Woman Brewmaster

[mcbethenstein]

How many women brewmasters do we have out here? I've noticed that I've gotten myself into a hobby dominated by men, and was wondering how many more women out there are the head brewer or co-brewer in the house and on these boards? What's your story? Does your man or SO help?

I bought the homebrew kit for my boyfriend for Christmas and was antsy to get started. He likes the idea of brewing, but has been a bit more passive in the process. Although he did suggest getting more fermentors and bottles oh well. I passed off new supplies/toys of the trade as his birthday present! I do the majority of the work and he drinks the majority of the beer. I like brewing and cheesemaking cause it keeps me busy thinking about making something tasty while taking care of the baby. As I write this my 7 month old is sleeping in my arms, and I'm addicted to these boards as much as planning for my next brew!

 

[onthekeg]

You ma'am are one of the few! Do you have any single sisters?

 

[mcbethenstein]

Yes, one single, one married. I'm half way in-between! Both appreciate a good beer too!

 

[iparks81]

Yooper is a moderator here at HBT and shes of the female persuasion, has some of the best Advise out there!

 

[Zen_Brew]

Glad to hear you are enjoying the hobby. Yes women are a very large minority in the profession. I met last year a woman who is not the head, but an assistant brewer of a brewery here in WA called Snoqualmie http://www.fallsbrew.com/ I think they make several excellent beers.

I spoke with her for a while and her formal training was in the medical field. She did lab work and worked with cultures and she said it was a very natural progression for her to work with yeast.

We also have an exceptional female brewer in my homebrew club who is almost always invited to judge at the final table in competitions as she has one of the most refined beer palates in the western side of WA.

At any rate, you are definitely in the minority, but by being so you will always garner a great deal of attention and respect from male brewers once you start putting out beers as good as, or better than theirs.

Brew on!

 

[Yooper]

There are more than a couple of women here on this forum also. They just look like everybody else on the internet, and don't really talk about being "women brewers" or "men brewers".

I know a couple that I've become "internet friends" with over the years didn't really advertise their gender at all- and I bet many people still don't know what gender many of us are. To my mind, it really doesn't matter as we're all here for the brewing knowledge anyway.

One thing I HATE though is when I'm treated badly in a homebrew store because of my gender, size, and age. I've had many condescending comments like "Oh, would you like to learn how to make beer little lady?" GRRRRRRR. One day, I'm going to take my size-four middle-aged ass and kick theirs! That makes me so mad! Otherwise, both male and female brewers, podcast makers, and homebrew book writers all treat me very well.

 

[AussieBrewerInColorado]

LOL Yooper, my mrs. feels the same way, she probably knows more about making beer than most of the ignorant and HATES it when she gets that stereotype. Even walking into the liquor store, they try to direct her to the sweet stuff, she comes back with IPA's, Beers brewed with Ginger, Stouts, and other beers the liquor store guy has probably never tried. She gets very irritated. I tell her to relax, and just grin when you show them you know more than they do, it's like a super power

 

[bob1852]

There are more than a couple of women here on this forum also. They just look like everybody else on the internet, and don't really talk about being "women brewers" or "men brewers".

I know a couple that I've become "internet friends" with over the years didn't really advertise their gender at all- and I bet many people still don't know what gender many of us are. To my mind, it really doesn't matter as we're all here for the brewing knowledge anyway.

One thing I HATE though is when I'm treated badly in a homebrew store because of my gender, size, and age. I've had many condescending comments like "Oh, would you like to learn how to make beer little lady?" GRRRRRRR. One day, I'm going to take my size-four middle-aged ass and kick theirs! That makes me so mad! Otherwise, both male and female brewers, podcast makers, and homebrew book writers all treat me very well.

You're the man, Yooper!!!

{ducks}

 

[Wayne1]

Take a look at this site just for women involved in the beer industry

http://pinkbootssociety.org/

 

[heatherr]

I'm a lady and just got started!

The first brew day I had my boyfriend, my (male) roommate, and another (male) friend over. They all just watched and drank while I did all the brewing...

They helped with the clean up though! And my bf was washing bottles the other day...

 

[mcbethenstein]

I really hope I didn't offend anyone by asking, I was truly just curious.

On that note... I know what you mean about not being taken seriously! I walk in with the baby carrier and the guys at the hbs, all start making comments, like "when did we start selling those?" or "what isle did you find this one in?"
I may be a woman, but I know how to cut the lawn, replace a leaky faucet and I've got more kickboxing experience than you care to know about. I'm a quick learner too so don't try to dumb it down... Just point me to the grain room, I can help myself.

 

[Yooper]

I really hope I didn't offend anyone by asking, I was truly just curious.

