Ladies of Craft Beer

Posted By: Stevie Caldarola

Ingrid Calderoni

Ingrid Calderoni is journalist, photography lover, homebrewer and beer blogger. Born on May 25^th in São Paulo, is lauching the first beer travel guide in Brazil, listing more than 40 Brazilian microbreweries, by Panda Books. Is also founder of the first female beer group in São Paulo, Maltemoiselles.

Ingrid sat down with craft beer heavyweight (and author of Radical Brewing) Randy Mosher to discuss the topic of women and beer.

INGRID C.: Today, despite women having spending power far beyond men (in career, for instance), beer remains very much a man’s world. What do you think about it?

RANDY M.: I think this is just a relic from the era when drinking was a social activity in the man’s world, and a little less acceptable for “proper” women. Wine has led the way for women to become drinkers and then connoisseurs and enthusiasts, at least in the US, followed by spirits and finally craft beer.

From a mass-marketer’s point-of-view, the easiest way to reach the biggest beer drinkers has been to advertise with sports, and since these are more popular with men, these ads are made for men, to be persuasive to men only. This means women are ignored, intentionally or just as a result of trying to spend the advertising money to get the largest group of those who drink the most beer, which happens to be men. So you get TV commercials with tough men, and women in swimsuits and crude humor (maybe it is different in Brazil), so you actually drive a lot of women away who don’t want to be associated with or support a product like that.

Of course, with craft beer, things are different. There are many more choices, some of them very sophisticated. And there is no money for advertising, so there are no sexist ads. Selling craft beer is all about the personal touch and building relationships between producers and consumers, and I think that women generally feel more comfortable with this approach, and also young people are much more excited by this than my generation was.

IC: As a designer, what do you think could shatter the “macho” image of beer? Do you think the beer industry could try to create more attractive package for women instead of trying to sell light lagers, floral or chocolate beers – popularly known as “chick beers”?

RM: No, not really. I think the product should reflect the quality and character of what’s inside the package. There are beers for everybody, and if the package designer does his or her job right, people will have a sense of what the emotional experience of drinking the beer will be like. Is it fun, exciting, challenging, outrageous, sublime, silly, or super-serious? People, whether they are women or men will respond to what moves them at the moment, and I think that’s the way it should be.

Marketing “special” products to women has a dismal record in the business. No one wants to live in a ghetto where they have to have to have special products based on gender, as if they were handicapped or something. Also, from a producer’s point-of-view, with womens’ products, you are throwing away half or more of your potential audience. I used to work in the toy business years ago, and it was well known that girls would play with boys’ toys, but not the other way around. A man would never touch a beer if he thought the product was supposed to be just for women. He would be worried it might make him grow breasts or something.

Randy Mosher

IC: And what do you think about this denomination that the market uses to sell beer – “suitable for female palate”? I´ve found this expression even in German – frauenbier!

RM: I think it’s stupid. Women have a similar palate to men, except perhaps they have a bit more sensitivity and generally pay a little more attention to what they put in their mouths. The one difference is that in general, women seem to be a little less tolerant of hop bitterness, but this is by no means always true. I know many women who like beers that are extremely bitter, like 70 IBU+!

IC:  It is scientifically proven that women have a better sensory perception for tasting beer, for some kind of flavors. Many people say that this is why women would rather drink “chick beer” than other hoppy ones. There are also researches based on preference, which suggests that women drink more light and sweet beers. What is your point of view? Could we rely on a preference research to base all the marketing targeting the female public like this, or, for you, taste is individual?

RM: Market research is an abomination and results in the huge number of bland, boring products that fill the supermarket aisles. People should make beer that they and their friends like, then hopefully others will like them as well. This is what craft beer is about.

IC:  What do you think abour beers designed to appeal to female taste buds, like the low-carb beers?

RM: Lo-carb has nothing to do with palate. It is a form of medicine for people who think they are being poisoned by carbohydrates. We had a frenzy of lo-carb products about 8 years ago in the US. Thankfully, this silly trend is no longer with us.

IC: What is your opinion about women getting together in groups like Pink Boots Society, Ladies of Craft Beer, and Maltemoiselles in Brazil? Do you think these girly clubs appeared on behalf of machism in the world of beer?

RM: I think it is natural for women to want to get together on their own terms, especially since groups with a lot of men in them are sometimes difficult for women to make themselves heard and influence the group. I think the womens’ groups are fantastic, but I also hope that all the beer organizations will be open enough to women that they don’t feels such a need to separate themselves–and that day is coming. I know many women in the beer business who are more than capable of holding their own, even in a room full of men, so I have no doubt that this will happen. At least two large craft breweries in the US are run by women: Stoudt’s (Carol Stoudt) and New Belgium (Kim Jordan). And there are women in very important roles in most small breweries.

