Lotte Peplow, the Brewers Association’s American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe, takes a look at what’s going on in March.
March is an exciting month in the beer calendar due to two significant events that are close to my heart — International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD) and Mother’s Day.
Both fall on the same weekend (8th and 10th March respectively) and both present unique opportunities to broaden the appeal of American craft beer and introduce new flavours, new styles, and new experiences to women who may not be aware they even exist!
Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to introduce your mum to the wonderful world of American craft beer, if she isn’t a fan already. Whether your mum is a beer fanatic or hardly touches the stuff, there’s a beer style for every palate and it’s simply a case of experimenting until she finds her favourite. It’s never too late to start. My mum was in her 80s when she was blown away by the incredible aroma and flavours of high-quality American craft beer! After that, there was no stopping her.
Many years ago — approximately 7,000 BC — women were the original brewers. Beer was considered a nourishing, inexpensive beverage back then, and making it was a normal household task for a woman. But gradually, as brewing became more commercial, more professional and more governed by men, female brewsters began to disappear.
Nowadays, I’m glad to see more women enjoying beer than ever before and discovering a new world of flavours. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2022, in America young women are drinking more beer than young men, with 51.8% of females aged 18 to 25 drinking beer in the last month compared to 48.6% of 18- to-25-year-old men.
But with so many styles on the market where do you start? Here are three ideas:
- Lager: An easy-drinking, clean, crisp Helles lager that’s highly refreshing and sessionable is a good entry level beer. Hop bitterness is minimal and alcohol by volume is usually 4.5-5.5%. Lagers make great food accompaniments and pair well with lighter, delicate flavours, such as fish and chips — the high carbonation helps cleanse the palate of fatty residues and leave the mouth refreshed. Curries and spicy foods also make good partners for lager because it can help calm the heat of fiery spices, leaving the diner feeling refreshed.
- Hazy/juicy IPA: In America, this style of beer has been winning converts with its low level of bitterness, juicy flavours, and soft, velvety mouthfeel. If the high levels of bitterness associated with a classic, hop-forward American IPA is too assertive for some palates, the tropical juicy, fruit-forward flavours of a hazy IPA are a good alternative.
- Sours, smoothie sours and fruited sours: Sours come in many iterations, from low-alcohol, refreshing Berliner weisse, with a clean lactic sourness, to beers using wild yeast or mixed fermentation, like lambics or geueze, to give funky flavours of barnyard, horse blanket, hay or oak. Sour beers can be flavoured with fruit or sweeteners and may look and/or taste like a fruit smoothie. In America, brewers like to push the envelope and experiment with ingredients, flavours and brewing techniques. This creativity and innovation is the hallmark of American craft brewing and what sets it apart from other brewing nations. For example, one American craft brewery I know produces a fruited sour with a 15% ABV containing 600lbs freeze-dried raspberries and 400lbs of freeze-dried blackberries per 1,000-gallon batch. It’s delicious!
Later in March (13th and 14th), Bob Pease, chief executive/president of the Brewers Association, will deliver the keynote speech at SIBA’s BeerX in Liverpool on the theme of Brewing Resilience, where he will be looking at a business-oriented approach to the new era. He’ll talk about how the prevailing economic pressures are demanding a strategic shift for independent brewers, emphasising the necessity of operating a brewery with a business mindset. On the second day of BeerX, he’ll deliver a seminar on Emerging Trends from the US Beer Market. Delegate passes are available on the SIBA website free of charge.
The UK remains an important export market for American craft beer with 7.3% of all exports, the second largest individual market behind Canada. In the UK, American craft beer is available from online retailers such as Athletic Brewing, Sierra Nevada shop, Beers of Europe, and Beer Merchants, select bottle shops, off-licences, online subscription services, supermarkets, and select pubs and bars.
Dates for your diary
Don’t miss Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America, from 21st-24th April, in Las Vegas, the largest industry-only gathering in the States. The conference features more than 60 educational seminars spanning eight areas critical to running a successful business, and more than 650 exhibitors displaying the latest and greatest product innovations, suppliers and services. The conference culminates with the awards ceremony for the World Beer Cup, the world’s largest and most prestigious beer competition.
The Brewers Association publishes a wealth of resources to understand and enjoy craft beer, downloadable free of charge from www.brewersassociation.org.
About the author
Lotte Peplow is the American craft beer ambassador for Europe for the Brewers Association and is based in London. She is a Certified Cicerone, BDI accredited Beer Sommelier, beer writer, author, speaker, educator, international beer judge, homebrewer, and beer lover.
