Woman drinking beer. Christo Anestev / Pixabay.com 2018 / CC0 1.0
The 8th of March is International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD).
The day is designed to help reclaim women’s place in the beer brewing world currently dominated by white, bearded hipster males. It also provides networking opportunities.
“There’s actually more women running the brewing industry than people think,” says Brienne Allan, head of Boston’s Pink Boots Society chapter and production manager at the Notch Brewing Co. in Salem, Mass. “A lot of them are brewery owners — and no one knows.” [1]Shea, Andrea. Not Just The Boys’ Beer Club: Female Crafters Tap Their Skills For Brew Day. National Public Radio. 13 March 2018. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/13/593171590/not-just-the-boys-beer-club-female-crafters-tap-their-skills-for-brew-day
One organization involved in promoting the day is the Pink Boots Society. They use the event to raise money “for scholarships in topics from leadership and strategy to alternative microbes and malting science.” [2]Kadvany, Elena. The Future is Fluid. San Francisco, CA: SFWeekly. Accessed 24 February 2021 at https://www.sfweekly.com/dining/pink-boots-society-women-beer-brewing/ The organization seems to be aware of the predominance of white women in the women’s brewing movement itself, and so as of 2020 has begun establishing some scholarships for BIPOC women.
The brews made on this day go on sale several weeks later after they have fermented. Often, some portion of the proceeds goes to furthering the development of more women brewers. [3]”The Pink Boots brew-day beers will be ready in three to four weeks” — Shea, Andrea. Not Just The Boys’ Beer Club: Female Crafters Tap Their Skills For Brew Day. National Public Radio. 13 March 2018. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/13/593171590/not-just-the-boys-beer-club-female-crafters-tap-their-skills-for-brew-day
It’s free to sign up and participate.
It coincides with International Women’s Day.
#UniteBrew
Website: https://unitebrew.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IWCBD/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IWCBD
See also: Lager, Ale, Beer, American Beer Day, Bavarian Beer Purity Law Day, Beer Day Britain, Lager Day, National Beer Day, International Beer Day, Arnold of Soissons, Patron Saint of Belgian Brewers
History
A woman named Sophie de Ronde came up with the idea. Planning for it started in 2013.
At first, they all brewed up the same beer recipe, which they called “Unite” but the actual recipe changed from year to year.
In 2014, there were 60 women brewmasters from five different countries, making a pale ale recipe made with Cascade hops. [4]”The first such spotlight will come on Saturday March 8, when at least 60 lady brewers from around the world and their friends (including eight ladies from L.A.) will all simultaneously strap on their pink brewing boots and spend Saturday at their kettles making the same easy-drinking beer. They call it the first ever International Womens Collaboration Brew Day… Appropriately called Unite Pale Ale, this Cascade-hopped session beer is meant to be made with readily available malts and hops so that brewers can participate from anywhere” — Bennet, Sarah. L.A.’s Female Brewers to Celebrate International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day. Los Angeles, California: LA Weekly. 7 March 2014. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/las-female-brewers-to-celebrate-international-womens-collaboration-brew-day-4495475
In 2015, there were 80 women from eleven different countries brewing a red ale recipe with Willamette hops.
As of 2016, they set aside the idea of a universal recipe. Instead, there was a theme, which was to use an ingredient or a style you had never used before. The idea was that this would encourage participants to talk with and network with each other to learn how to work with those ingredients or styles.
In 2017, the theme was about using one true local ingredient. There were approximately 190 participants. [5] “… more than 190 breweries, beershops, homebrewers and associations participated in the 5th anniversary…” Accessed February 2021 at https://www.facebook.com/IWCBD/posts/2163383043712348
In 2018, there were were over 160 brewers and it was about exotic ingredients [6]”We’re excited to reveal there are 160 brewers, homebrewers, homebrew clubs, brewing educators, beer societies and breweries that have joined our 5th Anniversary global event.” 5 March 2018. Accessed February at https://twitter.com/IWCBD/status/970686401531424768
In 2019, it was about foraging for wild ingredients.
In 2020, it was about making a tribute to a person or a region.
In 2021, the theme was “compassion.”
Language notes
Historically, the English word for women brewers was “brewster”. The word was lost as men took over the profession.
Sources
Bennet, Sarah. L.A.’s Female Brewers to Celebrate International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day. Los Angeles, California: LA Weekly. 7 March 2014. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/las-female-brewers-to-celebrate-international-womens-collaboration-brew-day-4495475
MacPhee-Sigurdson, Ben. Collaboration brewing between local female beer enthusiasts. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: The Winnipeg Free Press. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/the-buzz-476217563.html
McDermott, Jennifer. Brewers raise their glasses to International Women’s Day. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: The Times Colonist. 8 March 2020. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.timescolonist.com/life/brewers-raise-their-glasses-to-international-women-s-day-1.23194994
Shea, Andrea. Not Just The Boys’ Beer Club: Female Crafters Tap Their Skills For Brew Day. National Public Radio. 13 March 2018. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/13/593171590/not-just-the-boys-beer-club-female-crafters-tap-their-skills-for-brew-day
Woolway, Madeline. How to make a beer that celebrates women. Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia: Hospitality Magazine. 3 February 2020. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au/how-to-make-a-beer-that-celebrates-women/
Zechsky, Jan. Craft beer industry faces reckoning as claims of sexism, misogyny and assault surface online. CBC News. British Columbia. 3 June 2021. Accessed June 2021 at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/craft-beer-sexism-misogyny-assault-1.6049970
References
| ↑1 | Shea, Andrea. Not Just The Boys’ Beer Club: Female Crafters Tap Their Skills For Brew Day. National Public Radio. 13 March 2018. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/13/593171590/not-just-the-boys-beer-club-female-crafters-tap-their-skills-for-brew-day |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Kadvany, Elena. The Future is Fluid. San Francisco, CA: SFWeekly. Accessed 24 February 2021 at https://www.sfweekly.com/dining/pink-boots-society-women-beer-brewing/ |
| ↑3 | ”The Pink Boots brew-day beers will be ready in three to four weeks” — Shea, Andrea. Not Just The Boys’ Beer Club: Female Crafters Tap Their Skills For Brew Day. National Public Radio. 13 March 2018. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/13/593171590/not-just-the-boys-beer-club-female-crafters-tap-their-skills-for-brew-day |
| ↑4 | ”The first such spotlight will come on Saturday March 8, when at least 60 lady brewers from around the world and their friends (including eight ladies from L.A.) will all simultaneously strap on their pink brewing boots and spend Saturday at their kettles making the same easy-drinking beer. They call it the first ever International Womens Collaboration Brew Day… Appropriately called Unite Pale Ale, this Cascade-hopped session beer is meant to be made with readily available malts and hops so that brewers can participate from anywhere” — Bennet, Sarah. L.A.’s Female Brewers to Celebrate International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day. Los Angeles, California: LA Weekly. 7 March 2014. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/las-female-brewers-to-celebrate-international-womens-collaboration-brew-day-4495475 |
| ↑5 | “… more than 190 breweries, beershops, homebrewers and associations participated in the 5th anniversary…” Accessed February 2021 at https://www.facebook.com/IWCBD/posts/2163383043712348 |
| ↑6 | ”We’re excited to reveal there are 160 brewers, homebrewers, homebrew clubs, brewing educators, beer societies and breweries that have joined our 5th Anniversary global event.” 5 March 2018. Accessed February at https://twitter.com/IWCBD/status/970686401531424768 |