to recipes to ensure the batches of beer remain as consistent as possible. She also conducts a 12 o’clock tasting session to check everything is a suitable quality.
Georgina has been instrumental in the brewing of some of Fuller’s most renowned beers, such as Honey Dew, Jack Frost and Fool’s Gold. So how does it feel to be a woman in a man’s industry?
‘Originally we did the brewing, it’s the fine art of cooking really, scientific cooking. I don’t really notice that I’m a woman, apart from the shoes,’ she laughs.
Bearing in mind there is only one other female brewer at the brewery, why does she think that fewer women are found in the industry? ‘It’s very physical and when you are starting out you cannot come in at a certain level. You might have done a degree but you have to get your hands dirty. If you’re going to be accepted you have to be able to do the job so you just have to get on and do it, really.’
Standing in the Hock Cellar at Fuller’s trying one or two (or three or four…) of the pints the brewery offers, which one is her favourite?
‘When people ask brewers “what is your favourite beer?” it’s a bit like choosing your favourite child. I like ESB, but there is a different beer for each occasion.’
Does she believe there is space in the market for women-specific beers? ‘It’s more about finding a flavour you like than creating a specific beer for the female palate,’ she says.
Interestingly, owing to women having a more sophisticated palate, the vast majority of sensory panels for breweries around the world are made up primarily of females, beer sommelier Steve Livens tells me. ‘It’s very difficult to find men who can taste beer as well as women can.’
Ultimately, Georgina believes that the best way to find the beer you like is to taste as many as you can. ‘I think it’s great that women are showing more interest in beer and I also think there have always been beers out there for women… People shouldn’t be frightened to ask for a taste before they buy. ‘If people are creating beers for women or women are making beer, then wonderful.’
Let There Be Beer’s expert Steve Livens suggests the perfect beers for new drinkers.
IF YOU LIKE…
Try a pale ale, a refreshing, lighter beer style with a dry biscuit malt flavour and floral, zesty and lemony hop character.
Which beer?
Timothy Taylor’s Landlord for the classic pale ale.
Co ffee
Porter offers a lighter, livelier alternative to stout with dry, smoky and intense flavours tinged with fruit and liquorice.
Which beer?
Try Fuller’s London Porter to experience this deeply historic beer style.
Dark chocolate
For the full experience, kick back and try a stout made with chocolate.
Which beer?
Young’s Double Chocolate Stout.
White wine
Try a golden ale, blondes and even lagers such as pilsners.
Which beer?
Curious Brew from Chapel Down vineyard.
Rosé wine
Fruit beers can achieve the same e ect.
Which beer?
Kriek (cherry beer) or Framboise (Raspberry beer).
Red wine
Delectable flavours can also be found in a dark winter or vintage ale with its complex bouquet.
Which beer?
Brakspear Triple.
Champagne
Champagne’s dry, biscuit flavours are mirrored in a bottleconditioned, light gold, sparkling pale ale.
Which beer?
Adnams Sole Bay Celebratory Ale.
Sponge cake
English summery ales are a quintessential collection of buttery, warm malts, light, fragrant and juicy hops and hints of fruits such as elderflower, tangerine and lemons.
Which beer?
Hall & Woodhouse Golden Glory.