I’m pretty lucky. I roll with a group of beer aficionados who are thrilled when they can pull another non-beer drinker into the fold and share their love of craft beer. We brew together, we drink together and recommend new brews to try. Gender never enters into it.
I am fairly new to beer drinking– maybe 3 years in. I frequently joke that I judge people on what they order (it’s not really that much of a joke, I suppose). If you order a National Brand, piss water beer, I’m judging you… It’s that simple. I’m not saying something mass-produced can’t be well crafted and I’m also not saying that craft beer can’t be utter swill. But chances are if we’re sitting at a bar and I overhear you order one of these brands, that’s probably all you ever order. Try something new, you might like it.
On to gender… What’s incensed me so is something I saw floating around Facebook the other day. It was a video about the best beer for women via womensforum.com. At first, I didn’t watch the video– only read the accompanying text below it.
And I was ever infuriated! How dare someone pigeonhole me into these categories! I drink beer and I drink all types of beer. How dare they assume these are the ONLY beers I (as a woman) could like? So I thought, “I’m going to write a column for IMJ and RANT about this!” Then, me being me, I took a few days and thought about it. I was told the video didn’t come across as condescending, so I gave it another couple of days before I finally watched it… And clearly the person who told me the video wasn’t bad either watched a different video or doesn’t understand the definition of the word “condescending”.
Let me break down this travesty for you: According to the video, women typically order Lambics, Belgians and Ciders because they are fruity, sweeter and pretty.
I’m sorry… What?!? Can we have a real discussion about beer now?
Ken Hendricks (beer expert at Howells and Hood) mentions these beers are the most frequently ordered by women who order across their menu. Okay, fine. You can’t really argue with statistics. I’ve been to Howells and Hood and I know they have an extensive beer menu. (Not to mention the best grilled cheese I’ve had in my life.) Perhaps the selection is a bit intimidating there, I don’t know. But I do know the restaurant has several options for beer flights… So it’s time for Howells and Hood’s female customers to explore a little!
Yummm… Beer Flights
My real beef with this video lies with host Stephanie Mansour. She perpetuates the idea that women are silly and need to be talked down to about their choice in alcoholic beverage. My least favorite moment– when I realized I was going to get MAD– came when she said, “Tell me about this pretty red one.” In addition, the video never explains beer in flavor or style. It’s aimed at women who don’t “understand” beer and does nothing to try to clarify the mystery of the beverage.
Here’s the thing… Lambics, Belgians and Ciders are perfectly wonderful styles of beer. I drink Ciders and Lambics on occasion and Belgians especially are my go to beer (Tripel Karmeliet is the BEST BEER on Earth), but I will cut anyone who says I should like those three because I happen to be a girl.
I could go ON and ON about this… But instead, this WOMAN is going to go through her favorite beers and recommend them to you. I also recommend finding a local pub or alehouse that will take the time to go over the different styles of beer for you– and give you samples as you attempt to find the right beer for you. After trying a few, if you decide a Cider, Belgian or Lambic is the beer for you, then that’s good enough for me.
•Tripel Karmeliet (Brouwerij Bosteels) – Belgian Tripel
•Fatty Boombalatty (Furthermore Brewing) – Belgian Pale Ale
•Leffe Blonde (Abbaye de Leffe) – Belgian Blonde/Golden Ale
•Laughing Panda Green Tea IPA (Two Brothers Brewing Company) – American IPA
•All Day IPA (Founders Brewing Co.) – American IPA
•Sweet Child of Vine (Fulton Beer) – American IPA
•Ebel’s Weiss Beer (Two Brothers Brewing Company) – Hefeweizen
•312 Urban Wheat (Goose Island Beer Co) – American Pale Wheat Ale
•Alaskan White (Alaskan Brewing Co.) – Witbier
•Little White Lie (Russian River Brewing Company) – Witbier
•Consecration (Russian River Brewing Company) – American Wild Ale
•Supplication (Russian River Brewing Company) – American Wild Ale
•Sanctification (Russian River Brewing Company) – American Wild Ale
•La Folie (New Belgium Brewing Company) – Sour Ale
•Bacchus (Brouwerji Van Honsebrouck – Castle Brewery) – Flanders Style Belgian
•Spotted Cow (New Glarus Brewery) – Cream Ale
•South Park Ale (21st Amendment) – American Blonde Ale
•Bitter Brewer (Surly Brewing Company) – English Bitter Ale
•Radius (Brooklyn Brewery) – Saison/Farmhouse Ale
•Game of Thrones Iron Throne (Ommegang) – Blonde Ale
•Alaskan Winter Ale (Alaskan Brewing Co.) – Winter Ale
•Yuengling Traditional Lager (Yuengling Brewery) – American Amber/Red Lager
•Brooklyn Lager (Brooklyn Brewery) – Vienna Lager
•Darkness 2012 (Surly Brewing Company) – Russian Imperial Stout
Hmmpf. Not a single Cider on the list– with plenty of Ales, IPAs and more. Perhaps in the near future, I’ll go into exquisite detail about each of these categories and talk about tasting notes. (You probably couldn’t stop me if you wanted to.)
/End rant.