We are often asked why women don’t drink beer. While there are myriad reasons women both drink and don’t drink, here are a few common findings from women from our research.

1. The don’t like the flavors of the beers they’ve had. This usually manifests itself as ‘I don’t like beer’ – BECAUSE they have bad flavor memories of the beers they have had. Unfortunately a lot of times this leads to universal dismissal of all beers.
2. They have a bad memory associated with beer. Again, unfortunately it’s almost always not the beer’s fault; it’s the fault of the drinker or source. They drank too much and got sick or they had beer that was truly bad.
3. They’ve not been invited to explore the flavors of beer. It’s like a parent not letting a child try a new and unique food thinking the parent thinks they won’t like it based on the parents tastes, not the childs.
4. 

   3 women who love beer

   They have alcoholism in their past or families so they want nothing to do with any kind of alcohol. Once again, it’s not the beers fault. Regardless, this is an area of life to always respect and acknowledge.

5. They think it’s highly caloric. While we don’t expressly study health and nutrition surrounding beer, we do hear the caloric facet come up on rare occasion. Know this is also a low-on-the-totem-pole list of concerns too. I believe that this enters women’s thinking largely due to the hammering of image that woman are supposed to be calorie hypersensitive. Untrue. Most women know or have an idea of the caloric content of a lot of things they consume, many still don’t realize the relative bargain of beer to value (social, experience, flavor, volume). I love to share with women that beer on the average has half the calories of wine, and we enjoy wine too.
6. It’s assumed they want wine, by someone else, so they aren’t offered a beer. Pish! The more women we talk to, the more speak up that they do in fact prefer a beer in social settings and sometimes have to forcefully ask for a beer if they are not offered one. Seriously, every adult who is capable of making their own beverage choice should be offered a beer.

The best part of all of this is that every brewery, distributor, and retailer can do something about 5 of these 6. And even #4, which needs to be handled carefully, when handled with respect can actually engender return respect for the purveyor.

Women want to enjoy beer. Learn how to ask them what it is they do and don’t like about beer and get the conversation flowing. You’ll find more than enough opportunity to open new doors.

Today’s post goes out to Joel and Wes of Knoxville Tennessee. I had the pleasure of coincidentally sitting at the same bar in the hotel last night for a beer and dinner.

gorgeous snowy Denver Colorado

They’re in Denver to ski – excellent plan – and I’m here on (pleasurable) business. One great thing about Women Enjoying Beer is that it’s a real conversation starter.

“Really?” is the comment from a lot of people when I introduce myself and pass them a business card. Beer holds a lot of allure and fascination regardless of if people drink much beer or not.

(I know…tough job. I do take it seriously while having fun at it though.)

So Joel asked me last night - what did I think were the two top reasons women didn’t drink much beer.

I turned the question and asked him what he thought the reasons were. His answer: calories and carbs.

Bingo – one exact reason WEB is around is to bust those kinds of myths.

Not so – and this is according to the hundreds of women I have talked to about beer, whether formally in focus groups or casually at, say, hotel bars. The calorie and carbs issue is a perfect example of advertisers marketing to what they think women want – without necessarily asking them directly. It’s someone else’s lens placed on the view.

And while health is  part of the conversation for women and beer, as it is for men as well, it’s not the very top of mind issue.

The top two would easily be:

Number 1 they haven’t been marketed to accurately and authentically hence little engagement.

And number 2 that they haven’t been actively and consistently pursued educationally. i.e. breweries specifically reaching out to women about beer – not pandering or patronizing. Reaching out – recognizing the potential, realizing that beer should be genderless in it’s audience yet  you have to first capture that market share to address it (like any market share).

And it’s not what I think. Those answers come from a large number of women from all kinds of backgrounds and in many different demographics.

Thanks Joel for the lively conversation and asking questions. The conversation has to include all genders. I hope you two had a fun night in Denver. How was Wynkoop?