IC: What do you think that keep lots of women away from beer, beyond the mistaken perception that beer is unhealthy, fattening and unsophisticated?

RM: Maybe it is because most of it (mass-market beer) is boring, cheap and lacking in variety, elegance and flavor? Stick a pink label on a reduced calorie mass-market beer and is still just as uninteresting.

~~~~~

What do you think of what Randy had to say? Leave your thoughts in the comments below to keep this dialogue going. Cheers!

Related Posts:

• A Beer Drinking Woman in a Beer Man’s World
• Women in Beer Series – Maggie Foley
• This Mother’s Day Celebrate The First Beer Brewers – Women
• Beer Apps for Techno Geeks
• How Do You Judge a Good Beer Bar?

Originally posted 2011-08-10 12:05:33.

Posted By: Michelle

Image courtesy of Active Beer Geek

Fast forward to present day, me with my iPhone4 and over 200 apps on my device. I do have photos and music and even keep a calendar, but I have totally app-ed out! I spend more time shopping the apps than I do talking on the darned thing. Heck, I even have a BEER folder for all of the beer-related apps I have.

Despite all of my apps, I am by no means the Queen of Apps. I generally do not buy any of the apps I use. I am not sure why I can easily drop dollars at the mall, but God forbid I part with a few cents for a beer app! Also, I hate, and I mean HATE, apps that want me to enter all of my personal information and link their site to my Facebook or my Twitter or my what-the-heck-ever account. I just want to find a brewery in a new city, not open my entire personal life to your community! I get a bit touchy when I have to invent new, or use old, user names and passwords and then invent yet another secret question. Gee, was that a capital letter or a lower case letter? Was that one word or two? My time is too important, and my privacy too guarded, to invite every beer drinking Bertha into my little corner of the world when all I want is some information. I also refuse to be a part of drinking game apps. My professional self and my personal self collide here and I know that drinking games do nothing more than promote the over consumption of alcohol and promote a culture of excess. In my humble opinion.

My perspective is also limited by the fact that I shoot for free apps and I only have the iphone. I have not ever owned and know very little about the Droid, iPad, or any of the other platforms that are out there for app Geeks like me. If you are one of those folks, please add your input in the comments section of this article so that others can benefit from your experiences. You know, inclusivity and all.

Right now, today, and subject to change at any moment or the next time the bus gets stuck in traffic, my phone contains the following beer apps that are listed below. I will try and save you some time and money by describing each one and give you what I hope will be useful feedback. I am not technologically talented enough to include logos, either. Again, this is where you as a member of the LOCB community are invaluable and your feedback needed!

• Brewery Map – Input a location and it is supposed to show you breweries. Tends not to be comprehensive and will only find the well established and large places. Not bad if you are in a new town or live in a large city.
• Beer Match – Puts beer, food and cheeses together for pairings. You can choose the beer, the foods or the cheese and the app will give you suggestions. Pretty fun, but there are times that I could care less what goes with what, as long as the beer is good!
• Beer – Keeps track of your tasting with notes and ratings. You can include a photo of the beer. I logged into mine and realized I had never put anything in this one. I will have to get on that.
• BAC Calc – One of the better ways to gauge your blood alcohol levels if you are monitoring or need to know if you can or should drive. Never 100% accurate, but a nice reference.
• Beer Cloud – Lots of information in there, but it is a bit much for this simple gal. You can input your beers, find what is near, and there are pairing suggestions. Caution – this one will want a profile and such, which you do not have to provide. I found it slow and confusing. Delete.
• Beer Brands – A means by which you can keep track of your favorites or of beers you have tried. You can rate them yourself. You can also look up brands and get a detailed description, pairings, and a bit of history. Caution – the app does want you to connect all your social networking, but it is not required. Simple and easy to use (like me ;0).
• iLoveBeer – Well, it looked good at first. When I looked further, the offerings included Keystone, Miller Light and Bud. DELETE!!!!
• Taplister – Provides information on local pubs and beer places. Great way to see details of the establishment as with hours web site and location, but dependent on the management or app users putting information into the site. If information is there about the beer, it can be useful if you are looking for new taps in your area or if you are out of town.
• Tap Hunter – hmm, not sure about this one. Again, a program to help find beer and or breweries. However, most of the listings I received were about 300 miles away. You can search by beer or by brewery. May be more useful if I lived in a big city.
