The Strong Minority

I guess when you think about it, this term applies to both topics here, Craft Beer and the women within the world of Craft Beer. For Craft Beer we tend to think of the struggle to win hearts and minds. For the women within Craft Beer, the focus becomes one of influence and presence.

For those of you who are traditionalists, we often times associate men with beer and women with wine. Why? I suppose we tend to stereotype and images of ladies engaged in conversation over a nice glass of wine find their way to the forefront. A stereotype based largely in fact and reality.

So why then does this column center upon women in Craft Beer? Because it’s time to give credit where credit is due. Not to spin a tale of men vs. women or women as some weaker sex, but I have to tell ya, within Craft Beer, women have got it goin’ on.

Gallup recently published results for 2010 which indicated women cite beer as their preferred beverage 27% of the time – up 6% from the year prior. And for women aged 49 and under, the share is 35% - up 10% year over year. Holy cow! While it’s always nice to see Craft Beer numbers under any heading increasing, think about these increases for a second. The focus is on preferred beverage, which means the Ladies are moving AWAY from some other beverage. That wine glass might be gathering a little dust lately. That’s extremely important – and incredibly powerful.

We’ve known for a while that women have advanced olfactory senses and where the sense of smell goes, so too does an ability to experience more depth and flavors than the men out there. In that light, it should make intuitive sense given increased market share to Craft Beer that women would find more enjoyment here than in years past. After all, what’s the point if we can’t find some pleasure in it?

And here’s the cool part, where women go, so too does their influence. Women exist in, and very successfully influence, every strata of Craft Beer. Yep, EVERY strata. Brewers, brewery owners, buyers, media, lab techs, packagers, beer judges, social media giants, designers – I guess you get the point.

Until I decided to write this article, I guess I never really took a look at the number of women out there truly working to advance our mission. We tend to view our trade as inclusive and rarely find cause to discuss segmentation but now that I’m looking around, it truly is remarkable to see where so much of the influence is coming from, especially when it comes to media - social or otherwise.

I know a lot of writers, reviewers, publishers etc. and guess which ones tend to be just a little more expressive, insightful, and grounded? It doesn’t mean that the topic needs to be Craft Beer either. Look at the food reviewers as well. There’s a commonality, a link that is wonderful at moving inner thoughts into outward communication.

One of the greatest movements I’ve seen is the focus on educating and expanding the sheer number of ladies within the ranks. Websites and educational sessions are out there, and they’re growing. Head to Google and do a simple search on any combination of the words women, craft beer, beer, enjoyment, education, or anything else that falls in this zone. It’s quite a list. But the real reason for getting you to look there was to get you involved. Don’t be afraid to emerge from ‘net anonymity. Stand up and be among them, the other women enjoying a lifestyle rich in activity, events, and friendship.

People tend to express themselves with their pocketbooks and while it’s always fun to enjoy a pint over dinner or with company, it turns out that the beer market runs about an 80 / 20 split when we consider where beer is sold. 20% of beer shows up in draft only, the handles pouring our glasses at our local hangout. The bigger share, the 80% stake, goes to bottles and cans. Those are found largely in the supermarket so when you think of influence there and who makes the decisions, women are a target fiercely fought for. When you further consider that the population of drinkers is largely static, movement from one segment into another is massive. Not quite the minority at all when you think of it in these terms.

So guys, at this stage, you should see the obvious. The next time you have a chance, the question isn’t “Hey, can I buy you a beer?” it’s “Hey, could you help me make a selection?”

I’m here to help ya. And thank you Ladies. You mean so much to Craft Beer.