Women have been active in brewing since ancient times. From the earliest evidence of brewing in 7000 BCE, until the commercialization of brewing during industrialization, women were the primary brewers on all inhabited continents. In many cultures, the deities, goddesses and protectors of brewers were female entities who were associated with fertility. From the middle of the 18th century, women had roles as barmaids, pub operators, bottlers or secretaries for breweries. In less industrialized areas, they produced homebrews and traditional alcoholic beverages. From the mid-20th century, women began working as chemists for brewing establishments. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, they began re-entering the field as brewers.
History Ethnographic studies and archaeological records indicate that, until the industrialization of brewing began, brewing beer was primarily an activity engaged in by women. From the 18th century onwards, women were increasingly employed as barmaids, and particularly in Australia as "publicans" or licensees running hotels selling alcohol. By the 19th century, few women were employed in brewing with the exception of labor for auxiliary functions, such as bottling and secretarial posts. In the 20th century, women began to work in a limited capacity in laboratories, but aside from a few exceptions such as Susannah Oland in Canada, women were excluded from directing brewing operations. Professional female brewers in Western society before the trade became "masculinized", were referred to as "brewsters". In Chinese legend, Yi Di, is credited with making the first alcohol from rice grains. In some accounts Yi Di is the wife of Yu the Great, sometimes a servant of Yu's daughter, sometimes a medical man who created liquor to cure "disorders". A female divine being in Ainu mythology known as Kamui Fuchi was the protector of brewing; brewers prayed to her and offered libations to ensure the warding off of evil spirits which might spoil the batch. Women in both Japan and Taiwan in the modern age engage in chewing rice to begin the fermentation process for making alcohol.
In ancient Sumeria, brewing was the only profession that was "watched over by a female deity", namely Ninkasi. A tablet found dating back to 1800 BCE contains the Hymn to Ninkasi which is also basically a recipe for Mesopotamian beer. Sumerian beer was made from bappir, a bread made from twice-baked barley, which was then fermented. In ancient Babylon, women worked as baker-brewers and were often engaged in the commercial distribution of beer. Archaeologists believe that the Sumerians and Babylonians were responsible for spreading brewing processes into Africa. Brewing in ancient Egypt followed a method similar to Sumerian beer, often using the same dough as a base for both beer and bread. Brewing was considered the province of Egyptian women, "especially the steps of grinding the grain and straining the mash". The goddess Hathor was considered to have invented brewing and Hathor's temple at Dendera was known as "the place of drunkenness". Another Egyptian goddess, Tenenet, was worshiped as beer's deity and hieroglyphics on tombs depict images of women both brewing and drinking the beverage. Other African societies also credited women with creating beer. For example, the Zulu fertility goddess, Nomkhubulwane, is revered for her invention, as is the Dogon deity, Yasigi, who is often depicted dancing with a beer ladle to symbolize her role of distributing the beer made by women in ceremonial gatherings. Women in Burkina Faso have been making mash of fermented sorghum into beer for some 5,500 years. In Tanzania, both women and men help harvest and create different kinds of brew, including ulanzi and pombe. Women in Tanzania have traditionally been the "sole marketers" of drinks, and many use the money they make by selling alcohol to supplement their incomes.
As early as 1600 BCE, Maya civilizations were using cacao beans to produce beer, long before it was used to make the non-alcoholic cocoa. Though actual production methods are unknown, Friar Landa described the process of preparing beverages as involving grinding maize and cacao to a paste before adding liquids and spices. Agriculture was within man's realm in the Mayan world, but food preparation belonged to women. On an ancient ceramic vase, chocolate preparation shows a woman pouring the substance between two vessels to create the highly desired foam favored by the Maya. Pre-Columbian Andean women chewed maize (occasionally using cassava or quinoa) to break down the starch and then spit it out to begin fermentation. Chicha, the resulting drink, is still widely available in Latin America. In the Wari Empire, archaeological evidence has indicated that elite Wari women brewers ran the breweries and that tradition carried forward into Incan society. Throughout the Andean region and Mesoamerica, women were the chief producers of alcoholic beverages. During the 15th century in Peru, women's lives among the Xauxa people of the Upper Mantaro Valley were changed by the process of producing chicha. After the Xauxa were conquered by the Inca, women were forced to work harder to produce more alcohol. In Mexico, a female deity, "Mayahuel" was revered among the Aztec for having discovered how to extract agave sap for the manufacture of pulque. After the Spanish invasion, women in Brazil and Mexico, as well as throughout Andean territories, became not only producers of alcoholic beverages, but also its main market vendors.
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