• A Monitor – another way to calculate or monitor your blood alcohol level. This one is for the visual among us, as it is mostly in pictures. I would shy away from making big life decisions based on the information, but a guide just the same.

Those are what I have and how I found them to be or not to be useful. I am looking forward to feedback from readers and more information on what is out there.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on the ipad and the wonders that wait for me there… with one of those in my hands, you may never see me again!

Cheers!

[Editor's Note: Although Untappd isn't mentioned on this particular list, we here at Ladies of Craft Beer are big fans, as shown by our East/West Coast Brew Crawl Badges with them. Untappd is a check-in service where you can keep track of and review in 140 characters any beer that you drink while earning badges along the way!]

Related Posts:

• Interview with Randy Mosher about Women and Beer (Guest post by Ingrid Calderoni)
• How Do You Judge a Good Beer Bar?
• A Review of 5 Gluten-Free Beers (Guest Post by Amanda Tradwick)
• How Do You Want Your Beer Organized on a Menu?
• A Beer Drinking Woman in a Beer Man’s World

Posted By: Theresa Carpine

I had a lot of time over my winter break to think about things that usually take a back seat to research papers and work schedules. How beer is organized on a menu was one of those things.

Manito Tap House Sampler

A new gastropub opened up in Spokane recently, hosting 50 tap handles. Manito Tap House has a four page beer menu organized by style; a description of each beer, location of the brewery, ABV, and price are also included. They even include which beers are “coming soon,” although it’s a bit of a tease. Just a few blocks away, Waddell’s Pub and Grill has 35 tap handles and a beer menu printed on a quarter sheet of paper with the beer and brewery name alone (IPAs are separated from other beers, but that’s the only style that’s distinguished).

Two establishments that offer a lot of beers, but two very different beer menus.

I posted a poll last week to take the pulse from other beer fans. Big thanks to everyone who took the time to vote or comment! With 77.59% of the vote, responders like beer menus organized by style best. Coming in second at 10.34% are menus organized by brewery.

Brews on Washington Beer Menu

Several commenters on Facebook noted that they also like to see beer menus delineate between draft beers and bottled beers. I thought this was standard practice, but perhaps that’s not the case. On Twitter, a few people noted that they consider characteristics like “hoppy to malty” more revealing than organization by color. I forgot to include IBUs on my poll, and that’s also a useful bit of information for beer drinkers. Knowing where a brewery is located was another factor for folks who like to support local businesses.

The two pieces of information that should be included with each beer are the brewery’s name and style, especially if a beer’s name doesn’t reveal the style right away; only a hardcore beer fan might know right away that Deschutes Brewery The Stoic is a Belgian-style Quad…or even what a “quad” means in terms of beer.

If you have the time and resources to provide as much information as possible about your beers on a menu, that’s my recommendation to serious beer bars. If your menu isn’t as informative, make sure your staff can answer questions about different styles and breweries.

What’s your preference for a beer menu layout at your favorite beer bar? Leave a comment to let us know!

Related Posts:

• Deschutes Brewery Inland Northwest Base Camp
• How Do You Want Your Beer Organized on a Menu?
• Sweet and Stout Launch Party
• Deschutes Brewery Names Two New Brewmasters
• A Schooner is Not a Girl Glass

Posted By: Kim Riemann

While Bukowski's in Boston made the Draft magazine list, we always enjoy a visit to Lord Hobo too.

Draft Magazine came out with their list of 100 Best Beer Bars around the nation.  I don’t admire them this task (though it would definitely be fun trying them all out) because I think it might be hard for me to decide which of the many bars would be my favorite.  So I got to thinking, what criteria would I use to decide my favorite beer bar.  Here’s what I came up with:

1. First and foremost, I don’t care how many taps you boast, if you don’t have an interesting selection (i.e., 36 taps that contain products from AB, Miller or Coors just don’t cut it).  My local place, George Street Alehouse, only has 12 taps. One dedicated to either Miller or PBR (for the football crowd), one dedicated to Guiness and the rest switch so often, featuring things from Porters to IPAs, Belgian Strongs to cider that the number of different styles and beers I’ve tried since they opened a year ago has skyrocketed.

2. Knowledge.  I like a place where the bartenders and servers are knowledgeable about their products. They know what’s on tap, the style of beer, where it was brewed and if I describe the type of beer I like, they can make a good recommendation.

