There’s a widely known fact in the craft beer industry that women are underrepresented and largely outnumbered by their male counterparts. This isn’t great news, but that number is starting to grow, even if it’s by a small margin. A study from 2019 showed that only 7.5 percent of breweries employed a female brewer, but women made up 37 percent of employees that worked in the non-production or non-service staff roles.

The reform for this lopsided issue within the craft beer industry is gaining steam though, as it should be. One form of reform — and getting knowledge out there to the women in the craft beer industry and community — is the Women’s Craft Beer Collective, founded by Kristine Baker. We recently reached out to Kristine to ask a few questions as to exactly what the Women’s Craft Beer Collective is, and what it does.

Who founded the Women’s Craft Beer Collective?

I founded the Women’s Craft Beer Collective in 2012, when I discovered a need for women to feel included in the booming craft beer atmosphere. Also, for an opportunity to organize women in numbers, to explore breweries without feeling out of place.

What exactly is, or what does the Women’s Craft Beer Collective do?

We’ve evolved over the years according to our current needs, interests and work trends. What started out as group tours and lectures, became at some point, more about meetups and socializing. Even mixing in some pairing events and DIY workshops!

How does somebody get involved with helping?

All women and men are welcome to locally join in on any events in the San Diego area! Everyone can follow along with what is upcoming on our Instagram Women’s Craft Beer Collective We have always felt such strong support from all over the world, and the enthusiasm for our beer-girl merchandising has been amazing!  We love getting feedback on our products, and continually gain inspiration for new items from beer fans!

What kind of events does the Women’s Craft Beer Collective put on?

We do events such as hikes that end up at breweries, brewery crawls, pop-up parties, DIY projects, workshops and really any type of event where we can get more women involved with the community and to help educate.

What is the main outcome you would like to see achieved with the collective?

Our goal in early 2013, of helping women feel more included in the craft beer culture, is not such an issue anymore as it was. Women are having a huge impact on our current beer environment. We are seen in all brewery positions, whether up front on back-of-house. We would like to see even more growth and will continue to learn and have a blast, as the beer trends are ever changing!

Please be sure to visit the Women’s Craft Beer Collective website at Women’s Craft Beer Collective or follow them on Instagram @womensbeercollective or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/womenscraftbeercollective

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