Some women have been patronized by being told they can’t “handle” bigger beers. They are then steered towards lighter fare in an attempt to preserve their “delicate palates.”
A group of women in Sweden have had enough of this talk. They banded together and brewed the “We Can Do It” pale ale. This is Sweden’s first beer made by women only.
After being told for the umpteenth time that the beer she wanted would be “too dark and too strong for you, love – have something sweeter”, Rebecka Singerer had had enough.
“No, I don’t want an effing fruit beer. Women can drink whatever we want,” she says.
Its label is a take on Rosie the Riveter, the creation of a US second world war propaganda campaign that went on to become a symbol of women’s power in the workplace.
FemAle is up against decades of prejudice in the beer world. In an irony not lost on FemAle, Carlsberg and other big brewers have spent millions in recent years trying to sell beer to women, attempting to “pink it and shrink it” to appeal to perceived feminine tastes. Carlsberg’s Eve and Copenhagen offerings, Foster’s Radler and Coors’ Animée were among lighter, flavoured and even “bloat-resistant” beers that failed to find a market.
FemAle’s approach is different, with women-only tastings that allow potential customers to experiment with flavours and styles of beer that they may not normally try. This education process is the way to “get more girls into the beer world”, the group says. “Bring your mother, sister, girlfriend, aunt and grandmother so we all can learn more about beer.”
You can checkout the group’s Facebook page to learn more (just hit the translation button.)
Side Note: Last September, right after Bellingham Tap Trail launched, a local group got together at Boundary Bay Brewery to celebrate women in the beer industry. They called the event “femALES.” I don’t know if it was at all related to the Swedish version.