Following the recent outpouring of stories on social media about sexual harassment in the beer industry, Lotte Peplow, American craft beer ambassador in Europe for the Brewers Association, looks at what the association is doing to address this important issue in the States.
Lotte Peplow. Photographs: Brewers Association
In order for any business within any industry to thrive, they must be safe places that encourage respect, empowerment, and freedom from harassment or discrimination of any kind. It sounds straightforward and obvious, but recent conversations around sexual harassment and gender-based violence in the craft brewing community, as well as ongoing conversations about inequity, discrimination, and injustice more broadly, continue to underscore the fact that the reality is different. In order to build a safe, inclusive, and equitable brewing community, a long-term, industry-wide effort by breweries, distributors, suppliers, and all businesses is required.
The Brewers Association — the not-for-profit trade association for small and independent American craft brewers — condemns any act of assault, harassment, violence, bigotry, discrimination, or inequity within the brewing community.
The Brewers Association is prepared to lead this industry-wide effort, in collaboration with other industry leaders and subject matter experts. The Brewers Association, the American Society of Brewing Chemists, the Craft Beer HR Professionals Group, the Master Brewers Association of the Americas, and the Pink Boots Society have committed to forming a coalition to explore how these organisations can collaborate to provide the resources and support that businesses and individuals in the brewing industry need to create and maintain a culture of safety, inclusion, and equity.
Alongside its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the Brewers Association will retain HR subject matter experts to work with the craft brewing community to build an ongoing pipeline of resources, similar to those within technical brewing and government affairs.
Short term, the Brewers Association is hosting a three-part webinar series for members on preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. The seminars will be led by Nikki Larcher, co-founder of Define the Line.
Additionally, the Brewers Association has worked with WeVow to help give members the tools to pro-actively address sexual harassment, while also offering resources and support for anyone who experiences it.
The association will also be adding resources and speakers to address this topic at the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC), from 9th-12th September, in Denver, Colorado. CBC is America’s largest craft brewing industry gathering which delivers concentrated, affordable brewing education and idea sharing to improve brewery quality and performance. Attendees can choose from eight educational tracks led by the top minds in the beer and business worlds. (Registration is now open. See link for further details).
Just recently, the Brewers Association reinstated its grant programme that funds local and regional events that thoughtfully and intentionally foster a more diverse and inclusive craft beer community. Since the program’s inception in 2018, the association has awarded $75,000 to 21 events, (although most 2020 grants were not fulfilled due to the pandemic).
There is more work to do, and this is just the beginning. The Brewers Association is dedicated to being solution-makers and invites the brewing community to join them.
About the Brewers Association
The Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts.
The BA represents 5,400 US breweries. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers.
The BA organises events including the World Beer Cup, Great American Beer Festival, Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America, SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience, Homebrew Con, National Homebrew Competition and American Craft Beer Week.
The BA publishes The New Brewer magazine, and Brewers Publications is the largest publisher of brewing literature in the US.
Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com and about homebrewing via the BA’s American Homebrewers Association and the free Brew Guru mobile app.
American craft beer is available in bottle shops, independent retailers, supermarkets, bars, pubs and restaurants over here, and online retailers such as The Cascade Club, Beer Hop, Beer Bruvs, Beer Merchants, Beer Gonzo, and Beer 52.
