When I pose this question to students in my American literature and culture classes, I receive stunned silence or nervous laughs. The Sanderson sisters didn’t chug down bottles of Sam Adams in “Hocus Pocus.” But the history of beer points to a not-so-magical legacy of transatlantic slander and gender roles.

Up until the 1500s, brewing was primarily women’s work – that is, until a smear campaign accused women brewers of being witches. Much of the iconography we associate with witches today, from the pointy hat to the broom, emerged from their connection to female brewers.

A Routine Household Task

Humans have been drinking beer for almost 7,000 years, and the original brewers were women. From the Vikings to the Egyptians, women brewed beer both for religious ceremonies and to make a practical, calorie-rich beverage for the home.

In fact, the nun Hildegard von Bingen, who lived in modern-day Germany, famously wrote about hops in the 12th century and added the ingredient to her beer recipe.

From the Stone Age to the 1700s, ale – and, later, beer – was a household staple for most families in England and other parts of Europe. The drink was an inexpensive way to consume and preserve grains.

For the working class, beer provided an important source of nutrients, full of carbohydrates and proteins. Because the beverage was such a common part of the average person’s diet, fermenting was, for many women, one of their normal household tasks.

Some enterprising women took this household skill to the marketplace and began selling beer. Widows or unmarried women used their fermentation prowess to earn some extra money, while married women partnered with their husbands to run their beer business.

Exiling Women from the Industry

So if you traveled back in time to the Middle Ages or the Renaissance and went to a market in England, you’d probably see an oddly familiar sight: women wearing tall, pointy hats. In many instances, they’d be standing in front of big cauldrons.

But these women were no witches; they were brewers.

They wore the tall, pointy hats so that their customers could see them in the crowded marketplace. They transported their brew in cauldrons. And those who sold their beer out of stores had cats not as demon familiars, but to keep mice away from the grain.

Just as women were establishing their foothold in the beer markets of England, Ireland and the rest of Europe, the Inquisition began. The fundamentalist religious movement, which originated in the early 16th century, preached stricter gender norms and condemned witchcraft.

Male brewers saw an opportunity. To reduce their competition in the beer trade, these men accused female brewers of being witches and using their cauldrons to brew up magic potions instead of booze.

Unfortunately, the rumors took hold.

Over time, it became more dangerous for women to practice brewing and sell beer because they could be misidentified as witches. At the time, being accused of witchcraft wasn’t just a social faux pas; it could result in prosecution or a death sentence. Women accused of witchcraft were often ostracized in their communities, imprisoned or even killed.

Some men didn’t really believe that the women brewers were witches. However, many did believe that women shouldn’t be spending their time making beer. The process took time and dedication: hours to prepare the ale, sweep the floors clean and lift heavy bundles of rye and grain.

If women couldn’t brew ale, they would have significantly more time at home to raise their children. In the 1500s some towns, such as Chester, England, actually made it illegal for most women to sell beer, worried that young alewives would grow up into old spinsters.

Men Still Run the Show

The iconography of witches with their pointy hats and cauldrons has endured, as has men’s domination of the beer industry: The top 10 beer companies in the world are headed by male CEOs and have mostly male board members.

Major beer companies have tended to portray beer as a drink for men. Some scholars have even gone as far as calling beer ads “manuals on masculinity.”

This gender bias seems to persist in smaller craft breweries as well. A study at Stanford University found that while 17% of craft beer breweries have one female CEO, only 4% of these businesses employ a female brewmaster – the expert supervisor who oversees the brewing process.

It doesn’t have to be this way. For much of history, it wasn’t.

Laken Brooks is a doctoral student of English at University of Florida

This article was originally published in The Conversation. Read the original article here:
https://theconversation.com/women-used-to-dominate-the-beer-industry-until-the-witch-accusations-started-pouring-in-155940

The Brazilian beer Devassa ”“ Portuguese word for ‘libertine girl’
”“ is being launched for the first time outside its hometown of Rio de Janeiro by UK-based Black Collar.

The Devassa brand was created in 2001 by Marcelo do Rio and Cello Macedo for Rio’s Bar Devassa, their first joint venture.

Both were already owners of very successful, stylish bars, restaurants and clubs in Rio including Melt, Caroline Café, Zero-Zero and Zaza Bistrô Tropical, and Devassa was a natural next step.

The Bar Devassa concept is based around the first microbrewery beer in Rio. The beer itself has been unexpectedly successful and a new brewery company, União das Devassas Cervejaria Ltda, was opened by Marcelo and Cello with a third partner, Joca Muller (previously a marketing executive with L’Oréal and Johnson & Johnson), in the historic dockyard area of Rio, in September 2004.

The beer recipes were created specifically for Bar Devassa by a highly respected Master Brewer and use barley and hops imported from Belgium.

Three beers are currently produced, Loira (‘blonde’ in Portuguese), Ruiva (‘redhead’) and a dark beer Negra (‘black’).

Draft beer sold on the premises in Bar Devassa is also sold as ‘Mulata’ ”“ a mix of the three beers. There are no current plans to import the Negra beer to the UK.

The product has been recognised by international advertising agency McCann-Erickson as a future global success story. The agency offered a free campaign in Brazil for Devassa which was launched in May 2004.

The ads were quoted by the Campana Brothers in their interview in the July 2004 UK edition of Wallpaper as their favourite ad campaign. (The ads used in Brazil are too ‘sexy’ for the UK market but can be seen on the Black Collar website at www.blackcollargroup.com/index.php?page=devassa)

Black Collar is targeting top style and destination bars and clubs for Devassa. The bottles have a distinctive, stylish design and the beer is being very well received in tastings.

According to Black Collar CEO Paul Hamilton, “Devassa doesn’t just look good, it genuinely is great beer. For once, the two go hand-in-hand.”

Production of Devassa beer is very limited, making this a genuinely exclusive product. Devassa Beer has not previously been available outside Rio de Janeiro, even elsewhere in Brazil.

Taste

Loira: Golden colour, creamy head. Lightly grassy with slightly sweet flowery honey undertones. Mild hopped finish.

Ruiva: Amber coloured, rich head. Soft and rounded with some butterscotch and an aromatic hop finish.

Black Collar is developing a portfolio of premium brands from countries in the developing world for sale and distribution in style-conscious cities including London, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York.

Initial launch plans include premium branded beer from Brazil and designer children’s furniture from Singapore.

Black Collar was founded by Paul Hamilton, Simon Dorris and Nicolai Schleip. The company was established in July 2004 and is based in Soho, London.

www.blackcollargroup.com
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