The Devil's in the draught lines: 1000 Years of Women in Britain's beer history

by Christina Wade

Once our ancient ancestors discovered that by settling and cultivating grains they would have a regular and plentiful food source, it was only a matter of time before beer became a part of everyday life. And that beer was mainly made by women. For centuries, women brewers remained key participants in our beer trade, up to the Industrial Revolution when increased mechanisation, alongside Victorian societal constraints, conspired to push a lot of them out. From then on, commercial brewing was generally considered a male-led profession. But things are changing. With the increase in new breweries, and a growing enthusiasm for beer, women are back at the helm at an ever-growing number of British brewers, large and small, reasserting their dominance in the industry.

Genres: Beer

244 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2024

Reviews

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

A nice, casual read that introduces people to the numerous roles women played in the world of beer, from brewing, to alewives, to home brewing, to innkeepers/landladies, to malting, to hop pickers. This book describes a lot of the various kinds of occupations women took from the medieval period up to today.

This book is very much the reason why the likes of gender history exist, because it reminds us that women were and still are involved in beer making and in turn, this allows us to further understand the social conditions and lives of people overall in different periods of history. I think Wade does a good job in arguing this, emphasising that material conditions and context would shape how women engaged with these professions, even how women in brewing would differ between England, Wales and Scotland. Wade also has a very strong awareness of intersectionality and acknowledging different kinds of women in history and today in beer, which further adds to the strengths of the book. I'm really glad that this book managed to interview a wide range of women working in beer today, as well as being able to talk about the importance of medieval brewing for disabled and elderly women at the time as well as acknowledging topics such as fetishising women of colour in Victorian advertising for women pub workers. There's even a mention of a woman proto-beer writer talking to Romani and Traveller hop pickers in the 19th Century.

One of my criticisms has to be that, due to the introductory nature of this book, it does have that casual writing style throughout. Whilst it still maintains an academic flair with the numerous references mentioned and cited, it does lean more to a casual writing style which is not really for me personally. Especially when primary sources would be discussed and then almost end abruptly by saying that Wade doesn't want to cover it and that it's just too much to go over. Sometimes the thematic analysis works, but most of the time, it felt a bit sporadic, especially in the last chapter (which Wade herself acknowledges). You can go from accounts of Jewish women in medieval Britain brewing for supplementary income, to an interview about Sadeh Farm today, to discussing medieval rules and regulations. Then there's some case studies which are interesting, but do seem a bit underdeveloped such as Mary Phillips, a Suffragette and socialist who worked alongside Sylvia Pankhurst, who also edited a brewing trade news service. The passage about this is almost word for word what the Wikipedia article says about her working in this, just a sentence and nothing else.

Still, I did learn a decent amount from this which should be acknowledged and it is still an important book in detailing the wide scope of women's work in beer through many periods of history, including today.

[Joe Doak · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that is needed to provide understanding and gender balance to the history of beer and brewing. It does a pretty effective job of selecting facts and stories that illustrate the various roles of women in the brewing and distribution of beer, mixing the ancient and modern in a patchwork of ‘historical nuggets’. In some respects, there lies the weakness of the book: it jumps around and never quite develops a clear narrative. However, I enjoyed the journey and learnt a fair amount along the way.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually bought and read the paperback edition but it does not seem to be on Goodreads.

I am a great beer drinker and an accredited beer judge who likes reading books about beer. Women have always played a big role in beer and this is a fascinating read.

[Lana Svitankova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Чудово. Авторка не лише ретельно працює з історичними джерелами, а й має прекрасне почуття гумору, стилю, і при тому не педалить за жіночок, тільки тому, що сама тієї ж статі. Дуже імпонує. Історія про корову, яка випила пиво стоячи, тому не винна, окрема радість. Вже чекаю на наступну книжку!

[Lizzie Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched, well written, and featuring an interview with yours truly- what more could I ask for.