3. Friendly.  I love being a regular but I also love going to a new place, sitting at the bar and being made to feel like I belong by both the staff and the local patrons.  Basically, is it run and patronized by fellow beer geeks? Because if it is, you’re always going to meet interesting people, ready, willing and able to share their love of brew.

I’ve got some minor thoughts on the subject, things like food (not necessary but always a plus), television (I do like to watch football and baseball, decent soundtrack) but the above are my top three.

How about you all? How do you judge a good beer bar?

Related Posts:

• Interview with Randy Mosher about Women and Beer (Guest post by Ingrid Calderoni)
• Beer Apps for Techno Geeks
• A Review of 5 Gluten-Free Beers (Guest Post by Amanda Tradwick)
• How Do You Want Your Beer Organized on a Menu?
• A Beer Drinking Woman in a Beer Man’s World

Posted By: Guest

More and more people are adopting a gluten-free diet either because of gluten sensitivities or a diagnosis of celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the body cannot process gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Most beers are brewed using wheat and barley, so those who must adhere to a gluten-free diet must avoid traditional beers. All hope is not lost for these beer lovers though. There are many gluten-free beers on the market that are brewed with sorghum, corn, rice, or sugars. Here is an overview of four popular brands:

Image found on Flickr

Redbridge

This light, golden beer from Anheuser-Busch is a full-bodied lager made from sorghum. However, unlike other beers brewed with sorghum, this beer lacks the bitter finish and carries a rich taste of hops. The beer has a faint citrus taste to it, and there is a hint of Bud Light to it. The beer is moderately priced at $8.99 for a six pack of 12-ounce bottles.

Green’s Triple Blond

This European-inspired beer has a sweet and fruity taste similar to some wines. It is crisp and full-bodied. The beer is made with millet, buckwheat, sorghum, hops, and yeast, and does not have of the common allergens gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soy, milk, nuts, or sesame seeds. It is also appropriate for vegetarian and vegan diets. The beer is a bit pricey at $5.99 for a 500 ml bottle.

Bard’s Tale

Made with sorghum, yeast, and hops, this heavy beer has a strong flavor like caramel and molasses. It lacks the bitter finish of other beers made with sorghum and has some hints of fruity flavor. Amber colored and clear. The beer is moderately priced at $9.99 for a six pack of 12-ounce bottles.

Image found on Flickr

St. Peter’s

Reminiscent of a European lager, this light beer has a bitter taste with multiple flavors, including hints of citrus. It also had a slightly nutty, smoky flavor. The finish includes a slight taste of menthol or peppermint. The beer is a bit pricey at $4.99 for a 500 ml bottle.

New Grist

Each batch of this beer is tested for gluten prior to fermentation to ensure quality control. It is a light, sweet beer with a mild fruit flavor. There is not a strong flavor or a strong finish. The beer is made with sorghum, hops, rice, and gluten-free yeast. New Grist is moderately priced at $9.99 for a six pack of 12-ounce bottles.

Have you tried any of these gluten-free beers? Or do you have any favorite gluten-free beers that aren’t on this list? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

About the author:

Amanda Tradwick is a grant researcher and writer for CollegeGrants.org. She has a Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Delaware, and has recently finished research
on graduate grants and adult college grants.

Posted By: Theresa Carpine

(Featured photo courtesy of Stevie Caldarola)

Posted By: Michelle

Guys, this one IS for you.

Take One: It is a beer tasting event. My husband and I get our tickets. As usual, we are hoping that there is a designated driver or non-drinker cheap or fee option for him. Most often not. Either way, we enter. I am excited, eyes wide open and feeling the great beer energy that abounds. He looks sad, accepting his fate with a certain amount of dread. Like when he takes me to a gun show. Yeah, it’s like that. After we are in the event and start to peruse the offerings, he is quickly approached by other attendees for beer talk. Brewers and vendors single him out for beer related conversation. Do you brew? What have you tasted? Where are you from? How long have you been brewing?

Take Two: It is a local home brew club meeting or social gathering. My husband and I arrive and home brewers start to roll in. The general crowd of home brewers hones in on my old man. They quickly walk over and start their beer talk. My hubby looks at them with a blank stare and says, “You need to talk to her.” The unknowing home brewer now looks at me with that same blank stare.

Take Three: It is a night out. A nice dinner and a couple of drinks. I am reading the beer menu and am throwing technical beer related questions left and right to the wait staff. While I try to extrapolate important libation information from the server, s/he looks confusedly at my spouse, wondering why they are having this conversation with me and not with him.

And so it goes…..

My Husband's "Brewer Support Team" Tee

