Think of breweries as a boys’ club? This beer lab isn’t for you.
Traditionally, breweries have been thought of as boys’ clubs, but women in the industry are creating more inclusive spaces.
Jen Blair, 45, is one of 28 master cicerons, or beer experts, in the world, and only five of them are women.
Candidates for the master’s certification “must demonstrate encyclopedic knowledge and deep understanding of all issues related to brewing, beer, and beer service,” according to the program’s website. She is also a nationally ranked beer judge. In short, Blair knows his beer.
She wasn’t surprised when she participated in a national beer tasting event in 2017 and was one of only two female judges. However, she was surprised to learn that she and another female judge were required to sample fruit beer because “women like fruit beer.”
“It was very ineffective,” Blair said, noting that she and another woman were the only Ciceron certified participants at the event. Blair, who lives in Atlanta, said she is still surprised by how harmful the overt sexism in the industry is. “I thought this was over,” she said.
Blair said there are countless stories like this where she has been made to feel inferior compared to men in the beer industry, even though she often has more experience and qualifications than anyone else in the room. Other women in the beer industry shared similar stories with USA TODAY, but grassroots organizations are working to make breweries more inclusive spaces for both workers and patrons.
And even if women take on the male-dominated beer industry, they won’t get anywhere. Rather, it is paving the way for more women to participate.
Latrice Harris, 45, said she often found herself the only Black woman in Atlanta’s beer scene during the early days of the brewery boom in the early 2010s. “It didn’t deter me, but I knew it would deter others,” she said. She launched The Beery Godmother, a beer education platform, in 2022 that focuses on the unifying power of sharing conversation over a few cold drinks.
Heineken USA CEO Maggie Thimane has been involved in beer for more than 20 years.
To women considering a career in the beer industry, Timane says, “Please join us.” “We need more women.”
The #MeToo movement in the beer industry sparked change.
Brienne Allan, 35, entered the beer industry right after graduating from university in 2011. She was 21 years old and eager to learn more about brewing, but her managers wouldn’t give her a chance and instead invested in sending her male colleagues to brewing school, she said.
Alan found scholarships, paid for some of her training herself, and networked with other women in the industry through the Massachusetts chapter of the Pink Boots Association. “We started this revolution with all the women in the brewing industry in Massachusetts having better and better careers in breweries,” she said. Although Alan was excited about his progress, he was frustrated that he was becoming more known for his advocacy work than his brewing skills.
“I’d rather talk about beer, but I’m often invited to talk about women’s studies,” she says.
Alan’s goal was to prove those who doubted him wrong. She did, and now “they all come to me for help,” Alan said. Her brewery, Sacred Profan, was named runner-up for Best New Brewery on USA TODAY’s 2024 Best 10 list. One of Alan’s beers was also named to VinePair’s Best New Beers of 2024 list.
But most people in the beer industry know that Alan happened to spark a movement that shut down breweries and ushered in a new focus on keeping women safe.
By the time the pandemic hit, Alan had left the Pink Boots Association. During that time, she said, she forgot that there was deep-rooted sexism within the industry. But when she went to work in 2021 to help open a new brewery in Boston, she said a contractor made a sexist comment, which caused her to become furious and post it on Instagram. In her post, she asked if other women in the industry still face the same upsetting treatment.
They did. The post went viral, and Alan’s inbox exploded with stories from women across the country and around the world. In addition to sexist comments, the women who drank beer told Allan traumatic stories of sexual harassment and violence. Alan said she took three weeks off work, hired outside help to filter messages, connected women with resources (mental health counselors, lawyers, human resources professionals) and shared their stories widely in hopes of making a difference. “When she posted about it, people took notice,” Blair said.
“Then all of a sudden people started getting laid off. And breweries started closing down. And it was just crazy,” Alan said. “It really changed the way the brewing industry operates overnight.”
In the wake of Alan’s beer-specific #MeToo movement, many breweries have expanded their human resources departments and begun publishing codes of conduct. Alan said she helped oversee some of these industry changes.
An inclusive beer lab leads to an inclusive taproom
Blair said the beer industry has come a long way in making room for women and people of color. But there’s still a long way to go, and it starts with breweries looking inward to identify barriers and discriminatory practices in hiring, professional development, and day-to-day operations.
“It’s not enough to just hire women or have people of color on staff. Are they comfortable there? Are we giving them the support they need?” Blair said. “When we invite women to come and take a photo on International Women’s Day, we make sure we don’t just put the photo on social media.”
Blair said the safe and inclusive space was intentional, with a diverse brewing staff leading to a diverse taproom. they do the work. “When you have a diverse crowd, that doesn’t happen by chance.”
Contact Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, Georgia.
Angela Harris, 33, said that as a woman in the beer industry, it can sometimes feel difficult to have your voice heard. At Terrapin, she served as quality assurance manager and helped establish a rare all-female brewery. She said beer workers have to “grow beards and wear flannels” to fit in elsewhere, but at Terrapin they can be themselves.
She said it’s important to her to see women in the industry and create an inclusive culture for other women as well.
“We need to understand that women can advance within this system,” Harris said.
Madeline Mitchell’s role covering women and the care economy for USA TODAY is supported by partnerships such as: extremely important and Journalism funding partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
Contact Madeline at: memitchell@usatoday.com and @maddiemitch_ With X.
USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schultz contributed to this article.
