BEER-LOVING LADIES: Are we rare or just overlooked?
I love beer. You can drink it with any meal, at any time of day. Like snowflakes and fingerprints, no two are exactly alike and there are seemingly unending amounts of variations and flavors.
I've always been perplexed by the stereotype that women just don't like beer very much. Wine, mixed drinks, or beer? Well, I like them all…but I’m honestly…just a cold beer drinker. Of course, if I were asked any female (over the age of 21 of course) this same question, I'm not sure which of the three I would be the most popular. Living in a college world, college peeps will drink anything.
Honestly, wine has always intimidated me a little bit, because while good wines can be had at any price point, the quality and flavor varies year to year, and getting really, really into wine seems to require more disposable income than I have. Liquor is, well, quick, and a well-balanced cocktail is a beautiful thing, but can also come with a hefty price tag. With beer, there's enormous variety; while lots of breweries do special seasonals that vary year to year, or super small-batch brews that are both tasty and a little expensive, there's a remarkable consistency and affordability to beer, and it's likely I spend the bulk of my booze allowance on it.
I see plenty of other ladies at brewpubs and beer-forward bars, but the conventional wisdom is that I'm a rarity. Girls don’t typically drink beer. Now, before some people get offended…let me explain. “Beer” in my opinion is not a can of miller, budlight, busch, or the water that is natty. I’m talking IPA & stouts. But the reason I say that I am a rarity is that even companies don’t advertise to women about beer. Am I interested in the female sporting a bikini trying to sell Budweiser? Nope. What about the blonde in the commercials with the daisy dukes? Nah, fam. I’m not. Typically, women are not known for trying new things or new beers in a bar. The beer industry players have long made the assumption that certain segments of the public – particularly women – just won't be interested in their product, so they don't bother to market to them. Hence, beer advertising has historically been more interested in the male eyes.
Everybody likes flavor, and if you can break down the stereotypes and assumptions that most people have, you find there's no such thing as a women's beer, there's no such thing as a man's beer. Whether my love of beer places me in a minority of ladies or not, it's telling that the beer industry has only begun to think about women as potential customers in the last few years. So a message to beer companies: don't treat women like a special segment of the market; talk up to your customers, not down. And of course, notice that women beer drinkers are here in the first place. After all, I’m here for the beer.
I've always been perplexed by the stereotype that women just don't like beer very much. Wine, mixed drinks, or beer? Well, I like them all…but I’m honestly…just a cold beer drinker. Of course, if I were asked any female (over the age of 21 of course) this same question, I'm not sure which of the three I would be the most popular. Living in a college world, college peeps will drink anything.
Honestly, wine has always intimidated me a little bit, because while good wines can be had at any price point, the quality and flavor varies year to year, and getting really, really into wine seems to require more disposable income than I have. Liquor is, well, quick, and a well-balanced cocktail is a beautiful thing, but can also come with a hefty price tag. With beer, there's enormous variety; while lots of breweries do special seasonals that vary year to year, or super small-batch brews that are both tasty and a little expensive, there's a remarkable consistency and affordability to beer, and it's likely I spend the bulk of my booze allowance on it.
I see plenty of other ladies at brewpubs and beer-forward bars, but the conventional wisdom is that I'm a rarity. Girls don’t typically drink beer. Now, before some people get offended…let me explain. “Beer” in my opinion is not a can of miller, budlight, busch, or the water that is natty. I’m talking IPA & stouts. But the reason I say that I am a rarity is that even companies don’t advertise to women about beer. Am I interested in the female sporting a bikini trying to sell Budweiser? Nope. What about the blonde in the commercials with the daisy dukes? Nah, fam. I’m not. Typically, women are not known for trying new things or new beers in a bar. The beer industry players have long made the assumption that certain segments of the public – particularly women – just won't be interested in their product, so they don't bother to market to them. Hence, beer advertising has historically been more interested in the male eyes.
Everybody likes flavor, and if you can break down the stereotypes and assumptions that most people have, you find there's no such thing as a women's beer, there's no such thing as a man's beer. Whether my love of beer places me in a minority of ladies or not, it's telling that the beer industry has only begun to think about women as potential customers in the last few years. So a message to beer companies: don't treat women like a special segment of the market; talk up to your customers, not down. And of course, notice that women beer drinkers are here in the first place. After all, I’m here for the beer.
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