Women and beer

Men owe women for 'creating beer' claims academic
By Nick Britten
Published: 1:47PM BST 30 Mar 2010
Between the eighth and tenth centuries AD the Vikings spread terror by
rampaging through Europe, fuelled by women-made ale Photo: AP
Jane Peyton, 48, and author and historian, said women created beer and
for thousands of years it was only they who were allowed to operate
breweries and drink beer.
The drink is now almost exclusively marketed to men - with television
characters such as Homer Simpson the epitome of the beer-loving male.
Yet Miss Peyton said that up until 200 years ago, beer was considered
a food and fell into the remit of women’s work. It was only then that
men began drinking it and it became what is considered a very male
drink.
Miss Peyton has conducted extensive research into the origins of beer
for a new book, and discovered to her surprise that a woman's touch
was found on beer throughout the ages.
Nearly 7,000 years ago in Mesopotamia and Sumeria, so important were
their skills that they were the only ones allowed to brew the drink or
run any taverns.
And in almost all ancient societies beer was also then considered to
be a gift from a goddess, never a male God.
Between the eighth and tenth centuries AD the Vikings spread terror by
rampaging through Europe, fuelled by women-made ale.
Women were the exclusive brewers in Norse society and all equipment by
law remained their property.
And Ancient Finland also credits the creation of beer to the fairer
sex, with three women, a bear's saliva and wild honey the apparent
first ingredients.
In England ale was traditionally made in the home by women. They were
known as brewsters or ale-wives and the sale of the drink provided a
valuable income for many households.
It quickly became an essential staple of the diet and even royalty
indulged in the tasty beverage.
Queen Elizabeth I, like most people of the era, consumed it for
breakfast and at other times of the day.
But by the start of the late 18th century and the Industrial
Revolution, new methods of making beer meant women's contribution
slowly started to decline and be forgotten, until now.
Miss Peyton said: “I know men will be absolutely stunned to find this
out, but they've got women to thank for beer.”