# Beer: The women taking over the world of brewing. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [January 26, 2014, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-the-women-taking-over-the-world-of-brewing/679737 "2014-01-26T08:58:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-the-women-taking-over-the-world-of-brewing/679737/1 "2014-01-26T08:58:31Z")
I’ve seen History channel shows on brewing beer. I always had heard it was traditionally a male profession. The famous German brewmeisters or in the US brewmaster. According to this article brewing beer was traditionally a woman’s job. That’s news to me. 😛 And they want the job back. 😛 I’m happy if the beer is tasty. Who brews it doesn’t really matter. > **[Beer: The women taking over the world of brewing](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25656701)** > > The number of professional women brewers is on the rise in the UK. Why? > [@](#): > > Brewing is coming full circle, say historians. The earliest evidence of beer in Britain dates back roughly 4,000 years and women were the primary brewers from the start, says Jane Peyton, alcohol historian and author of Beer O’Clock: Craft, Cask and Culture. > [@](#): > > But female brewers, or brewsters as they are traditionally known, are said to be on the rise again and are being credited with helping reinvigorate the beer industry. > > There is no official figure for how many women currently brew professionally but you don’t have to look hard to find them. > > A woman is the most influential brewer in the country, according to industry figures. Emma Gilleland is head of supply chain at Marston’s, the UK’s leading independent brewer. It produces over 60 ales from five breweries and she is responsible for the quality of every single pint.Another woman held the title of Brewer of the Year in 2013, awarded by the British Guild of Beer Writers. Sara Barton, who owns and runs Brewster’s Brewery in Lincolnshire, was the first woman to win the award in its 20-year history. > > Women brewers opening their own businesses are also helping to drive a boom in the number of breweries in the UK, says Roger Protz, editor of the 2014 Good Beer Guide. A record-breaking 197 breweries opened last year, according to its figures. The total number in the UK has hit a 70-year high of 1,147. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-the-women-taking-over-the-world-of-brewing/679737/2 "2014-01-26T09:47:26Z")
As far back as written history goes there have been women brewing beer. There’s a connection between baking bread and brewing beer\* that goes back thousands of years, hence the heavy presence of women until recent times. Brewing beer used to frequently be done on a household level and was seen as part of the cooking duties. - If I recall, the Ancient Egyptians had a version that was brewed from bread, and some old varieties of beer were almost a form of liquid bread. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-the-women-taking-over-the-world-of-brewing/679737/3 "2014-01-26T10:15:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Jane Peyton, alcohol historian what a job! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-the-women-taking-over-the-world-of-brewing/679737/4 "2014-01-26T13:00:08Z")
Newcastle has a [woman brewer.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-9KWK8MCek) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-the-women-taking-over-the-world-of-brewing/679737/5 "2014-01-26T13:03:59Z")
Of course women would be brewing beer: [Beer Is Making You A Girly Man](http://rpmftns.com/beer-is-making-you-a-girly-man/) ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-the-women-taking-over-the-world-of-brewing/679737/6 "2014-01-26T13:23:58Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > - If I recall, the Ancient Egyptians had a version that was brewed from bread, and some old varieties of beer were almost a form of liquid bread. I thought historians figured Beer was first, so bread dough is just highly viscous beer. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-the-women-taking-over-the-world-of-brewing/679737/7 "2014-01-26T21:50:32Z")
This is a great topic for the dope because so many people think of men as the brew masters. Most commercial beers like Bud, Schlitz , Millers,Coors, and Pabst Blue Ribbon were developed by men a hundred or so years ago. It is fascinating that prior to industrialization it was brewed by women. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-the-women-taking-over-the-world-of-brewing/679737/8 "2014-01-26T23:01:00Z")
I can’t be the only man who could see himself falling madly in love with a woman who brews beer. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-the-women-taking-over-the-world-of-brewing/679737/9 "2014-01-26T23:03:17Z")
Home brewers have known this forever.