I am a craft-beer-drinking-home-brew-making-brewery-touring-libation-loving woman! Say that five times fast. Not the norm, as I have quickly learned. It got to the point that I had a t-shirt made for my hubby. Just to clear up any confusion about who the beer dork truly is.

Keep in mind that I have years of experience being the only woman in a male dominated arena. Recall, if you will, that I ride motorcycles. I don’t ride on the back and I do ride for real. That means I ride thousands of miles in a season. I ride in the rain, in the wind, in the heat, the cold…. etc. I am not the only woman who does this, just to be clear. I embrace my riding sisters and have nothing but respect and admiration (envy?) for those who ride circles around me! But, it can get weird. I wear full gear, which quickly removes many gender-related indicators. I also wear a full-face helmet that leaves only my eyes and nose exposed. Not a lot of identifying information there, either. I also wear my hair short. I learned that my lifestyle of camping, riding, boating and such is just not conducive to anything but low maintenance. Short hair does it for me. In fact, I actually shaved my head one year. Another story.

I do these things that mostly guys do and I wear my hair like mostly guys do and I wear clothes that can be pretty gender neutral while I enjoy my hobbies in the great out of doors. I have been called “Sir” to my face and often on the phone. I hate that, by the way.

For four years in a row, my riding partner (hubby) and I have attended a specific motorcycle rally in the summer. Calm down, it is not the misogynistic-wet-t-shirt-drinking-contest event many call “Sturgis”. We attend the North American V-Strom Rally. The first year, I was one of two women and the only female who rode her own bike. I was bored out of my head and alone in a crowd. None of the guys or the other woman would talk to me. Nobody got excited when asked to ride with me. I played on my smart phone while the guys around me talked up a storm over dinner about their love of bikes and subsequent adventures. I sat a lot and just chilled. I was excited to attend and my hopes for a weekend ripe with motorcycle mania were quickly dashed. Fast forward a couple years and I am now greeted with big bear hugs, warm smiles and conversation galore. I am not only welcome, but known and respected among my bike-loving-ride-in-all-weather-have-helmet-hair crowd. We have found our connection and our common ground. We are now buddies. Friends.

Bringing this all together….. Fellas, I don’t do these things to meet guys. I never did. This is just NOT about YOU! I engage in these activities because I LOVE them. I mean L-O-V-E as in sacrifice other things for them, spend lots of money to enjoy them, and have integrated these passions into all aspects of my life. My Christmas tree is lovingly adorned with beer coaster and motorcycle ornaments. My basement is full of beer supplies and my garage is full of motorcycles. My spare closet is filled with motorcycle gear and my storage shelves are packed with home brew supplies. My spouse and I have arguments about money and spending on our hobbies. Just like you. Just like many of us.

I realize that we are socialized to assume that most interactions between men and women are or will be or should become sexual. Both men and women receive messages that make it difficult to merely see each other as people with common interests, common stories, and connections to make. Connections that lay way outside of anything sexual, intimate or otherwise relationship-oriented. Connections that will bring us joy, but have nothing to do with partner shopping or dating or hooking
up. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. I bring this up because women, after all, are about 50% of the population. Women, after all, are everywhere, too. We come in all shapes and sizes, colors and configurations. We have lots of diverse interests and personalities. We are as similar and as different as you are.

But there is more…

The Front of Jim's Tee

I ask you, the male majority for this chat, to please not let my gender get in the way. While I may give you a black eye if you call me “sir” to my face (just kidding), I am there To enjoy one of my passions. Just like you. It IS about the beer. It is about talking beer, sharing stories about beer, getting tips and information that is beer related. It is all about the beer!

We share our love or beer (or bikes) and it is okay that we connect. It is okay that my hubby does not share my passion for beer and that I will have lengthy conversations with strange men about something I love. It only means that we share a common interest. Nothing more and nothing less. Dudes, it is about the beer NOT about you! Despite the messed up societal norms we may be exposed to, I think we can work through this together. I think there is room for all of us at the beer-lover-home-brewer table. That being said, it is not always the case that those of us who share a hobby are only there for the hobby. Of course not. I may have been born at night, but it was not last night. I know full well that some folks are looking for a partner, mate or maybe even just a hook-up. So be it. But, let’s be clear that you will figure that out right away. Even your beer-drinking self can recognize flirting vibes and undertones of a sexual nature. I, on the other hand, will make is easy. Not only will I not give you any clear or unmistakable flirt vibes, I can almost always guarantee that my big and tall adoring husband will be standing right there beside me while I get my beer on. A clear indication that I seek no more than a connection. No more than a mutual adoration of good brew. I seek only to indulge my beer dork self.

