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Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"

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Jack_Burton
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
Ummm.. If you put beer in a red plastic cup, and a quarter or a ping-pong ball is nearby, women will drink plenty of beer. I've seen it.

Srsly, I do know a number of women that like beer - for quantity (PBR, etc.) or quality (Boddington's, etc.).
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Eriu
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
Ummm, "floral" is just an adjective for a certain flavor note, and floral beers are lighter and easier to handle for a newbie. It's not a "But women LOVE flowers!" kind of thing.

I also think the biggest reason more women don't drink beer is the calories. At least, that's the reason ALL of the women I know give when they refuse it. But tackling that problem doesn't start with beer, I'm afraid.
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rah29
06/19/09

@Eriu: Which is amazing given how many calories are in a glass of the sweet white wine so many British women prefer...
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heykoukla
06/19/09

@Eriu: Also, beer can make you feel bloated rather quickly. If you're wearing a tight-ish skirt or pants, that is not a good thing. Lowering your pants/skirt to hang beneath your belly - while no doubt comfortable - is not what one might call "a good look."
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lisomiso
06/19/09

@heykoukla: You can find me on my porch rockin' this look 5 nights a week!
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heykoukla
06/19/09

@lisomiso: Well, at home I have no problem with this look. Except it's usually minus the pants.

@Eriu: Eek, it's just me and my cheap lager then.
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alwaysapropos
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
I hope this isn't a rude thing to say, but did everybody who commented here read the whole article? What Smith is saying isn't offensive at all. I'm aware that everyone here is the exception, but according to her statistics, 84% of women have never tried ale. There has to be a reason for that, and it's pretty obviously the marketing of beer.

She adds that "many men took to cider only when one company changed the way it was served, in a pint pot filled with ice." So whether you guys do or not, lots of people still care what kind of glass their alcohol is served in. And if someone, male or female, has never tried any beer, they will almost invariably not like a dark beer. A man might be pressured by society, pop culture, and his friends to pretend he likes it, keep drinking it, and thereby acquire the taste. A woman might feel opposite pressure, deciding that she just doesn't like beer in generall. Of course there are exceptions, in the form of 16% of British women, but that's a tiny minority.

In the long run, simple marketing alterations like Smith's could help change women's opinion of beer and the stereotypes of women who enjoy beer. It's really not that bad to me to suggest that women would feel more comfortable with a "classy" glass, because I think in a lot of cases, it would just be the truth.
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PreposterousHypothesis
06/19/09

@alwaysapropos: I'm with you. As I mentioned in another discussion, there's a big difference between talking about "floral" beers and being like "pink with umbrellas! cosmos! SHOES!" If putting it in a different glass works, then hell, it'll open up the market a bit. I'm down with that.
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rah29
06/19/09

@alwaysapropos: It's not rude; I agree with you, I said the same thing in a different thread as well. Usually my anti-feminist nose is supersensitive, but in this case I think she's just being realistic (and I'm one of the ale-loving 16%).

I agree as well about men being pressured into 'acquiring' the taste. Didn't some survey in the BBC a while back show that 2/3 British men ordered curries that were too spicy, just to show they could? The same kind of pressure applies to beer, especially here where people start drinking so early.
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PreposterousHypothesis
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
Also, NE Jezzies, I had some of this on a trip to Newtown, PA. I am JEALOUS. This stuff was the shit. Do they still have it around? It wasn't all that floral, but like most Belgians they served it in a stemmed glass. I think this would be a good beer for the normal non-beer drinker.

[www.ommegang.com]

(I've been to this brewery, and pretty much like everything they have.)
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stacyinbean
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
My favorite beer already comes IN stemware AND has pink on the label AND on the stemware. Just serve all the women DT and we're good!

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tscheese
06/19/09

@stacyinbean: THIS. This this this this this. THIS.

I want DTs. Like, now.
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stacyinbean
06/19/09

@tscheese: I'm pretty certain at the moment i'll be picking some up for myself this evening now that I've had to think about it!

