Is This Really as Male-Dominated as it Seems?

The other night, I was talking to boyfriend about how he should go to the local home brewers club meeting by himself, since I will most likely be out of town on that day. And he looks at me and says, "I don't want to go. I'll look like a noob. You're the one who's been reading about all this stuff - I just put stuff in a pot and mix it together. At least you could intelligently discuss it." But with most everybody here, it seems to be the opposite - the man does all the brewing while the woman contributes occasionally. Or at least that's the vibe I've gotten.

Thoughts?

male dominated, but I have met a few great female brewers

Male majority today.

Wimmin's work of yore.

Male dominated because most men drink beer and have the interest in brewing. Most women drink wine coolers or fruity mixed drinks and dislike beer. Thus, they have little interest in homebrewing.

Nothing against female brewers or female beer drinkers it is just that they are in the minority.

Yes, mostly males, but our club has several excellent female brewers/meadmakers.

KirbyTails said:

[bf:] I'll look like a noob.

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So? Homebrewers, esp in clubs, are quite welcoming to noobs. All the homebrewers I've met from Laramie/Cheyenne are quite nice. If he actually likes beer & brewing, encourage him to go and maybe learn something.

Male dominated yes, but I do wish it was more balanced. Brewing in many cultures was always the woman's role. That's where the word brewster came from.

KirbyTails said:

The other night, I was talking to boyfriend about how he should go to the local home brewers club meeting by himself, since I will most likely be out of town on that day. And he looks at me and says, "I don't want to go. I'll look like a noob. You're the one who's been reading about all this stuff - I just put stuff in a pot and mix it together. At least you could intelligently discuss it." But with most everybody here, it seems to be the opposite - the man does all the brewing while the woman contributes occasionally. Or at least that's the vibe I've gotten.

Thoughts?

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Our Story! I am the wifey checking & researching out all of the information to tell the hubby! i have an account on here, but the hubby wants one, too... But he has other hobbies that he attends to. So, I got on the beer brewing forum. The hubby listens to me & reads up on what he wants to. We follow the recipe & brew the beer together... Although, the hubby is just as interested in the beer brewing as I am.

Interesting, I know.

I am trying to get my girlfriend to join me in my conquest but it wasnt always male dominated

http://brewess.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/history-of-women-brewers/

"According to beer historian Alan Eames, the religious myths of ancient societies credit the creation of beer to women. For the Pharaonic Egyptians, the goddess Hathor invented beer. She was worshiped throughout the dynastic ages as the “queen of drunkness and dance and the inventress of beer” (1). For the ancient Fins, however, ale was created by three women: Osmotor, Kapo, and Kalevatar. While trying to prepare for a wedding feast, Kalevatar combined saliva from a bear with wild honey, added it to beer, and created the gift of ale (1)."

kh54s10 said:

Male dominated because most men drink beer and have the interest in brewing. Most women drink wine coolers or fruity mixed drinks and dislike beer. Thus, they have little interest in homebrewing.

Nothing against female brewers or female beer drinkers it is just that they are in the minority.

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I love beer way more than fuity drinks... Fruity drinks get to be a little too much... Now, don't get me wrong... The hubby & I also love a good bottle of wine every once in a while.... I think you assumption might be right... But I know plenty of chicks that choose the malt over the fruit.

I do all the recipe formulating and learned all the do's and donts, but my girlfriend helps me out on brew days sometimes. Tell your boyfriend that by going to the club it's gonna teach him a lot. The better brewers in the club should be happy to give him advice and so forth. Everyone is a noob at some point it's not that big of a deal.

"bartender, The fruit in this drink isn't done fermenting and someone lost their mini-umbrella"


There are a few women here that are the primary brewer and not the helper.
But many are more likely to branch out into including wines/meads.

This is a very male dominated hobby. That is not to say that there aren't some outstanding female brewers. It just seems that men are more interested in homebrewing than women.

In regards to your boyfriends reluctance to go to the meeting for fear of looking like a noob...tell him to relax (or RDWHAHB). None of us were born homebrewing experts. Almost every homebrewer I have met has been willing to share experiences and teach new brewers. He will quickly see that it is a bunch of nice people getting together to talk about homebrewing. He doesn't need to be an expert to participate. I am sure the guys there will be happy to have him join the meeting and be more than willing to just let him listen to the conversations and taste some homebrew.

