Hoppy International Women's Day!

Did you know women were the OG brewers!? Dating as far back as 4000 B.C., Sumerian women were found on Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets brewing beer. Take a brief look throughout history and you'll see the crucial role women played in making beer: 

• 2000 B.C. – Evidence of Egyptian women making beer. The Egyptian goddess Hathor, the inventress of brewing and mistress of intoxication, is one of the first known goddesses of beer.
• 600-1000 A.D. – It was common in the Wari empire of Peru for women to make chicha, a fermented corn brew.
• 1400 A.D. – By this year women in London made up thirty percent of the brewers' guild. Called Ale Wives or Brewsters, these women owned taverns and brewed beer.
• 1500-1600 A.D. – As witchcraft became a great public concern, women's role in beer was seen as "bewitched," and by the late 1700-1800s the word brewster had all but disappeared and with it women drinking and working with beer.

Fast forward to today and the demographics tell a bit of a different story. Last year, a demographic audit of brewery owners performed by the Brewers Association reported that only 23.7% of brewery owners identify as female. 

Still, the numbers are growing. So, when we celebrate International Women's Day on March 8th, it is more important than ever to recognize the achievements of women and femme-identifying folks in craft beer.

For the Untappd community, specifically honoring International Women's Day could mean earning the "International Women's Day" badge inspired by artwork from Hop Culture's BW(O)B artist, Kailah Ogawa. Check in any one (1) beverage between March 7 and 10, 2025.