On that note... I know what you mean about not being taken seriously! I walk in with the baby carrier and the guys at the hbs, all start making comments, like "when did we start selling those?" or "what isle did you find this one in?"
I may be a woman, but I know how to cut the lawn, replace a leaky faucet and I've got more kickboxing experience than you care to know about. I'm a quick learner too so don't try to dumb it down... Just point me to the grain room, I can help myself.

No, of course you didn't offend anyone! I was just mentioning that it's great that the internet is "blind" and no one talks down to you here because of gender. I've had people meet me in person and be surprised, though! I guess I don't seem like a petite middle aged grandmother on the forum? But I am!

I love beer, and brewing. I'm a little obsessed in fact. So I think of myself as here for the brewing knowledge, and an added bonus is I"ve met some very nice friends.

 

[mcbethenstein]

That's what I love about the Internet, it's the great equalizer! Yooper, you do a great job on here too. I'm addicted to my brewtalk app. With out this forum, I would have had to give up beer while I eliminate gluten, but not so. The group on the gluten free boards stepped up quickly and gave me some guidance that helped me formulate a great GF recipe. Moving it to the secondary today. I really think it's gonna be good. Might even compare to some traditional beers. Since I browse on my phone, I just keep finding threads and forums that are just what I need! Cheese making, gluten free, cider, hops growing... I love it all!

 

[bob1852]

I really hope I didn't offend anyone by asking, I was truly just curious.

On that note... I know what you mean about not being taken seriously! I walk in with the baby carrier and the guys at the hbs, all start making comments, like "when did we start selling those?" or "what isle did you find this one in?"
I may be a woman, but I know how to cut the lawn, replace a leaky faucet and I've got more kickboxing experience than you care to know about. I'm a quick learner too so don't try to dumb it down... Just point me to the grain room, I can help myself.

If you have a twin sister, who is single, and lives in Arizona, let me know.

 

[Skyforger]

Here in West Michigan, we have the *****cat guild - a group of (female) homebrewers. They have meetings at Hopcat and I think they have brewed some of the house beers there. And Siciliano's, the best LHBS in the area, has women on staff who homebrew. I do run into more men than women in the hobby, but I don't feel like it's completely dominated by men. Not in this area, at least.

And the clientele at Hopcat is I think a great barometer for the craft beer-loving demographic, as you can't get any BMC there. All craft beers upon craft beers, 150 of them. I see more and more women there, most but by no means all of them in the 20-30 age range.

The brewing profession has historically been dominated by women. This little polar-shift blip may well be passing, as the cultural conception of beer as a frat-boy or redneck drink fades.

edit: apparently this forum won't let me put down the actual name of the woman homebrewer's guild. It's not a bunch of asterisks; it's a somewhat archaic name for a feline.

 

[Kittyfeet]

I stick to the wine/mead/cider area, does that count? The SO is a beer snob, and I really want him to start brewing beer, but he's crazy busy with a few jobs that take up all of his time. Eventually I'll get tired of waiting for him and make my own batch of double hopped red. It's his current favorite at the moment.

Thankfully, I haven't encountered people not taking me seriously very much. My local HBS knows me pretty well and they're always willing to share info (in a non-condescending manner).

 

[mcbethenstein]

I stick to the wine/mead/cider area, does that count?

It totally counts! I think wine/cider/mead are way touchier than beer. I've only done one cider, and the patience needed is extraordinary! Just cause there may not be a long brew day with as many variables doesn't mean it's not brewing! I haven't ventured into wine yet, it intimidates me.

 

[mcbethenstein]

If you have a twin sister, who is single, and lives in Arizona, let me know.

Sorry, I don't think my family could handle two of me and I'm a farm raised Wisconsin girl.

 

[AtlantaBeerBrewing]

If I understand correctly, after seeing many of Yooper's YouTube vids, He is in fact a Man...

 

[Time-Travelers]

Welcome mcbethenstein!

I started brewing about 6 months ago with a 1-gal winemaking kit. I quickly outgrew that then expanded to brewing beer as well. Now I've got two fermenters and four carboys and work hard at keep them all going I'm on my ninth batch of wine and seventh brew.

I basically do all the brewing and assist hubby during the bottling. I'm keeping him busy trying to stay ahead of me building wine racks and storage areas for all my brewing equipment, bottles and brew. Next is to remodel the basement to include a bar and kegerator! It's true teamwork

Since I retired he couldn't be happier. He gets home from work and I've mowed the lawn and brewed the beer - live is good, very good!

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I'm a woman! I'm just not what would normally be described as such if you take into account all that sexist genitalia classification criteria and not shaving stuff.

 

[Pumbaa]

One day, I'm going to take my size-four middle-aged ass and kick theirs! .

middle aged?

You're the man, Yooper!!!

