Women have a significant role in brewing through history. Before brewing is industrialized, it's a domestic activity seen as providing nourishment to the family. Women are often the primary brewers, a practice predating recorded history.
Women as the First Brewers
Women in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Europe are responsible for making beer. The "brewing goddess" is a common figure in early cultures, symbolizing nourishment and health.
She emphasizes the harmful qualities of alcohol as well as its congenial nature. Sirius and Ninkasi are beer goddesses of Mesopotamia. They're both closely associated with grain and crop fertility.
Zosimos of Panopolis (c. 300 AD) describes Egyptian beer as a health treatment:
“Certainly brewers of Egyptian beer [‘zythi’], which is more powerful [than our beers] are not lacking in the false and wicked arts, and might be better used for intoxication. This [concoction] includes: borage, cannabis seeds and leaves, helenium, ivy leaves, strychnine, and darnel.”
In ancient Europe, women are the pioneers of brewing. Tasked with providing nourishment for their families, women hone the art of brewing at home. Their expertise in fermenting grains and creating flavorful beverages is the foundation of brewing today.
Brewing Beer at Home
In medieval Europe, brewing is largely a household activity. Women brew for their families and sometimes for sale at local markets. This tradition continues well into the modern era, with many women crafting beer into a form of economic empowerment.
Brewing, like pickling and preserving, is the domain of the housewife. She can brew while fulfilling her other duties such as caring for children, cooking, cleaning or making bread, the latter an activity also using yeast.
Nuns and monks are often brewers in medieval times, and some convents or monastery breweries still operate today. They brew because they are tasked with providing nourishment (food and drink) for travelers.
From this comes the distillation of beer into whiskey. Because of early brewing in convents, later alchemists find equipment at their disposal. Alchemical friars include Roger Bacon, Jean de Roquetaillade, and George Ripley.
Home brewing is a communal activity too. Women are considered knowledgeable in the alchemical process of fermentation, honing skills passed down through generations. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, home brewing goes through technological changes.
Summary of the Brewing Process
Brewing involves converting starches into sugars, which are then fermented to produce alcohol. The basic steps include:
Malting: raw barley or other grain is prepared to be the main ingredient in the brewing process. The grain is steeped in water, rested under precise conditions to encourage germination, and finally dried in a kiln and/or a roaster.
Mashing: Malted grains are mixed with hot water, activating enzymes that convert starches into sugars.
Lautering: The mash is drained to separate the liquid (wort) from the spent grains.
Boiling: The wort is boiled, and hops are added for bitterness and aroma.
Fermentation: Yeast is added to the cooled wort, converting sugars into alcohol and carbonation.
Conditioning: The beer matures, allowing flavors to develop before it is filtered and packaged.
Knowledge of herbs and spices enhances the brewing process and product.
Hildegard of Bingen Introduces Hops
One notable historical figure is Hildegard of Bingen, a Benedictine abbess, mystic, and herbalist from the 12th century. She’s often credited with advocating for the use of hops in brewing, which revolutionizes the craft.
Hops not only add flavor but are also a preservative. They greatly influence the brewing practices still used today. Hildegard’s writings on the virtues of hops echo the essential role of women in both the spiritual and practical realms of brewing.
She has a deep connection between nature and the art of beer-making. She emphasizes the importance of balance and harmony in both health and brewing ingredients.
Women in Brewing - Production, Commerce & Trade
As the brewing industry grows, so does women’s involvement, particularly in Europe. In the Middle Ages, women brewers, known as "brewsters," are common, and many operate taverns and inns. In England such women are alewives. They're demonized in later culture.
Brew houses become local centers of commerce, where women not only sell beer but also foster community. Beer is a large part of harvest celebrations through the lands. As well as jams and jellies women bring their home brew to be judged, hoping for a first place win.
It's a way to solidify one's reputation as a brewer. Beer is also integral to bringing in the harvest. Workers come from urban centers or nearby farms to help out. Farmers cooperate, helping harvest each others' crops. It's very important the beer is good.
The harvesters expect a hearty meal and plenty of good drink. Whether a farm has eager workers or not can depend on the quality of the beer and generosity of the pour.
Many women seek to establish their brands, gaining recognition and respect in the community for their craft. Women participate in the trade aspects of brewing, negotiating sales and analyzing market demands.
Another industry almost exclusively run by women is the production of the blue-green verdigris in Montpelier, France in the 18th century. Women make the pigment at home by placing copper in an urn above an acid solution. The copper forms verdigris, a protective patina.
Just as in brewing there are periods of waiting, so a verdigris pigment maker has plenty of time for her wifely duties. The women form trade networks and run the verdigris process from making to selling.
Once they start making money, the government imposes "inspections" on verdigris production facilities. Before long, the women are out of business and the center of production moves elsewhere.
German Reinheitsgebot - Barvaria 1516
The Purity Law for beer is first set in Munich, then spreads to the rest of Bavaria. It's voluntarily adopted by scattered other Germanic regions. In the mid-20th century, the letter of the law surges to the forefront as more German brewers seek protection from competition.
According to the Purity Law, only hops, water and barley are permitted in beer. Yeast is not mentioned as it's considered a mechanism of the brewing process.
The law ostensibly protects brewers from competition from bakers, who are free to use rye or wheat while brewers use barley. It also controls beer prices, when and where beer can be sold. Any brewer without access to barley or a flexible schedule is out of luck.
Religious conservatism may have influenced adoption of the rule in Bavaria, to suppress the use of plants allegedly used in pagan rituals, such as henbane, belladonna or wormwood. The rule also discourages beer preservation by use of soot, stinging nettle and henbane.
Gruit, an ancient herb mixture used in beer, is also banned by the law. While gruit recipes are usually secret and differ by brewer, the mix can contain:
Many herbs are associated with witchcraft.
Women Forced Out of Brewing in Later Years
With industrialization comes a new era. Large-scale brewing operations marginalize many small, female-led enterprises. The rise of commercial brewing companies further entrenches a masculine identity in the beer industry, leading to a decline in women’s roles.
As time goes on, societal changes, including the reinforcement of traditional gender roles, push many women out of the brewing space. They are encouraged to conform to domestic ideals rather than engage in a profession they have historically developed.
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