The Beer And Brewery Industry Used To Be Controlled By Women — What Happened?

When imbibers imagine a "girly" drink, maybe a magenta-used Cosmopolitan comes to mind. But, in reality, beer is the "girliest" drink of them all. Throughout human history, women have been the ones brewing beer and running breweries. The shift to beer as a "macho" symbol in modern times rather than an ancient female-led profession is a story of male control — and of women brewers reclaiming their space in the industry.

Let's start at the beginning of beer itself. The Ancient Egyptians were the first civilization to hone the craft of brewing, about 7,000 years ago. Before wood-paneled, swanky IPA breweries hosting flannel-clad patrons, there was homebrewing. In ancient times (and up until 400 years ago) fermenting and brewing beer was considered a duty of the home, designating the task to women. In fact, the Egyptian goddess Hathor (mother of sun god Ra) was considered the ruler of beauty, women's health, and drunkenness, predating the ancient Greeks' Dionysus deity by centuries. Before Hathor, Ninkasi was the Sumerian goddess of beer and brewing; a recorded "Hymn" to Ninkasi dates back to ancient Mesopotamia in 1800 B.C.E. Over time, these master brewers honed and developed practical grain preservation into the art of beermaking. One of the earliest scientific brewing texts comes from German nun Hildegard von Bingen, who is credited as one of the first brewers to add hops to beer in the mid-1100s. von Bingen also published other groundbreaking scientific texts on the subject of natural medicine. 

Before long, brewers began transitioning into the market sphere, even opening taverns. In the legislative Code of Hammurabi, tavern owners are referred to by the pronoun "she." This tradition continued into the 13th-century, where records indicate women-run taverns and breweries across Denmark, Germany, and other parts of Europe. Then, enter: The Reformation (1517-1600). This religious fundamentalist movement hit the Medieval Roman Catholic Church like a sociopolitical tsunami, shaking up the entire society including the political sphere – and, also during the 1500s, brewing became associated with witchcraft (not by accident). 

Across Europe, as women's rights were systematically encroached upon in the name of religious reform, their less-experienced brewing competitors (i.e. men) opportunistically launched a concurrent smear campaign against the master brewers of the era, lobbying the "witch" narrative to give themselves a leg up in the market. Notably, the pointy hats, cauldrons, and cats were real, historical fixtures of the feminine brewing trade, all rooted in utility. In the marketplaces of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, brewers transported their beers in cauldrons; those tall hats were designed to catch shoppers' eyes as they navigated the crowd, and cats helped keep mice away from the grain. The misogynist smear campaign's sociocultural efficacy is fascinating considering that, meanwhile, Martin Luther's own wife famously brewed beer and supported their family with a brewery, which he wrote about extensively. Regardless, by 1600, legislation was passed in England that made it illegal for women to sell beer.

Nevertheless, women brewers persisted. In colonial America, beer was consumed more than water for its bacterial safety, and the bulk of brewers and tavernkeepers were (once again) women. Even Martha Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson's wife) brewed Monticello Beer during the mid-to-late 1700s and early 1800s. But, by the late 1800s, women no longer dominate the craft once the beermaking industry became industrialized.

In the contemporary brewing industry today, global beermaking comprises a grossly disproportionate population of male leadership at mega-brewing companies. Anheuser-Busch, Molson Coors, and Heineken all currently have male CEOs. This isn't to mention that nearly all of beer-branding targets a masculine audience (drink it in the garage, or while watching football). 

According to data from the Brewers Association, as of 2020, 52.3% of breweries in America have all-male ownership, while all-female-owned breweries comprise just 2%; even 50/50 split gender brewery ownership is in the minority at 31%. Although, BuzzBallz are a woman-owned business (which rules). As Alisa Bowens-Mercado, founder of Rhythm Brewing Co. in New Haven, Connecticut, tells Shondaland in 2023, "in a $114 billion-per-year industry, people of color and women are getting .0005 percent of that market." Woman-owned breweries are often smaller-scale establishments with an especial focus on craft beer and innovation. Samantha Malkmus' Good Hops Brewing, for instance, was a North Carolina Sustainable Business Award Nominee in 2025.