Women’s Work

September 26, 2018
by
2 mins read

What image comes to mind when you hear the term brewmaster? Do you envision a bearded dude in lots of flannel, wearing rubber boots? In many cases, that’s just what brewers look like nationwide. But did you know that, in the beginning, the job of brewing beer wasn’t an almost exclusively male vocation? In fact, in the nearly 13,000-year history of beer, male brewers are a relatively recent phenomenon. For most of history, brewing has been the purview of women.

Early humans lived in hunter-gatherer societies. Sociologists believe that as cooking began to emerge, women who cooked had to get male protection to guard them and their materials and resources from theft or worse. Since men rarely did any gathering, women had to do both—gather and cook—or go hungry. Men rarely cooked; they just got food from women they protected. This left them time to engage in the riskier and more physically demanding task of hunting.

A common theory among sociological scholars is that the discovery of beer was the impetus that shifted humans from hunter-gatherers to a more agrarian society. In this new society, men worked the land, tending the crops while women cared for the children.

Beer became so intrinsically linked to women that the first known written recipe is in song form, ‘Hymn to Ninkasi,’ an ancient Sumerian goddess of beer. The poem points out the essential link between women­—Ninkasi was brewer to the gods—and their responsibility to supply bread and beer to the household.

According to Patty Hamrick, who holds a master’s degree in archaeological anthropology, the ancient Mesopotamian (modern-day Iran) Code of Hammurabi, one of the first sets of written laws, always referred to tavern owners as female. Tavern owners brewed their own beer and managed the business.

Around the fifth century, the term alewife emerged. Many enterprising women began increasing their beer output, selling the surplus. To advertise, they placed a broom over the door of their home or tavern. To keep vermin out of the grain supply, cats were domesticated.

Alewives also sold beer in public markets, often wearing pointed hats and using six-pointed stars to indicate their beer’s quality. Later, brooms, pointed hats, cats and six-pointed stars became associated with witches. That association led to fewer women brewers—knowing how to mix herbs and plants for healing caused Inquisition witch hunters to suspect the ladies of being supernatural.

So men became brewers out of necessity. In the 16th century, guilds began to form, further closing the door on women in the industry.

Today, there’s a refreshing turn-around going on in the brewing industry. More and more women are brewers and owners. High-profile craft beer companies New Belgium Brewing Company and Grimm Artisanal Ales are owned by women. Female brewers are popping across the nation. And a nonprofit organization, Pink Boots Society, has grown up around women in brewing.

It seems the tide is once again pulling women into the noble vocation of brewing beer.

Folio is your guide to entertainment and culture around and near Jacksonville, Florida. We cover events, concerts, restaurants, theatre, sports, art, happenings, and all things about living and visiting Jax. Folio serves more than two million readers across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, including St. Augustine, The Beaches, and Fernandina.

Current Issue

SUBMIT EVENTS

Submit Events

Advertisements

Welcome to Rockville 2025
SingOutLoadFestival_TheAmp_2025
omaha-steaks-banners

Date

Title

Current Month

Follow FOLIO!

A DUAL CRITICS REVIEW: "Cabaret" at Limelight Theatre in St. Augustine
Previous Story

A DUAL CRITICS REVIEW: “Cabaret” at Limelight Theatre in St. Augustine

Next Story

The Case Against Confucius

Latest from Imported Folio

Pandemic could put Jaguars’ traditions on ‘timeout’

Lindsey Nolen Remember the basketball game HORSE? Well, on Thursday nights during the National Football League regular season the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line comes together for their own version of the game, “CAT.” They’ve also been known to play a game of Rock Band or two. This is because on

September Digital Issue

Attachments 20201106-190334-Folio October Issue 6 for ISSU and PDF EMAIL BLAST COMPRESSED.pdf Click here to view the PDF!

The Exit Interview: Calais Campbell

Quinn Gray September 10, 2017. The first Jaguars game of the 2017 NFL season. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who finished the previous season 3-13, are looking to bounce back after drafting LSU running back Leonard Fournette with the 4th round pick in the draft. The Jaguars are playing the division rival,
July 5th Cleanup
GoUp