{ducks}

AZ_IPA called you a man

{runs and hides}

 

[bob1852]

Sorry, I don't think my family could handle two of me and I'm a farm raised Wisconsin girl.

My Dad's side of the family all grew up on farms in Wisconsin....

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

I have to say, based on my own experience, you will always find a degree of discrimination, when you practice a hobby that's largely dominated by a different group of people.
I'm also a soapmaker, among several other hobbies, and, as that, I'm a member of about 1/2 dozen or so soapmaking forums, all of which are absolutely dominated by women. I have never been frontally dismissed because I'm a man, but I have felt many times I wasn't being taken seriously, probably because of that.

But then again, life is discrimination. I've been discriminated because I was young (and couldn't possibly know what I was talking about), poor, Latin, Argentinian (not necessarily by Americans), "short" (at 5'10"), etc. Now I'm being discriminated because I'm "old" (at 46).

Then again, instead of complaining, or fighting, about it, my method of choice is to make the discriminator look like an idiot. One of my favorite hobbies (that I haven't been able to practice since I came to the US) is R/C car racing. One day, at the track, I saw another guy setting up his car wrong, so I went up to him and told him so, privately, so as not to embarrass him. He became agitated, and told me: "when you have 20 years experience in this hobby, you can talk to me". So I didn't talk to him anymore. I just lapped him 3 times in the race. First time he lost a race in months.

Now, there's a lot less discrimination in this forum than in most others I know, but it does exist. Don't get me wrong, most everybody here are great people, always willing to help, and I'm very happy to have found them, and the mods do a great job at keeping things under control, without turning the forum into a virtual jailhouse, but every now and then, you do see a post that doesn't belong.

For example, some time ago, there was a thread complaining about people not using their turn signals when driving. As that is something that really pisses me off (but then again, most everything does ), I was reading the thread, with the intention to reply to it, when I saw somebody had posted a reply saying, more or less "turn signals became optional since the driving test is bilingual". Very elegant, but, if that's not racism, I don't know what is. So I decided not to reply to that thread, even when I do agree that, in an English speaking country, the driving test should be taken in English.

About the Internet being blind...well, it is, to a point. I knew Yooper was a woman, way before joining. I don't remember why, but something in one of her posts tipped me off. Of course, it wasn't difficult to figure that the OP is a woman either...

Personally, I don't care. There are 2 kinds of people, in this forum, and everywhere else: those I respect, and those I don't. I couldn't care less if you're a man, a woman, or a little green thing with an eye in your forefront.

 

[Token]

Female brewer here!

Everyone else in the Bay de Noc Brewers clubs is a guy, and they are the best. I've never felt uncomfortable around them, and they have helped me out a lot!

My husband used to drink quite a bit when he was younger (Miller Lite), but has quit due to medications and stuff. He HAS become quite a supporter of this hobby. He has no desire whatsoever to try any of my beers because they stink, in his opinion; but I think the DIY part of this is what keeps him supportive. We had fun walking around Menards when I had my parts list to build my mash tun, and he likes to be the guy operating his cordless drill to crush the grains through the Barley Crusher. And my turkey fryer was ancient (yet new in the box) when I got it at a rummage sale. He was pretty important when I needed help finding adapters to update for the new propane tanks. Stuff like that keeps him interested and supportive.

And I think he was the one who came up with my brewery name!!

 

[mhenry41h]

A beer lover's dream woman! Congrats to you, and keep cooking up the good stuff!

 

[appanooserapids]

Hi, female brewer here, too. My husband opened a small restaurant/brewpub last fall, and the brewmaster job has become my domain in the past few months. It has been difficult to find employees who are committed to consistency and quality control, so I have been furiously learning the ropes.

We brew on a SABCO, which works well for the volume we produce.

Looking forward to joining in on future conversations!

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

It has been difficult to find employees who are committed to consistency and quality control,

Of course it will be. They all work at Sam Adams...

Welcome to the forum, ladies.

 

[Token]

Wasn't Radar O'Reilly from Ottumwa Iowa?

Wish I lived close by. I'd like to work at your place. TWO woman brewers! (well, one assistant; I'm not good enough to be the actual brewer!)

 

[appanooserapids]

Yes, Radar was from Ottumwa. He's our famous fictional character, but we can also claim Tom Arnold (not sure which we should be more proud of ).

With my limited experience, it seems like the perfect skill set for brewers consists of analytical or problem solving skills, the ability to follow a recipe (as in baking, where precise measuring affects the chemistry of the finished product) and patience. Even though I am a creative person, I am leaving that quality off of the checklist for our purposes, because in a business, you need to replicate a brew over and over. Even though I love their inquisitiveness, I can't hire a brewer who always wants to know "what if I add a little more of this, or let it boil longer, etc." All those variables affect the finished product.

Hope2perc, that would be a hoot to have two women brewers under one roof!