Mother's day is almost here and I'm feeling guilty...I have planned a HUGE contest for Father's Day out of the assumption that "men like beer"...and really, a lot of them do! But I have this nagging guilt inside me for not creating a Mother's Day contest that equally represents our appreciation of the women who raised us! It's made me realize that I have assumptions about women and beer...and boy were those assumptions wrong.
According to statista.com, in 2016 women accounted for nearly 29% of the annual domestic beer consumption in Canada. Does this surprise you? It does me!
First...I didn't realize so many women were drinking beer of any kind (and I don't hold it against anyone for drinking macro...we all
​had to start
somewhere). I say that because I wasn't interested in beer for the majority of my life...until I tried craft beer.
​
​So, I assumed (mistakenly) that other​ women ​felt the same as I did.
Second...​being in the "beer" world, you tend to talk about the bubbly golden beverage quite a bit and I hear from women more frequently than not, "I'm not really into beer, I like wine." And let me tell you, I was there too! But again, this was leading me to think that the majority of women did NOT drink beer.
The more I talk with women who DO drink beer​,​ I realize many of us have followed a similar pattern​ of getting there​...
​
​Many of us didn't "like" beer and drank wine - usually the sweeter rose or piesporter styles. I remember having the ladies over for wine nights and having a box of Berenger Rose - White Zinfandel available for those evenings...yes I said box...seriously, it was to supply everyone right Lil? Krista? Donna?
Then we started to branch out with Malbecs and some of the "sweeter" reds, but it didn't stop there.
I don't know how "age-related" it was but it seemed that we almost suddenly stopped seeking out the sweetness in our beverages and moved on to some of the drier wines like pinot grigios and chardonnays. Nikki beat us to that level with her more mature pallet​ (I'm not calling you old Nik)​...and I'm sure she was laughing each time we pulled a glass from the box of zinfandel!
It's not to say that some of these ladies di​d​n't already like beer because ​some did and still do but it's amazing how our tastes continue to change. I remember bringing a selection of 6 different craft beers over to a friends' house one night and she said, "oh I don't like IPAs and I hate fruity beers"...Krista would you like to finish that story? That night she found her favourite beer to be the Tangerine Wheat! And recently at Beerfest together we tried as many of the IPAs as we could find...
Now, a four year self-proclaimed "rookie" in the beer arena (because there is ALWAYS more to learn), like my friend Krista I'm searching out (as well as creating and brewing) some hoppy IPAs, fruity wheat beers and smooth, slightly sweet stouts amongst so many others...never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be a beer lover or as open to trying new, crazy beers but here I am.
What does that mean for women and beer? It means we are as adventurous as we have ever been and while today the majority of women beer drinkers in Canada are between 19-34, the rest of us are creeping up there!
​And just so you know, my age group only accounts for 4.4% of total domestic beer consumption in Canada (of course that number would change if they included craft beer) and the 45-65 year age group is kicking our butt​!!
I'm so sorry I didn't offer an exciting contest for the moms like mine in this group...obviously they would have liked it as much as the dads will! But I'm glad I found out these ladies are gaining momentum on the younger ladies, it gives me hope that beer for us is just going to continue to get better with age!