So, let’s make a deal. Let’s agree to each take a baby step on behalf of our love of beer. I will try and be more outgoing at these events and may even introduce myself to lots of strangers. Men included. In turn, I will ask that you seek out me – the female – and introduce yourself. You may recognize that I am one of the only women there and I may feel shy and intimidated. I probably don’t have any female friends that will attend with me, and I know for sure I have no close female home brew friends. But, like people everywhere, I am just trying to find my place and, in this case, share my love of beer. Like you, I long to connect with others who share my passion. If you approach a couple, perhaps ask who the beer lover is first and don’t assume that it is the male. I will, in turn, try not to get so freaking pissed off when I get ignored or left out or if you ask my hubby about his home brew.

It this always easy? Nope. Especially if you are as introverted as I am. I hate talking to strangers and meeting new people can be hard. But, I am willing to step out of my comfort zone if you will meet me part way. While it may not be our norm to approach strange people at our beer events, especially those who don’t look like us, we do have this great opportunity to break new ground, build a community and welcome new folks. It is our love of beer that brings us together. It is our love of beer that makes us happy. It is for our love of beer that we invest in our beer culture and our beer club. It is for our love of beer that we invite and welcome others in to our passion and our hobby. It is for our love of beer that we can throw out societal norms, expectations and stereotypes and move beyond the gender divide. Hell, let’s get crazy and include the racial divide, the ability divide, the age divide. Let’s include all those things that keep us separate and put them aside. It is for our love of beer that our community can and will grow, accepting all who enter. It is about creating and nurturing a quality beer culture. It is, again, about the shared passion. It is, as always, all about the beer. But, all bets are off if you call me “sir” to my face. Then it’s on…..

Related Posts:

• Interview with Randy Mosher about Women and Beer (Guest post by Ingrid Calderoni)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (The College Years, Part 5)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 35)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 34)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 32)

Posted By: Guest

Who am I to tell you anything?

In my daytime life I work as an educator at a University. My topics are health related. My specialty is alcohol. Ironic, huh? I teach college students how to drink by day, practice my own drinking by night, and make alcohol on the weekends. Who could ask for anything more? It’s not quite that simple, but you get the idea. So here I am, hoping to pass on some tools of the trade and share some tips to help you get the most out of your beer drinking experiences. I am certainly not here to tell you how to live your life or pass any judgment. I am here to share information that can help you maximize “the good stuff”, minimize the “bad stuff”, and perhaps better understand what happens when you, as a special and unique beer drinking female, consume alcohol.

The Gender of Beer

Ok, girls, let me just put it out there – you generally cannot drink as much as the guys. Sorry! I know we all want equality and such, but our biological make-up keeps us behind on this one. First, guys are generally bigger and weigh more than us, which is great when it comes to changing that tire but a drag during a night on the town. Guys typically also have less fat than women. Fat, as you may know, does not absorb alcohol. The less fat you have, the quicker it moves through your system. Thank our baby-making genes for that one. Being fit does help, but women are prone to having more fat just the same. Speaking of making babies… our hormones also get in the way. Depending on what time of the month it is, or what sort of hormonal birth control method we may use, alcohol can affect us differently. Sometimes we can get that good feeling, sometimes not. Sometimes it goes right to our head, sometimes not. Hormones…

Sheesh!

Last, but not least, guys have more (and I mean lots more) of an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase. This is the fancy little number that breaks down the alcohol and gets it moving through and out of the system. We just don’t have it. Bummer.

What is a drink, anyway?

