South Africa: Women turn the tide in South Africa’s beer industry

The entrenched image of beer drinking is of a group of rowdy men in a bar, probably watching soccer or rugby on the TV. Yet a change as simple as pouring beer into a wine glass rather than a tankard will help to transform it into an elegant drink that appeals to women in a social environment, Bizcommunity reported on October 18.

The Craft Beer Association South Africa (CBASA), which falls under the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA), is helping to combat the sexual stereotyping around beer drinking and craft brewing. This is just one of BASA’s goals: its vision is to promote responsible alcohol consumption, and help to grow the industry to benefit everyone, within a supportive regulatory regime.

BASA CEO, Charlene Louw says beer is part of South African culture.

“Beer drinking is not only a social activity that brings people together. It also underpins a substantial economic activity that creates jobs and develops skills. We would like to see women as full participants in the benefits that the industry can bring.”

Wendy Pienaar and Megan Gemmell run their own craft breweries. Pienaar is the co-founder of Just Brewing Co in Benoni, Gauteng and Gemmell is the founder of Clockwork Brewhouse near Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.

Still, beer brewing remains an unusual career for women, who probably represent less than 5% of local beer brewing business owners or head brewers.

Both Pienaar and Gemmell say their biggest challenges came not from other men in the brewing industry but from the general public. Many people hold preconceived ideas about women’s roles and tastes.

“To start with, I was always seen as the server at functions while my partner Deon would be asked the questions about brewing,” says Gemmell. “Fortunately, this has changed over the years.”
“We get a lot of comments belittling our knowledge of beer or making sexist remarks,” she adds.

“And usually, at an event, women are automatically offered an alcopop or a glass of wine, not a beer.”

A second challenge, Gemmell says, was the physical demands of running a craft brewery.

“As girls, we didn’t learn the same skills as boys, such as basic plumbing or wiring plugs or fixing broken pumps. I have had to learn that along the way and it has been a brilliant challenge.”

“Many women who say they don’t like beer probably haven’t tried the right one,” says Pienaar. “There is a beer for every taste, even a beer that tastes like pina colada. It is just a matter of experimenting. Women are often not offered the opportunity to experiment with beer. We need to encourage women to come to beer events, taste the product and feel comfortable in a beer-drinking environment.”

She adds that SAB and Heineken are positively depicting beer drinkers as both men and women in their marketing, but there is still room for improvement.

The reality is that the industry is open to everyone, irrespective of gender or race. The local craft brewing industry’s culture is progressive and inclusive.

Gemmell says people help each other in this industry – if one craft brewery runs out of ingredients, they can sometimes source them from another craft brewery.

You don’t have to like beer in order to be a craft brewer, marketer or distributor – in fact, liking beer too much would be a disadvantage, Gemmell jokes.

There is no local course of study towards beer brewing as a career, but through the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, based in London, you can study remotely up to Master Brewer level, if you wish.

Both Pienaar and Gemmell cite research that women are more frequently “supertasters” than men (Dr Linda Bartoshuk of Yale University - Accounting for Taste) which means they make better beer judges.

But Gemmell says anyone can train their palate to discern subtle aromas (which is important to ensure that the taste of different batches is consistent). “Drink more beer and more varieties of beer,” she recommends.

“Drink with other people, discuss beers and make an event of it, savor the different aromas and discuss beers with friends.”

What you do need to succeed in this industry, says Gemmell, is a good work ethic and the ability to respond quickly to a crisis. She says many breweries prefer to employ women over men because women pay greater attention to detail.

CBASA arranges various events and is making strenuous efforts to get more women to taste beer and consider beer brewing as a career.

“We have to ensure that the people in the craft beer circle continue to be inclusive, and ensure that when there are events, they are marketed at everyone, not just men,” Pienaar says. “We need to build from that and expand the presence of women as brewers and consumers.”

“The craft beer industry is now a very inclusive environment, with both men and women helping each other,” Gemmell says. “We are all working for a common goal – good craft beer.”

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