On this episode we’re discussing the history of women in beer and uncovering the truth about whether or not women dominated brewing until they were accused of being witches. If you listened to the podcast’s debut episode discussing the history of beer in ancient cultures, you know that women were some of the first brewers. I chat with Dr. Christina Wade, historian, archaeologist, president of the Ladies Craft Beer Society of Ireland, co-host of the Beer Ladies Podcast and founder of the project Braciatrix, latin for “brewster” and “alewife,” which digs deep into the history of women in beer. Also I review a few beers brewed by women here in my home of Los Angeles from Eagle Rock Brewery and Highland Park Brewery.

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Additional info on this episode’s topic:

Is it fact or fiction? An article recently published by Smithsonian magazine titled “Women Dominated Beer Brewing Until They Were Accused of Being Witches” states “Much of the iconography we associate with witches today, from the pointy hat to the broom, may have emerged from their connection to female brewers.” 

The story goes into more detail on how women would travel with their brews in cauldrons and wear pointy hats to get the attention of potential customers while at markets. 

In the 16th century there were stricter gender norms in Europe during the Protestant Reformation period, a religious, political and cultural movement which would define the era. The male brewers decided to seize the moment and in order to lose their competition, they accused female brewers of witchcraft further alleging these women were brewing potions not booze. This became very dangerous for women as they could be prosecuted or killed…we’ve all seen the movie Hocus Pocus. 

Since this article posted, it has been picked up by numerous media outlets while also being shared through social media in beer enthusiast and homebrewer groups.

While the Smithsonian story doesn’t quote any historians in the exact field of topic, it does link to various podcasts and articles but still no actual interview with a historian to help offer some real factual evidence and context. 

A few days after the article went live, Smithsonian added an editors note stating: on March 10, 2021 that this article has been updated to acknowledge that it isn’t definitively known whether alewives inspired some of the popular iconography associated with witches today. AND on March 17th, retracted their story adding additional sources including our guest on the show Dr. Christina Wade. You can see here.

Now I feel like I need to give you all a disclaimer here, I was under the impression that this was true for a long time, if you’ve seen my Halloween Special on YouTube I talk about this very topic and the witchy motifs that could be attributed to early brewsters. With that said, I’m here to learn just like you guys are and every time I’m proven wrong just makes me smarter in the future so I’m excited to learn the truth with you today.

So listen to my interview with historian and archaeologist Dr. Christina Wade as we uncover the truth!

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