Beers Without Beards is launching a new beer, Architects of Society, in collaboration with Leith’s Newbarns Brewery.
Digging out the mash for the collaboration brew at Newbarns Brewery
Launching today (27th April) at Nauticus, in Leith, the beer was brewed by the group on 8th March, International Women Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD). This is an annual event founded by brewer Sophie de Ronde in 2013.
Beers Without Beards and Newbarns created a 5% ABV Kolsch,with Bere barley and Scotch Annat. The beer has been lagered for six weeks and is a crisp and delicate example of the style, originating from Cologne, Germany.
Amélie Tassin, founder or Beers Without Beards, said: “Brewing in collaboration with breweries is something we try to do regularly as it’s a great way to raise awareness about the lack of women’s representation in the beer industry, and to show to everyone that, despite the stereotypes, women can also be brewers.”
For this beer, women have been involved at different stages of the brewing process, with the hops coming from Stocks Farm in Herefordshire, where Felicity Beaumont manages the hop range. The malt comes from Crafty Maltsters, in Fife, where Alison Milne works alongside her partner in growing and malting their own barley. Finally, Holly Lewis, from Newbarns, prepared a house yeast using wort from her previous brew.
Emma Mcintosh, co-founder of Newbarns Brewery, said: “I wanted to brew a beer that involved women throughout the process, not just for the brew itself, and show that women are fully-fledged actors of the industry.”
Inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s quote — “Women are the real architects of society” — the beer name was chosen by the members of the Beers Without Beards group, while the design of the label was inspired by the posters from the Suffragette movement.
Amélie added: “After a very difficult year, following a wave of accusations of sexism and sexual harassment in the beer industry, it was important for the group to re-affirm our support and engagement for more equality and inclusivity in the industry.”
• Details of the launch event are here. The beer will be available on Newbarns’ web shop from Thursday (28th April), and in a selection of bar and bottle shop across the UK.