Male dominated, especially at the LHBS. My wife is easily 60% of the driving force that makes me brew though. If I hear "Well it's good, but not as good as your Belgian." I might scream. She would be doing the brewing if I wasn't. I do think it is a generational thing too. Looking at my family virtually none of the aunts are beer friendly, while every female cousin has no issues knocking back a good stout. Like all things, it will balance itself out. And as a bearded brewer myself, I'm excited to look upon a few less fuzzy faces at the LHBS.

kh54s10 said:

Most women drink wine coolers or fruity mixed drinks and dislike beer.

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Around here, that statement will get ya a kick in the nuts....

My GF is a big fan of good beer, but I do the brewing. She helps out by testing the results! She's also a great cook so we can collaborate on the pairing of beer and food.

kh54s10 said:

. Most women drink wine coolers or fruity mixed drinks and dislike beer.

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Denny said:

Around here, that statement will get ya a kick in the nuts....

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HA! Or a least a whip to the groin.

And the interesting thing is, it's always men who talk about how much women love fruity drinks. The truth is almost all of the women I know like malty beers, often something like a bock or dopplebock, or stouts. I actually don't have any women friends who go for fruity drinks, although one of my very good friends tends to like lighter beers. She likes one of my IPAs alot, though, because it's not terribly bitter.

There are actually quite a few women on this forum, but unless you "know" them, you may not even realize that the person you're discussing beer with is a female.

It certainly is a male dominated field, but I know quite a few women brewers.

Yooper said:

HA! Or a least a whip to the groin.

And the interesting thing is, it's always men who talk about how much women love fruity drinks. The truth is almost all of the women I know like malty beers, often something like a bock or dopplebock, or stouts. I actually don't have any women friends who go for fruity drinks, although one of my very good friends tends to like lighter beers. She likes one of my IPAs alot, though, because it's not terribly bitter.

There are actually quite a few women on this forum, but unless you "know" them, you may not even realize that the person you're discussing beer with is a female.

It certainly is a male dominated field, but I know quite a few women brewers.

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Listen to this one, he knows his stuff.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Listen to this one, he knows his stuff.

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Knock it off!!!!! I have a WHIP! That should scare you.

Edit- I forgot I changed my avatar. I have duct tape. Probably not so scary.

Well, at least I'm not the only one who thinks boyfriend should go to the meeting.

The problem is that he's pretty antisocial and generally quiet and shy. Usually, he doesn't do social activities unless I make him come

Yooper said:

Knock it off!!!!! I have a WHIP! That should scare you.

Edit- I forgot who I am quoting. Probably not so scary.

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The duct tape carries a less erotic connotation.

Feelin' froggy?

It's a social gathering with beer! I'd go to a lactation meeting if there was promise of beer. or cake for that matter. The social aspect doesn't even come into play.

Yooper said:

Knock it off!!!!! I have a WHIP! That should scare you.

Edit- I forgot I changed my avatar. I have duct tape. Probably not so scary.

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I'm gonna miss that avatar yooper. Now I'm gonna be thinking about a man with duct tape next time I'm with my wife.

Was Red Green even broadcast outside of Canada and MI? Holy crap I haven't seen that show in a long time.

tuckferrorists said:

I'm gonna miss that avatar yooper. Now I'm gonna be thinking about a man with duct tape next time I'm with my wife.

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So now you and your wife will have something in common?

KirbyTails said:

Well, at least I'm not the only one who thinks boyfriend should go to the meeting.

The problem is that he's pretty antisocial and generally quiet and shy. Usually, he doesn't do social activities unless I make him come

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My husband is the same way, although I've not really pressured him to come to social activities.

He did go to ONE brewday over the last year, partly because I bribed him by saying we could stop at a major gardening center on the way. He had a nice time, because he actually knew some of the guys there from work a few years ago (the meeting was about 100 miles away). But I don't anticipate him being willing to go to another anytime soon.

My husband loves beer, and he's got a great palate, but he has 0 interest in brewing. He supports my obsession with it, though, so that's fine with me.

