Women’s role in beer and brewing is as ancient as civilization itself. The Sumerians worshiped the goddess brewer Ninkasi, a woman who they believed created the first beer, a porridge-like substance called Kash. In pharaonic Egypt, the goddess Hathor was called the “queen of drunkenness and dance, the inventress of beer.” The ancient Finns believed three women first created ale for a wedding feast and Cerevisia, the Ancient Romans’ version of beer, was named for Ceres, the harvest goddess.

Though many civilizations believed that mythical women first created beer, for centuries actual women also did the household brewing. In medieval England, ale was a dietary staple for adults and children alike as water and milk were filled with bacteria and were harmful to drink. But, beer which had been boiled down, was free of such contaminants. It has been recorded that men and women consumed up to a gallon of beer each day. During the 14th century, virtually all English ale-brewers were women, a trend which continued for centuries and one which traveled across the pond to the New World.

In Colonial America, brewing was done in nearly every homestead throughout the colonies and the brewing process was almost always performed by women, a chore they seemed to enjoy. In her 1785-1812 diary, Maine midwife Martha Ballard complains at some length about laundering, but sounds quite pleased with her chores on brewing day.

Unfortunately, with the rise of industrial brewing in the U.S., women’s role in brewing was greatly diminished, almost disappearing all together for generations. However, with the resurgence of smaller-batch, hand-crafted microbrews in the last 20 years, women are again finding their place in the industry. Both across the country – the CEO of New Belgian Brewing Co., the country’s third largest craft brewery, is a woman named Kim Jordan – and right here in Maine, women play an increasingly important and public role in the industry.

Dee Dee Germain moved to Maine from Virginia in 2001 and went to work at Allagash Brewing Company in Portland seven years ago. “I went to Flatbread Pizza one night and the server recommended an Allagash White.  It was instant love.  A year later when I was looking for work, I decided that Allagash should give me a job.  So I called and asked them to hire me and teach me to brew.  They said no that day and yes a week later,” explained Germain.

“I have been at Allagash for about seven years.  I have never had a job for that long in my life.  Needless to say, if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t still be there. We have a good group of people.  It is a fun environment to work in and Rob [Todd], the owner, has always been very receptive to my need for new challenges.  I went from being an assistant brewer to a brewer to plant and equipment maintenance and now I am communications and marketing.  It helps to have a boss who sympathizes with your ADD.”

As for what it is like being a woman in the brewing industry, Germain said, “I have never worked in an industry where people are so engaged, obsessed almost, with what they do.  In some ways, that shared obsession makes being a woman less of an issue because the focus is so singular.  Having said that, sometimes it is hard to be the only woman at a brewer’s event.  That, fortunately, is happening less and less.  This year at the Craft Brewer’s Conference in Chicago, I think there were as many women as men at certain events.”

While such a change in the brewing industry is absolutely a positive one, and women are quickly finding their place among their previously male-dominated counterparts, the change is still a slow one. Said Germain, “In general, when you walk into a room full of people in our industry, the men don’t usually have to explain what they are doing there.” But as women’s roles continue to expand within the industry and the craft beer industry itself continues to expand within the nation’s culture, it won’t be too long before women are as expected at industry events as men.

About the Author: Luke Livingston, 25, of South Portland is a graduate of Edward Little HS (’03) and Clark University (’07). Livingston is the founder and president of Lewiston’s own Baxter Brewing Co. and the author of www.BlogAboutBeer.com.

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