Craft-beer loving women flock to female-only events

Amie Clark was often the only woman in the room.

So, three years ago, figuring there had to be other like-minded souls out there - that is, craft beer-loving women - she started a South Jersey chapter of Girls Pint Out.

Now one of 95 chapters in 40 states (after the first one started in Indianapolis in 2010), the Jersey and Philadelphia monthly meetup attracts as many as 40 women - all ages, all experiences - for 20 to 25 outings a year.

Clark, 35, is no longer the token woman. But female beer lovers are no different from their male counterparts, she insisted. Still, women-only events and groups are popping up to cater to the growing number of interested, beer-educated women out there.

"We get together, drink beer, talk about beer, and talk about life," Clark said. Girls Pint Out also hosts structured meetups, such as brewery tours and tutored pairings of beer and food. Among its annual events is a fund-raiser for the Girl Scouts, which pairs its popular cookies with brew. The agreed-upon favorite: Bolero Snort Longhop IPA with the sweetness and chocolate of Caramel deLites.

These days, the notion that beer is a man's drink has been shattered, largely in part because of craft beer - around since the mid-1960s but achieving significant mainstream momentum starting around 2006.

Turns out the variety of craft brew flavors appeals especially to women: Nielsen found in a recent survey that women are big fans of sour ales and wild ales, preferring them 75 percent more than men do. And in 2014, women consumed almost 32 percent of all craft beer sold in the United States, compared to about 20 percent of beer overall, with young women, ages 21 to 34, accounting for 15 percent of all consumption.

To be called a craft brewer, the brewer must make fewer than 6 million barrels a year; be independently owned and traditional, meaning the majority of sales come from beer as opposed to other beverages, said Julia Herz, the craft beer program director of the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colo.

"Women, just as much as men, are into flavor," Herz said.

Gina Vasoli cofounded the Lady Birds Beer Club on April Fools' Day in 2015 in conjunction with the release of a new Yards beer for International Women's Collaboration Brew Day, drawing about 75 beer enthusiasts. Its membership has swelled to 195, with 20 to 60 showing up each month for beer education, tastings, and even beer and bowling.

She and a beer rep pal, Kristin Caine, "wanted a group where like-minded individuals could get together and have something to look forward to every month," said Vasoli, Yards Brewing Co. art and marketing manager. "I've found with women, drinking is a distinctly social activity. We want to go out and be drinking with our friends, having a good time."

Groups have sprouted not just for women partaking, but for those who are making. Membership in the Pink Boots Society, founded in 2007 by brewmaster Teri Fahrendorf to support female beer professionals, has reached 50 states and 39 countries, with more than 2,003 members, a 67 percent increase from two years ago.

"The Pink Boots exists to bridge the gap that society leaves in the fabric of our industry," said executive director Emily Engdahl, who blames the gender gap on marketing. "We will be successful when [the group is] obsolete, when women aren't handed the cocktail and wine list and the men the beer list," and when a female brewer is lauded for her skill.

Meredith Rebar, cofounder with her husband of the three-year-old Home Brewed Events, a beer-based education event planner in South Philadelphia, has watched interest spike among women when it comes to brewing and learning about beer. Although classes comprised about 70 percent men the first year, now it's shifted to about 70 percent women. "It just happened naturally," Rebar said. "We're not targeting anybody differently."

She believes the popularity of craft beer - and women's interest in the movement - is closely tied to restaurants and food.

"Before, people focused on high-end meals with wine, but beer is now available in these high-end restaurants," Rebar said. "Wonderful beer pairings are very attractive to women."

Marci Schwartz too enjoys scrutinizing restaurant beer lists - often longer than wine lists.

"I don't think some women realize how many different options of styles and flavors there are," said Schwartz, 48, of the Northeast, who joined Girls Pint Out about six months ago after moving from Asbury Park.

Having never liked the yellow, foamy stuff she tasted growing up, Schwartz was not a beer drinker until her "awakening" to craft beer last year when a friend suggested she try a raspberry lambic. Surprised by the fruity flavor, the self-described "wine girl" was hooked.

With names like Slingback and Too Hop'd to Handle, High Heel Brewing's marketing objectives are to appeal specifically to women.

"We want to overtly include more women in craft beer," said founder Kristi McGuire. Distribution started this month in Florida, and McGuire's goal is to expand into the Southeast and Missouri in 2017.

Kathleen Baptista, 61, discovered craft beer about five years ago when she noticed more restaurants featuring their own house brews. "I was more interested in wine before that, but as I was introduced to the different kinds of beer, it became more of an interest and a liking," said Baptista, of Delran.

Now she and her daughter Faye, 37, try new ones together, often at Girls Pint Out events.

"We especially like when they feature a specific brewery, although we enjoy trying different beers all the time."