SledgeH said:

Was Red Green even broadcast outside of Canada and MI? Holy crap I haven't seen that show in a long time.

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Ayup. Can still see re-runs on OETA (public TV) here in OKC. And, IIRC, even Netflix streams the series.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Ayup. Can still see re-runs on OETA (public TV) here in OKC. And, IIRC, even Netflix streams the series.

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I am the female version of Red Green, complete with Canadian accent. I'm always fixing something, and it usually involves duct tape. And a butter knife. I asked for a new propane torch for Christmas, but Bob is hesitant to provide more flammable things after that last event.

Yooper said:

I am the female version of Red Green, complete with Canadian accent. I'm always fixing something, and it usually involves duct tape. And a butter knife. I asked for a new propane torch for Christmas, but Bob is hesitant to provide more flammable things after that last event.

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He'll get used to not having eyebrows. But he may twitch a bit around open flames.

Yooper said:

The truth is almost all of the women I know like malty beers, often something like a bock or dopplebock, or stouts

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Around here, it's hoppy beers. My wife hates sweeter beers like those or Belgians. Gotta be 70+ IBU for her.

SledgeH said:

Was Red Green even broadcast outside of Canada and MI? Holy crap I haven't seen that show in a long time.

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Ran for years here in OR.

GilaMinumBeer said:

He'll get used to not having eyebrows. But he may twitch a bit around open flames.

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haha!

But in the effort to take this thread back to the OP's intention, I will say this.

While I consider my husband a very masculine guy, I'm still the one that does anything brewing/brewery related even if it involves some hardware and tools. I have built three different kegerators, and he just stays out of my way. I have a (male) friend who has done the majority of the work on my brewing equipment but I have done a few things myself. That is why I learned to sweat copper- for brewing and not for fixing things around the house. I took apart a March pump to fix it, and have done similar things with my other stuff.

I think that is fair, really. He has hobbies that I support but don't enjoy- like gardening. I love the fruits of his labors but I'll be damned if I'm going to grab a shovel or hoe to help him. It's HIS hobby, not mine. The same is true of brewing. It's MY hobby (er, ok, obsession). He loves the beer, and he gives great input into new recipes and tweaking them. But he is not about to start measuring grain, measuring hops, etc.

It would be nice to have another hobby to share, but we do hunt and fish together.

Three Floyds has a hipster chick brewer.

Yooper said:

... or hoe to help him.

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So OT. So little time.




As for brewclubs, meh. I used to go and I am pretty anti-social. I became an officer of the club and it became political. Clubs are great but are not a necessity to great beer.

Yooper said:

Knock it off!!!!! I have a WHIP! That should scare you.

Edit- I forgot I changed my avatar. I have duct tape. Probably not so scary.

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Duct tape, whips, high heels, teddys, oh my!! LMAOOO!!!!

I had a couple over and they were raving about my pale ale. The guy asked about the alcohol and I said about 6%, 230 calories. The woman shrieked and regarded the glass suspiciously, as if I had served her fat in a glass. I said hey, drink a glass of water afterward and you’ve got Bud Light. I don’t think my argument convinced her.

I’d rather drink 2 excellent beers than 6 thin and tasteless. There are a lot of people that do it the other way. Beer for people who don’t like beer.

I think for guys there is a macho aspect to it, like grilling. The men like being outdoors, drinking, spitting and scratching. The women like having them out of the house.

Wynne-R said:

I think for guys there is a macho aspect to it, like grilling. The men like being outdoors, drinking, spitting and scratching. The women like having them out of the house.

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Proof that TX is very different than OR!

Denny said:

Proof that TX is very different than OR!

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Having lived in both, I didn't need further proof. I'll take OR any day!

Yooper said:

Knock it off!!!!! I have a WHIP! That should scare you.

Edit- I forgot I changed my avatar. I have duct tape. Probably not so scary.

Click to expand...

Duct tape can be used for hair removal!
Back to topic, it was Heather who asked for a brewery for her birthday, and I gave in ( quickly ) to her request. Male dominated hobbie it is, but a lot more women are starting to get involved.

Texas women are hotter. (wink)