My entire life, I have been fighting the stereotypes against women.
Now this post is by no means against all of you women respecting and women loving men. This is against the men that think that women and men are not, in fact, equal. That women are the weaker of the species. That our main purpose on the planet is to bear children, cook and clean.
Listen, I understand that women and men are not physically equal. We have different parts and, most of the time, men are bigger, faster and stronger. Trust me, I know this. I learn this the VERY hard way as a child. For a good part of my childhood, I was faster and stronger (but not bigger) than all the boys. Then things changed, and I was devastated.
Unfortunate for me, all of my endeavors, interests and passions happen to be “male dominated” arenas. I played sports my whole life. I studied Criminology in college. I have worked in restaurant kitchens. And now I am in the beer industry.
I love cigars. I love scotch. I love college football more than almost anything in this world.
I’ve been criticized for my “look” and for my hobbies. I have had many people tell me to “embrace my feminine side.” WTF is that supposed to mean? I don’t have a feminine side. I have ONE side, and this is it. What you see is what you get.
I consider myself to be a human rights activist. I fight for equality in all the realms — race, gender, age, sexual orientation etc…
Where is this going, you must be asking yourself?
One of my major pet peeves with the big corporate beer companies (outside of the fact that they make a horrible product from the poorest quality ingredients) is the ludicrous marketing ploys they develop. It makes me sick to see them not only objectify women in these commercials, but to learn of product gimmicks that they create specifically for women.
Marketing Magazine out of the UK recently announced that Molson-Coors is releasing a clear beer specifically designed for women.
I threw up in my mouth when I read the announcement.
Like all malt-beverages being marketed to women, the clear beer’s “shtick” is low calorie. Because supposedly women would rather sacrifice flavor and quality for lower calories. Give me a f*ck*ng break.
And to add injury to insult, they are campaigning women to name the beer for them.
Oh, I have a name for it. And trust me, its not pretty.
From what I understand, the clear beer is meant to serve as a gateway beer to get women to drink, and I quote, “REAL lagers.” It is supposed to kinda of sort of taste like beer, but not too much. WTF did they make the beer from second runnings? Gag me.
And as for it being a gateway to real lagers, I hardly consider Molson (or Coors) to be a real lager. Maybe an adjunct lager brewed with ingredients that would make the founders of the Reinheitsgebot turnover in their graves. But, real? That is not the word I would use.
If you really want a pint of adjunct lager from one of the BIG 3, I got the recipe for you:
- 20 ounces soda water
- 1 drop corn extract
- 1 drop wheat extract
- 1 drop rice extract
- 1 drop barley extract
- 1 tiny tiny drop of old stale hops
And as for the alcohol? Spike it with a bit of vodka and there ya have it. Your adjunct lager.
As a craft beer evangelist, the last thing I want to see on the market is a gateway beer into corporate beers. Leave those beers for the kids who abuse alcohol and only see it as a means to and end. Aka alcohol = drunk.
I like to think that most people actually care about what they put in their mouth. I drink beer not because I want to get drunk, but because I appreciate the craft (as I do the culinary arts) and I really, truly enjoy all the different nuances and experiences I get out of craft beer.
I have been fought on this issue over and over. “But what if you have no choice and there aren’t any other beers available?” I drink water. Simple as that. I don’t drink to get drunk. Yes, it is a very pleasant side effect. But I would not be spending the amount of money as I do on beer if I thought its only purpose was to get drunk (or laid).
Honestly, I think that all women, whether or not they drink craft beer, should take offense to this marketing ploy. Essentially, Molson-Coors is saying that, because we are women, we deserve to drink poor quality, poor tasting, bottom of the line shit?
I would rather gag down a nasty appletini than ever touch a bottle of clear beer.
And on one last note, clear beer …. clear heels … anyone see a similarity? The only place that beer belongs is in strip clubs, far from me.
So my fellow humans, women and men alike, I ask you to join with me and fight the BEER WAR against corporate America! VIVA LA BEER WARS!
Cheers!
March 23, 2011 at 8:00 am
As a women, I am personally offended by someone marketing clear low calorie beer to me.
I only started drinking beer about 4 years ago. I thought I hated beer. Thats because I had only been exposed to crap like Miller, Bud and Coors. Stouts were my gateway beers. I like coffee, so naturally I would like the tastes of stouts and some porters. Then I got into browns and ambers. They are kinda sweet and malty, nothing too extreme, but they do have a lot of flavor. Now I am a full on IPA girl.
I think the reason more girls don’t drink beer isn’t that it has too many calories, its that the beer they have tasted in the past sucks. Most girls I know drink mixed drinks and I think that it is because they like the flavor of the drink, not just the taste of alcohol. Why wouldn’t the same hold true for beer? Give a girl a great tasting beer and she is not going to worry about the calories.
The idea of Coors/Molson being pro-women and trying to cater to women is laughable. Have you ever seen a Coors commercial?
April 1, 2011 at 8:01 am
A few years ago I decided that if I’m out with others having beer, but all they have are the BMC beers, then I’ll drink water, as well. I have even forgone getting a Boston Lager if that was the only choice (I actually didn’t drink any Boston Lager for over a year and then had one on a whim at a party and thought, “Damn, that is still a solid lager!” - so it’s back on the list).
Beer still gets a bad rep and in most circles is looked upon as “less than” wine. It’s kind of a sad testament to our society that the alcoholic beverages we like tend to be sweet and try to cover up any other flavors.
May 25, 2011 at 10:48 am
[...] BEER WARS: The Female Edition http://drinkwiththewench.com/2010/04/beer-wars-the-female-edition/ [...]
August 1, 2011 at 11:04 am
[...] the rumored “clear beer” last year, and most definitely aired my grievances then (read: BEER WARS: The Female Edition). But I had not heard anything more on the subject until recently. And as if clear beer [...]
November 7, 2011 at 11:15 am
Once again you have said exactly what is on my mind much better than I could have said it myself. I have been particularly upset this week by women in the beer industry near me, making the same “girly’ beer comments that they should actually be bucking against. For instance a female sales rep in my area heard about a new wheat beer that her company would be marketing and her first comment was, “Oh that’s so great! The women are gonna eat that up”. Just women? I get that wheat beers are light, citrusy and generally a really good “gateway” beer..but it is so unnecessary to throw gender into that mix. Guys can be noobs too. Keep up the good fight!
November 13, 2011 at 5:15 am
Right on. I feel sorry people who think that a real beer is yellow-fizzy. I don;t feel sorry for any jack ass that thinks they need to treat women sub par when it comes to markting real beer. It goes to show how far off they are in the real world. Obviously they haven’t made it out of the mid 1900′s.
December 14, 2012 at 6:48 am
great thoughts, BW, keep ‘em comin’…
January 1, 2013 at 6:19 pm
I feel ya, my husband, neighbor and I are brewers and I get so tired of the "do you do it in your man cave" or " your wife lets you brew in the kitchen?" comments…
Gimme a home brewed Irish Dry Stout or a Porter over any crap Miller or Coors has to offer any day!
March 11, 2013 at 5:19 pm
kudos
June 11, 2013 at 2:25 pm
Thank you for writing this. I was so annoyed when I heard about this campaign. As a “lady” who likes beer and hangs out with a lot of other beer-loving ladies and dudes, I really do not see a lot of male/female taste divide. And sometimes it’s the opposite of what we are told to expect…For example: I love IPA, but my husband thinks most IPAs are too “macho.” Here’s to rejecting the bullshit notion that all women would rather be drinking Chardonnay, appletinis, and “light” beer.