WE’LL DRINK TO THAT

Women and craft beer

While beer in North America has traditionally been considered a ‘man’s’ beverage, the times are changing: last year’s inaugural Whistler Village Beer Festival drew a crowd of close to 2300 that seemed almost half male, half female. President and Founder of Vancouver’s Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers Shae De Jaray says within the craft brewing industry, 25% of the market is now women, and the number is growing. “Beer has always been such a guy thing, but now women are getting into it. They’re realizing that there are all these really cool flavours they haven’t experimented with,” says De Jaray. “It’s a big part of what we look at for almost every beer we launch.”

Taphouse supervisor Anna Lengstrand arrived at The Whistler Brewing Company two years ago with a master’s degree in food technology and an appreciation for craft beer. Over the past several months, she has definitely noticed more and more women visiting the taphouse. Lengstrand suggested women might become more curious about trying beer if they learn a bit about how the various types are made. She encourages guides on their brewery tours to be as informative as possible.

“Women just assume beer is for men. It’s this traditional, boring stuff; but when you explain everything to them … the ingredients, all the cooking and boiling … I feel like that’s what they need to know. And then they start to be a little bit pickier, and focus more on learning the flavours,” says Lengstrand.

The Lost Coast Brewery of Eureka, California was founded in 1990 by two women including current Master Brewer Barbara Groom. Groom says it’s hard to assign certain flavours to men versus women, as many women enjoy brown ales or stouts, and many men gladly quaff fruity beers. She’s noticed that women intently follow their palettes.

“Women pay more attention … they seem to be very particular about their beer,” says Groom. “Now there are beers with a lot of flavours, like browns, a lot of fruit flavours, chocolate ... they like ‘em.”