March is National Women’s History Month here in the United States. It is an annual celebration of women and their roles in history, sponsored by the National Women’s History Project. As with so much else, the realm of beer seems dominated by men. It is primarily men who are marketed to, primarily men who are the brewers and homebrewers, and primarily men who write about beer. But not entirely. The blogosphere is no different. So, to celebrate Women’s History Month, Hop Talk is taking time out to get to know some of these women.
This is a guest article by Carolyn Smagalski, The Beer Fox.
Deep within the recesses of a woman’s mind lives a place of secrecy, one where fantasy mixes with a perception of her place in the world. She sees her various roles in life, and assigns levels of importance to each. As the weather starts to warm and the thawing earth begins to squish beneath her step, her nose detects aromas of wet, dry leaves and hyacinths – each pleasant in its own way, signaling a new beginning, a new year. Her anticipation of Spring’s natural beauty requires her to launch into a mission of meticulous landscaping, drinking in the aromas of earth, dirt, ivy, daffodil, tulip and lily. She savors the sweetness, but delights in farmland, animal-scents and bitter wafts that fill the air, as well.
This ritual is repeated in every corner of her life – the romantic and sexual relationship she enjoys with her partner; the way she nurtures her children; the order and attention she gives to her career; the ease with which she settles into social situations; the care she extends to matters of culinary excellence. The list is endless.
One thing remains clear. A woman has a broad capacity for enjoying and savoring the gifts of the earth. It is this very broad capacity that led her predecessors, as high priestesses in ancient Sumer, to the brewing of beer, and as royal empresses of ancient Rome, to the painting of their lips with the ambrosia of pungent wine. Woman revels in flavor, aroma, and the kinesthetic sensations surrounding food and drink. This makes her particularly adept at assessing and enjoying the delights of bière and wine.
I use the word bière, rather than beer, because a woman may display an unexplained sensitivity, even in her use of written language. She prefers the word truffle to mushroom, cuisine to food, and brochette to skewer, particularly when she is in the midst of a fine dining experience among her friends. She wants them to see her as savvy. Beer is a fine word for casual use, but she needs the complement of elegant grammar when lobster is laid elegantly upon a delicate sauce. She enjoys the hedonism associated with banal indulgence, and wants to feel wicked in a playful, yet innocent way. She abhors being thought of as “cheap,” and may reject the very act of drinking beer because of the image portrayed by so many beer marketers throughout our anthropological culture.
A woman is drawn to the image of wine as a “godly” drink. In Roman mythology, Bacchus was the god of wine and agriculture, while Dionysus ruled over that domain in Greece. In southern Italy, the Greek culture introduced the Bacchanalia circa 200 B.C., a celebration that was initially open to women only, and was held in the greatest secrecy. With the advent of the Christian rites, particularly the Catholic Church, wine was introduced into the most sacred part of the Mass, and continued in comfort as an “approved” beverage. Of course, the warmer climates of Italy and Greece produced grapes, so wine was abundant. The influence of the Roman Empire had spread throughout Europe, as did their customs – this was good for the Roman tradesman, and the custom continued.
Although monasteries grew their own grain and hops, and brewed beer that sustained monks throughout Lenten Fasts, women were excluded from this form of ceremony regarding beer. Rather, beer was the common beverage consumed by the masses (unpurified water was deadly). It therefore, did not form a parallel with the divine – the imaginative manifestations of Juno or Hera, for instance. Northern cultures in Scandinavia used beer in their sacred rituals, but the southern cultures regarded those unconquered tribes on the Northern Peninsulas as “barbarians.” Yet, when you survey Human Development Standards of the World for 2007-2008, those strong, Scandinavian countries have captured all the top spots – Iceland (#1), Norway (#2), Sweden (#6), Netherlands (#9), and Finland (#11). The USA ranks twelfth, Italy is 20th and Greece is 24th.
With more than 100 different styles of beer, mead and cider available throughout the world today, a woman would be hard-pressed to find nothing to her liking. Although many middle-aged women have seized the concept of directing their own lives and making their own decisions, the power of peer pressure still persists for a large segment of this demographic group. They cling to myths formed long ago:
Myth #1: One style is like all styles
Ladies, wake up! Some are light and champagne-like while others are sweet, dark, and malty. Still others are briskly hopped and have flavors of grapefruit, pine cones, or flowers. Sour Ale, Lambic, and Gueuze are intensely satisfying to a wine lover, while alcohol levels are often (but not always) lower than those found in beer.
Myth #2: Beer makes me sick and bloated
This complaint may be due to a sensitivity to congeners in dark, alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, or mixed drinks), and paler styles would be more easily tolerated and digested by their bodily systems. You may also have sensitivity to the glutens found in beer made with barley, wheat or rye. Gluten-free beer, brewed from sorghum, honey, quinoa, or chestnuts will give you a taste of the exotic, and blends well with meat, poultry and vegetables.
Myth #3: Only “cheap women” drink beer
A woman who is educated about beer and the many styles available globally never looks “cheap,” especially when she makes her choice with an air of confidence and NO apologies. Rather, she is a goddess to men who truly appreciate beer for its “taste.”
Myth #4: Beer clogs my nose
Some beers, particularly those with high hop levels, may cause stuffiness in those who suffer from hay fever. Choose beers that have little to no hops added, indicated by low IBU numbers – Berliner Weisse, Unblended Lambic, Gueuze – or expand into the realm of Mead, Cider and Perry.
This Beer Fox means no insult to middle-aged women. I merely singled out a segment of that group because this is where I see the most resistance to experimentation in beverage of choice. Younger women, particularly those in upscale, cosmopolitan areas, seem to be enamored with the buffet of styles at their fingertips. They are not content to ask their boyfriends or husbands what to order, and are forming peer groups – e.g., The In Pursuit of Ale Club in Philadelphia – for the exploration, education and enjoyment of beer in a non-judgmental, healthy environment. They have discovered the pleasure of true liberation. Osmotar would have been proud!
Carolyn is the Beer and Brewing editor at Bella Online (RSS feed)
Read Hop Talk’s interview of The Beer Fox
Two quick sets of tasting notes for a couple of beers in Yard’s Tavern Ale Series. These beers are brewed in partnership with the historic City Tavern and are brewed according to authentic recipes from the Revolutionary era.
