The Beer Glass Project
A movement to reframe beer by Women On Tap CIC
The UK has one of the lowest percentages of women beer drinkers in the world at just 17%*. The truth is many women in the UK feel uninterested, disenfranchised and even repulsed by beer. This comes from years of marketing beer at men, ingrained sexism, and misconceptions around things like bloat and calories.
Recent research* by women and beer interest group Dea Latis showed (of those who don’t drink beer):
- Women are put off beer by the image of pint-swilling men in pubs
- Women feel unwelcome in beer and pubs
- Women correlate beer with pints and volume, which equates to perceptions of bloating and big calories
- Women have been led to believe that beer is not an aspirational, premium product
- Women believe those who drink beer have a low opinion of themselves
- Women think they ‘don’t like the taste’ of beer
- Women want more than they think beer offers them
The image of beer today is hugely inaccurate. Beer has evolved enormously over recent years. On the whole, perceptions have not — particularly among women. Somehow, we are still doing beer PR and marketing wrong.
We need a reset button. We need to stamp out inequality so that beer is accessible to all. We need to change the way it is talked about and represented.
We need to alter perceptions.
We need to level the playing field.
We need to reach beyond the beer bubble.
We need to reframe beer.
One of the main reasons women are put off beer is the perception of beer as something that comes in pints. The historical perception of a drink that is cheap, brown and malty in an overwhelming volume, guzzled in a laddish manner until one bloats and passes out is (understandably) not an appealing one for many!
More women want beer in smaller volumes. They want beer in great glassware. Many want a drink that makes a bold statement about them; one that is enjoyed as part of an aesthetic lifestyle experience — think of the evolution of gin over recent years; a drink that now spans generations and gender following a sustained period of reframing since the days of ‘mothers ruin’. They want a drink that they can sip with food.
Beer IS that drink — we just need to show it a lot, lot more than we do.
In order to change perceptions, we need to focus on:
- A better aesthetic
- Less beer volume
- Representing women drinking beer
- A sustained commitment to equality, diversity, and accessibility in beer marketing
- Food pairing and education
The Beer Glass Project is not about gendering beer — it’s about reframing it to challenge perceptions of what beer looks like, how it tastes, and who it’s for; to provoke new thinking, and to present beer in a new light — all in the name of reaching beyond the beer bubble. It’s about saying ‘be playful with beer and enjoy it YOUR way’.
This is the start of a new movement to reframe beer, which puts glassware at the front of the conversation. Over 5 weeks in October 2020 Women On Tap CIC will run a campaign centred around a range of specially commissioned photographs presenting beer in beautiful and ‘unexpected’ glassware and as part of a rounded aesthetic, and an indulgent experience — something not commonly associated with beer. The photographs will be released alongside a range of other created and crowdsourced digital content with the aim to entice more women to give drinking beer a shot.
Women On Tap CIC exists to invent and deliver national and international beer equality campaigns and pop-up events that challenge thinking and change minds.
They collaborate with leading bars, breweries and experts to create thought-provoking communications and distinctive and welcoming experiences designed to encourage women to find and further explore their passion for beer. See the website for more and join in on socials @womenontap — Everyone is welcome.
*Reference: Dea Latis reports The Gender Pint Gap (2018) and The Beer Agender (2019).
