Beer is an ancient beverage that once upon a time had medicinal and spiritual uses. For thousands of years, it was women who brewed beer and women who were the custodians of beer-related ritual. Across cultures and continents – from Africa to South America to East Asia – beer was believed to be a gift to humans from predominantly female deities and goddesses. 

Women continued to be the primary beer brewers well into the 13th Century, when eventually its potential as a commercial and money-making product moved it out of women’s hands, and into men’s. This shift roughly overlaps with the early witch hunts in Europe. There was a compelling theory that in fact, the medieval brewsters inspired the image of the witch we are now so familiar with: pointy hat, cats, broomstick, cauldron. Recent research has questioned that link, and does not indicate that women brewers were specifically targeted as witches, however, to me, the witch still serves as a powerful symbol. She reminds us of this history and of what was taken – by capitalism and patriarchy. To me, she stands for the misunderstood and forgotten among the pages of history and even today, she can be a bellwether of any given society’s views on women and minorities. 

The witch is unique in that she embodies both the power and persecution familiar to women, as well as all marginalized and maligned groups and communities. (After all, while she offers a much-needed contrast to the male-centric Abrahamic traditions, “she” is ultimately gender-fluid and defies categorization.) And she is international: some version of the witch – in the form of seers, shamans, mystics, healers, wise people, etc – has existed across the world. She too, much like beer, belongs to everyone and no one.  

Beer is also a symbol: of culture, industry, community, passion, tradition, and celebration. Beer represents that which was once a respected female contribution, only later to become the exclusive arena of men. Taking this story back echoes broader efforts around shedding male, white, hetero, and global north-oriented dominant narratives in all facets of our lives.

BreWitch is my beer-brewing brand AND a foundational approach that celebrates, learns from, and uses this history in the conjuring of community and the telling of its stories.