Now the discussion turns a bit technical. One drink is not always what is in the glass, can or bottle. By definition, one “standard” serving of alcohol is a 1/2 oz of pure ethyl alcohol. Not many folks drink that straight – can you say Everclear ? Translate that into real life. On average, that means one 12 oz. beer, one 1.0 oz (shot) of hard alcohol, and 5 ounces of wine. Please, allow me to further complicate the issue. As you well know my craft beer drinking sisters, not all beers are created equal either. We have beer with 4% alcohol by volume (ABV) [editor's note: and even lower!] all the way up to 12% ABV (barley wine) [editor's note: and even higher!]. Girls, that means we must be on our toes and pay attention to what we are putting into our bodies. It takes the body about 15 minutes to absorb all of that alcohol and it begins as soon as that scrumptious ale hits our mouth. Once the alcohol is in our system, it takes about an hour for it to oxidize itself into oblivion and out of our blood stream.

A Bit More on our Bodies

Now that you understand what a “drink” really is, and some of the ways alcohol effects us gals differently, there are tools you can use to help mitigate your beer time. First, know that alcohol is a depressant. Sure, we feel that initial high, or buzz, but ultimately we come down. To really get the most out of your beer experience, it is best to keep your blood alcohol level (BAL or BAC) at (or below) .06. You know that legal limit traffic law that talks about .08 BAC for not driving? Well, think of .06 BAC as the fun limit. When you pass this number, you will experience more impairment, more depressant effects, and you could be on your way to not having the fun time you have set out to have. Once you pass that limit you usually don’t get that nice buzz back. Sad

Image courtesy of the California DMV

* The chart reflects the number of drinks per hour.

Tips, Tools and Ways to have Fun 

Feeling overwhelmed? Yeah, imagine me teaching this to 50 Sorority sisters late on a Sunday night! In all honesty, they are a great audience and we have fun discussions. But, stay with me, because this next part will be helpful. I promise. In my professional life, when talking about alcohol, I talk a lot about “protective factors”. Let me tell you that 96% of college students already do this stuff, so I am confident not all of this will be new. Protective factors are things we do to “protect” ourselves during our alcohol-based good time fun. I don’t think folks intend to get a DUI, dance with the porcelain goddess, or acquire some fancy (and perhaps incurable) disease. Some things you can do to keep the fun alive: designate a sober driver – I said sober, not the least drunk; make sure you have real food in that tummy – I know calories are a drag, but so is being
arrested; count your drinks or set a limit ahead of time; don’t play drinking games or consume unknown quantities (do you really need to be the beer pong champ?); know what you are having and how much alcohol is in it; use your behavioral cues, such as how you are feeling, talking or walking, as a way to judge if you have had too much.
Sometimes the same amount of alcohol can effect us differently, so be prepared to change your plan if you have to. Talk to your friends and make a deal about limiting your drinking. I think you get the idea. Use your beer drinking brain ahead of time for maximum beer drinking fun later.

[Editor's note: For any of you drinking game loving ladies out there (and I'm one of them)- don't get upset just yet at what Michelle said above. She makes a good point, but if I can put my two cents in, I'd say, if you really must play one of those games, (and sometimes you just do, believe me, I've been there), include those drinks that you consume during the game in your count of drinks for the night. Drinking games are a lot of fun, but can be very dangerous if you aren't paying attention to how much and how quickly your drinking. Again, the overall message here is- have fun, but be safe.]

Keeping it Real, Keeping it Fun

Image courtesy of Inland Brewer's Unite

The bottom line here is that we all want to have a good time. I mean, nobody really sets out to “be that guy” or “that gal”. The reality, too, is that most of us have or will make mistakes, miscalculations, and perform mishaps during our drinking careers. Easy steps to take involve just a little planning: Who will drive? Who will drink? What about food? What about mood or medication? Is it that time of the month? What am I expecting out of this? Are there non-drinking activities to pass the time? Am I tired, pissed off, or happy? Will there be food or non-alcohol beverages? I encourage you to take five minutes, run a quick inventory, and talk about your plan. Get your friends or partner to agree, so that later, when you are unable to make any decisions at all, nobody changes their mind, blows your evening, or puts you in any sort of danger. With this information you are now ready to set out for a good time with your beer brethren.

In the end, we want to enjoy the beer, enjoy each other, and we want to see YOU again!

Cheers,

Michelle

Michelle Pingree has been brewing for two years, is a partial mach and extract brewer, and averages one beer per month. She is married to a non-beer-drinker-designated-driver and when not brewing or drinking beer she can be found taking part in various motorcycle adventures. Her husband and adult daughter also ride.