@seejanerun: Apparently it's the most stolen glass in the US!
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tscheese
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
Jezebel, are you in cahoots with my liquor store guy? Yesterday it was Bandit pinot grigio, today it's beer. Are you trying to tell me something? (Like, telling me to buy moar booze? Please?)
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happymisanthrope
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
Question for Brits out there (because clearly women being seen drinking a proper pint of beer in America is not a problem): there's a chapter in Kate Fox's WATCHING THE ENGLISH that's about the rules of drinking for the different classes and how it does seem as if there are rules to what's proper for a woman to drink. (To be fair there are also similar restraints for what's proper for men to drink.) In your experience is this true? Because if so, then that's what Anabel Smith is dealing with, a culture where women won't order beer because it doesn't seem feminine. Or if she does orders one of those wee half-pints (sad wee half-pints).
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gherkinfiend
06/19/09

@happymisanthrope: Some people think it is unladylike for a woman to order beer in the UK, but I think that is changing.

It is also currently very fashionable for women to drink wine in the UK a la Bridget Jones, as it is heavily promoted on cheap offers and (sigh) is seen as lower calorie...
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rah29
06/19/09

@happymisanthrope: I don't remember Fox's rules exactly, though I do remember thinking they were reasonably accurate (my posh English friends especially were horrified by that book because, as one of them said, 'that woman knows my soul').

I think gherkinfiend is right; in my admittedly limited experience, that perception of beer as unfeminine is particularly big among middle-class women. The poshest people and the least-posh people don't care what you drink. Women here do drink a LOT of wine rather than beer (personally I never drink wine at pubs, because it's rarely any good--wine is for home). Either way, it's still certainly much rarer to see women with pints than men--especially pints of real ale, which this woman is promoting.
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heykoukla
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
I would love to say this woman's wrong, but I remember the alcopop craze of the early to mid 90s and how many women bought into the "Hey ladies, this drink is especially for you!" message. They were ugly times.
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PreposterousHypothesis
06/19/09

@heykoukla: Oh, thinking back upon my ill-considered consumption of Smirnoff Ice.
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heykoukla
06/19/09

@PreposterousHypothesis: @Schrodinger's Cat: Just the thought of Smirnoff Ice makes my teeth hurt. But as a mixer, hmmmm, I can see that...
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tscheese
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
Good god I sound like a lush. I've been in full fine fettle over the last few days in the booze threads all "LOLOL DIS LADY HAZ A BOOZ LOL."
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kemperboyd
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
I hate beer, the taste is just not for me. But I do like a nice Belgian fruit beer, a cherry or raspberry.
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Spaceman Bill Leah
06/19/09

@kemperboyd: In that case you should try Pyramid's Audacious Apricot Ale. It is damn tasty.
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burningdinner
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
I'm going to ignore the inherent sexism in Smith's plan, and instead say - How do I get that job?!?!?!?!?!
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angelheadedhipster
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
My genitals are on the outside, but I love beers that are often considered "girly." Love wheats and hefs and weisses.

Then again, I also spend most of my time here, so maybe she has a point...
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heykoukla
06/19/09

@angelheadedhipster: Hey, the manliest of manly male men drink wheats and weisses! But the ones I'm talking about are European, so, you know...
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Fridge Hussy : Is finally heading back to uni!
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
I started out drinking Carlton Draught, then moved on to Beck's. No fluffy pink packaging/berry infusions necessary!
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kemperboyd
06/19/09

@Fridge Hussy : You Do The Meth!: neither of those are Ales though. I thought her point was about ales not lagers?
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Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
How about less advertising assuming the only people who drink beer are horny straight dudes who need mute models to make themselves feel better? I like some kinds of beer, but sometimes I feel like some sort of gender traitor.
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Kali Mama
06/19/09

In reply to Female Beer Inspector: Ale Must Be "Feminized"
Ladylike presentation? Feh, I like my presentation nothing short of dainty.
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jigglyball
06/19/09

@Kali Mama: What if I just cross my ankles while drinking a beer? And lift my pinkie?
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zombies.like.lattés.too
06/19/09

@jigglyball: just remember to say "excuse me" after you let out that belch that sounded like it came all the way up from your toes.

Boyfriend always laughs at the dainty way I say it after an impressive gaseous eruption.
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jigglyball
06/19/09

@zombies.like.lattés.too: If he can appreciate your beer burps, he is a keeper.
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