Women in Beer

With ‘Good Beer Week’ now in full swing, what better time to highlight the women of craft beer and their amazing contribution to Australia’s blossoming craft beer industry.

So what is ‘Good Beer Week’ and what is craft beer I hear you ask?  Good questions.

Firstly I’ll start with craft beer.  Essentially craft beer is quality, handcrafted beer made with the four primary ingredients – water, malt, yeast and hops.  That’s right – it’s beer free of additives and preservatives.  Behind every beer, there is a story or two. Who made it, why, what influenced them, where the ingredients are sourced from – the list is endless.  The breweries are usually very small, independent operations and stick to traditional practices.

‘Good Beer Week’ is a not-for-profit festival in Melbourne and parts of Victoria that celebrates craft beer from around the world.  Born from an idea over a few beers (naturally) by like-minded beer lovers, it has experienced rapid growth with 150+ events planned for May 18-26.  The events during ‘Good Beer Week’ are vast and varied catering for the beer novice through to the hard-core beer geek.  You can learn how to make beer, what to eat with beer and more than likely work out the best way to drink beer. 

Ok, so why am I talking about this?  A few months ago I was invited to join the Bendigo Beer committee.  Before you jump to any conclusion, no it’s not a club where we sit around drinking beer all the time.

Bendigo Beer’s purpose is to promote craft beer through events and festivals as well as educating and consulting venues about craft beer.  It is also the conduit between brewers and venues.  A concept unique to the Australian craft beer industry, Bendigo Beer does this around Bendigo and central Victoria and has recently branched out into other regions with Ballarat Beer, Geelong Beer and Border Beer.

I am one of two females amongst the committee of nine very innovative, progressive and talented people with a passion for promoting craft beer.  It’s a fascinating group to be a part of.  Check out the upcoming Bendigo Beer events here

Prior to becoming part of Bendigo Beer I was a sporadic beer drinker.  Many females drink mainstream beer during university because it’s cheap and many enjoy a cold beer on a hot day.  I guess I was one of those types.  However, being on this committee has opened my eyes to a whole new world of drinking beer for the taste and that wine is not the only beverage that compliments food.

Breaking the stereotype that beer is only for the man’s world, there are some very knowledgeable and talented women amongst the Australian craft beer industry.  Stamping her mark in all things beer is Kirrily Waldhorn aka ‘Beer Diva’.  Kirrily is a Sydney based beer dynamo with 12 years experience in beer as a presenter, educator, consultant, writer and judge.  Learn more about ‘Beer Diva’ here

Then there is the tale of the two women behind the label ‘Two Birds’. A couple of years ago friends Jayne Lewis and Danielle Allen created two brews, a sunset ale and a golden ale. I love their product, their passion and their tagline ‘why settle for one?’.  Their two beers are respected and gaining a big following. Check them out here

I hope you have enjoyed this little taste, there are many more stories about women making an impact in the craft beer industry that will be shared, including ‘Beer Diva’ and ‘Two Birds’ in this year’s ‘Good Beer Week’ program – check it out here