And it’s not just European women who have historically been mostly banished from brewing either. It’s extremely arguable that African women have suffered the most egregious erasure from the history of beer, due to the appalling practice of slavery, as skills previously handed down matrilineal lines as opposed to documented, were lost as families were torn apart, and similarly the roles of indigenous women from other areas of the world such as South and Central America are not known anywhere near enough.

There were always exceptions to the rule, such as Hester Parnell, who ran St Austell brewery in Cornwall from 1916 to 1939 – her high standards and political connections are highlighted by Roger Protz in his book The Family Brewers of Britain: A Celebration of British Brewing Heritage.

Inevitably, however, there is also a quote that Parnell was a ‘proper dragon’, not a description I’ve ever heard about a man who demands professionalism from his workers, and one I imagine current St Austell brewing director Georgina Young would have absolutely no time for either. 

I also have my own share of horror stories. As the first full-time woman beer writer in the UK, I could tell you awful things about how I’ve been treated in this industry; from a senior man in the industry grabbing my breast at my very first British Guild of Beer Writers AGM, to men regularly directing questions about beer at my husband (a chartered accountant) when I’ve just come off stage from giving an hour’s talk on beer, to being physically assaulted at a beer festival because I am “that bloody woman who complains about t— on pump clips all the time”.

But times are changing: there is an increasing number of women at the helm of breweries in the UK, such as Alix Blease of Gritchie Brewing, Charlotte Cook at Coalition, and Jaega Wise of Wild Card. In the US, where the craft brewing industry is about 10 years older, female ownership accounts for around two per cent according to the Brewers Association. When I started doing this about 20 years ago, I only knew of one woman brewer/proprietor. 

It’s not just newer breweries that are moving with the times either. Traditionally patriarchal businesses like Bathams, pride of the Black Country, now has Alice Batham in the brewhouse, proudly carrying on her family tradition, having cut her teeth at other illustrious breweries like Brewster’s and Thornbridge. So surely it’s only right that CAMRA is seeking to do the same?

And while there is still a long way to go in terms of inclusivity in the brewing world as a whole, there’s no doubt that the new army of women beer lovers, makers, marketers and purveyors are seeking to make space for all the people who aren’t seen as typical pint drinkers. I think we can all raise a glass to that.