~~~~~

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• A Beer Drinking Woman in a Beer Man’s World
• Interview with Randy Mosher about Women and Beer (Guest post by Ingrid Calderoni)
• Women, Beer and Media- Happy International Women’s Day!
• Women in Beer Series – Maggie Foley
• Join the Ranks! Contribute for Ladies of Craft Beer

Posted By: Julia Taylor

Photo courtesy of CraftBeer.com and Randy Mosher

The kickoff to the holiday season has begun and, for many, this represents stress and spending copious amounts of money. For me, however, it is about spending time with family and friends enjoying good food: especially good drink.  As the homebrewer and craft beer aficionado in the family, one of my responsibilities includes pairing the perfect beer with our Thanksgiving feast. Since beer is best paired with a single course like an artisan cheese or rich dessert, the hodge podge of flavors, textures, and sensations of this holiday dinner offers a challenge of what to brew. There’s not enough time to brew a Märzen, so maybe a Belgian Pale Ale or Dunkelweizen?  After serious pondering on the subject, I decided to follow the great beer and food pairings advice of Randy Mosher, author of Tasting Beer: An Insiders Guide to the World’s Greatest Drink, to help guide my decision.

Match strength with strength. Basically, delicate dishes work best with delicate beers and strongly flavored foods demand assertive beers.  In beer, the intensity of flavor involves alcoholic strength, malt character, hop bitterness, sweetness, richness, roastiness, and more.  In food, the richness (or fat), sweetness, cooking methods (such as roasting, grilling, or frying), and spicing all play a role.

Roasted turkey, gravy, and stuffing, oh my!  I’m going to need a beer with a high alcohol percentage and strong malt backbone to cut through the fats and starches of this massive spread. This feast, while rich, is more herbal than spicy (unless you’ve injected your bird with a Cajun marinade before tossing in the fryer), so I’ll want to avoid over-hopped beers, and aim for a touch of sweetness instead, to boost the diverse and complex flavors of the meal.

Find Harmonies. Combinations often work best when they share common flavor elements. The nutty flavors of an English-style brown ale and handmade cheddar cheese; the deep roasted flavors of an imperial stout and chocolate truffles; and the clean, rich, caramel flavors of an Oktoberfest lager and roasted pork are all examples.

Savory, sweet, rich, earthy/herbaceous, and nutty are flavors that I relate to Thanksgiving dinner.  The soft malt and higher alcohol of Belgian Tripel with roasted turkey, caramel sweetness of a Biére de Garde with sweet potatoes, or smoky earthiness of a Scottish Ale and stuffing.

Consider the Contrast Elements. Certain qualities of food and beer interact with each other in specific, predictable ways, and taking advantage of these interactions ensures that food and beer will balance each other.

• Sweet and fatty-rich foods are balanced by hop bitterness, sweetness, roasted/toasted malt, carbonation, or alcohol
• Spicy and acidic foods are balanced by sweetness and maltiness, and spicy foods are emphasized with hop bitterness

 I have turned my brothers into hopheads, but do not think the chef du jour would appreciate us drinking a tongue numbing IPA, so better stick with alcohol and malt sweetness to counteract the rich cuisine.

Look to classic cuisines. The cuisines of beer-drinking countries offer many traditional beer and food combinations, like bratwurst with pale lager, and unusual pairing like stout and oysters. These classic matches are a great starting point for further exploration.

My favorite traditional beer and food combination? A bowl full of steamed moules, overflowing plate of frites with assortment of aïolis, and a Belgian ale… The spicy light-bodied beer is a great complement to the mild texture and brininess of the mussels.  Hmmm… spicy and briny, I may be on to something.

 Make use of familiar patterns. Re-create or evoke recognizable flavor pairs in the form of beer for broad acceptance.

 Aside from turkey, there is nothing more Thanksgiving than pumpkin pie, so a pumpkin beer does seem fitting.

Practice makes perfect. Not every pairing will work as expected, and that is part of the fun.  If it is not great, make a note and move on, and build on the things that work.

 RDWHAHB-Relax, Don’t, Worry, Have a Homebrew

Picture courtesy of Foodista.com

 Consider seasonality. Lighter fare and beers for the warmer months and heavier for the winter. The beers and foods of a given season pair naturally and suit the mood.

 A Märzen is the perfect fall beer, but with only six weeks until Thanksgiving, an 8-week lagering period is out of the question.

Contrast and complement. All beer and food combinations should involve both of these principles. Some pairings will be more dependent on the contrast, others on the complementary flavors, but all should strive for some kind of balance.

 My goal is to balance the briny with spicy, richness with alcohol, and earthy with malt.

When in doubt, go Belgian. A Belgian-style abbey Dubbel or Tripel have enough substance to stand up to just about anything but do not have an overly aggressive malt or hop flavors that will overwhelm most foods. Plus, the big bottles make a nice presentation.

 And I did. After much deliberation, I decided my Thanksgiving brew would be a Belgian Tripel, a spicy beer that is high in alcohol, has a touch of malt sweetness, and hopefully a crowd pleaser.

Tripel Trouble

OG: 1.081

FG: 1.012

IBU: 34

Color: 4.5 SRM

Alcohol: 9.2% ABV

Boil: 90 minute

Batch Size: 5 gallons

Grains-Mash at 149º for 90 minutes

Pilsner Malt-14 lbs.

Belgian Aromatic-0.25lbs

Cane Sugar-2.5 lbs

Hops

Tetnang-2.3 oz @ 60 minutes

Saaz-.5 oz @ 10 minutes

Yeast

Wyeast-3787-Trappist High Gravity

 Ferment

Pitch yeast at 64º F and slowly raise temperature to 70º over the course of a week. Lager the beer for one month at 45 to 50º.

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• Interview with Randy Mosher about Women and Beer (Guest post by Ingrid Calderoni)
• A Beer Drinking Woman in a Beer Man’s World
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