page_title: Women in brewing
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Women in brewing / History
caption_attribution_description: Affiche belge. Grande Brasserie Van Velsen frères. Bornhem.
context_page_description: Women have been active in brewing since ancient times. Though Western societies have viewed brewing as a male-dominated field for the last 150 years, traditionally, it was an activity engaged in by women. Ethnographic and archaeological studies have shown that brewing was an outcropping of gathering or baking traditions, which were predominantly women's roles throughout the world. From the earliest evidence of brewing in 7000 BCE, until the commercialization of brewing during industrialization, women were the primary brewers on all inhabited continents. In many cultures, the deities, goddesses and protectors of brewers were female entities who were associated with fertility.
  From the middle of the 18th century, many women were barred from participating in alcohol production and were relegated to roles as barmaids, pub operators, bottlers or secretaries for breweries. In less industrialized areas, they continued to produce homebrews and traditional alcoholic beverages. From the mid-20th century, women began working as chemists for brewing establishments. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, they began re-entering the field as craft brewers.
context_section_description: In many Western societies, brewing has been seen as a "man's domain"; however, ethnographic studies and archaeological records indicate that brewing alcohol was primarily an activity engaged in by women, until the industrialization of brewing began. In some areas, the tradition arose because brewing was a by-product of gathering, while in others, it fell within the domain of baking. From the 18th century onwards, women were increasingly barred from the business of brewing, except as barmaids or "publicans", licensees running pubs. By the 19th century, few women were employed in brewing with the exception of labor for auxiliary functions, such as bottling and secretarial posts. In the 20th century, women began to work in a limited capacity in laboratories, but aside from a few exceptions such as Susannah Oland in Canada, women were excluded from directing brewing operations. Professional female brewers in Western society before the trade became "masculinized", were referred to as "brewsters".
  Archaeologists have confirmed that a beverage dated to 7000–6600 B.C. and brewed in the Neolithic settlement of Jiahu, is the oldest known grog. Analysis on pottery shows the chemical makeup of the drink was from a combination of honey mead, mixed with a concoction of rice, grapes, and hawthorn fruit—creating a mixed beer and wine beverage. Though the process used to break down the rice grain, whether chewing or malting, is unknown, women in both Japan and Taiwan in the modern age still engage in chewing rice to begin the fermentation process for making alcohol. In Chinese legend, Yi Di, wife of Yu the Great, is credited with making the first alcohol from rice grains. A female divine being in Ainu mythology known as Kamui Fuchi was the protector of brewing and brewers prayed to her and offered libations to ensure the warding off of evil spirits which might spoil the batch.
  In ancient Sumeria, brewing was the only profession that was "watched over by a female deity", namely Ninkasi. A tablet found dating back to 1800 BCE contains the Hymn to Ninkasi which is also basically a recipe for Mesopotamian beer. Sumerian beer was made from bippar, a bread made from twice-baked barley, which was then fermented. In ancient Babylon, women worked as baker-brewers and were often engaged in the commercial distribution of beer. Archaeologists believe that the Sumerians and Babylonians were responsible for spreading brewing processes into Africa. Brewing in ancient Egypt followed a method similar to Sumerian beer, often using the same dough as a base for both beer and bread. Brewing was considered the province of Egyptian women, "especially the steps of grinding the grain and straining the mash". The goddess Hathor was considered to have invented brewing and Hathor's temple at Dendera was known as "the place of drunkenness". Another Egyptian goddess, Tenenet, was worshiped as beer's deity and hieroglyphics on tombs depict images of women both brewing and drinking the beverage. Other African societies also credited women with creating beer. For example, the Zulu fertility goddess, Mbaba Mwana Waresa, is revered for her invention, as is the Dogon deity, Yasigi, who is often depicted dancing with a beer ladle to symbolize her role of distributing the beer made by women in ceremonial gatherings. Women in Burkina Faso have been making mash of fermented sorghum into beer for some 5,500 years. In Tanzania, both women and men help harvest and create different kinds of brew, including ulanzi and pombe. Women in Tanzania have traditionally been the "sole marketers" of drinks, and many use the money they make by selling alcohol to supplement their incomes.
  As early as 1600 BCE, Maya civilizations were using cacao beans to produce beer, long before it was used to make the non-alcoholic cocoa. Though actual production methods are unknown, Friar Landa described the process of preparing beverages as involving grinding maize and cacao to a paste before adding liquids and spices. Agriculture was within man's realm in the Mayan world, but food preparation belonged to 
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