The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #choosetochallenge and this is something I’m totally onboard with. I mean, just read this little sentence taken from IWD website:

“A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. So let’s all choose to challenge.” 

So to help celebrate women’s amazing achievements in the world of beer I wanted to do my bit to round up a few highlights of what’s going on this IWD and how you can support and celebrate the cause on the 8^th March and beyond. 

On the actual day, I’ll be doing a series of short Instagram Lives on March 8^th throughout the whole day with some amazing women in the industry, women who love beer and are passionate about driving change or expanding our community for the better. I’ll add the full guest list here soon but switch on notifications on my Instagram so you don’t miss any updates before the big day.

So what’s going on this IWD?

Leading the way is the magical International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD), which was founded in 2014 by Sophie de Ronde – Head Brewer & Brewing Technologist at Burnt Mill Brewery.

IWCBD brings together brewers from around the world to celebrate women working in and loving the beer industry by brewing a beer with a common theme. This year’s theme is Unite Compassion which is so important in this crazy time we’re living in. For full details on who’s brewing what, visit the interactive map for IWCBD here.

If you only have 10 minutes to read this blog, here’s a little lowdown of a few UK centric IWD beer related highlights and a mini hit list of some awesome ways you can get join celebrate women in beer this IWD (and beyond). 

1. Invest in a tasting box from Wild Card and join the virtual IWD tasting!

The incredible Jaega Wise has been involved with IWD every year so far which is certainly something to applaud. Grab yourself a tasting box from Wild Card to raise a glass to IWD in style. Each box has 6 different beers made by women in the UK brewing scene and you can join Jaega on Wild Card Brewery’s Instagram Live for a guided tasting and interviews from 7pm on IWD. 

The box is £30.70 and you can choose to include Wild Card’s False Gods Tropical Stout or the Passion Fruit Gose alongside: 

• Burnt Mill Swimming Giants, 8% brewed by Sophie De Ronde
• Queer Brewing Existence as a Radical Act 5% created by Lily Waite 
• Brewsters Rundle Beck Bitter, 5.5% Sara Barton
• Neptune Brewery & Marble Brewery Collab Turbulence, 7.4% from Julie O’Grady + Jan Rogers 
• Cloudwater Brew Co Signature IPA, 6% by The Women Brewers at Cloudwater. 

Grab yours here in time for March 8^th – Buy the tasting box.

2. Sip some more Unite Compassion brews

Here’s a few to look out for…

• Polly’s (for the first time) – Amber Dernulc will be helped by Lally Morrison and Sean Wheldon of Polly’s Brew Co.’s to brew a Rose and Hibiscus Berliner.
• Beerblefish Michaela Charles is brewing an organic single hopped pale ale. 
• Pretty Decent Audrey Silver is making a Kiwi and Lime Sour – Yum! 
• Thornbridge (Details to be launched on the 8^th! Stay tuned.)
• Ladies That Beer have teamed up with Neptune, Top Rope and Black Lodge for their collab brews on 8^th March. 

To get your hands on these epic brews, please visit each brewery’s website or the amazing Hope Hideout (www.hophideout.co.uk) – who are stocking as many of the IWCBD Unite Compassion beers as possible throughout the coming weeks.

And don’t forget to turn on notifications on the IWCBD Instagram page on the 8th because there’s live interviews throughout the day with the brewers involved in this epic day!

3. Join the Women’s Pint Club and Love Beer Learning live stream brew! 

Go to the Love Beer Learning Facebook Page on 7^th March at to watch Joanne Love brewing their brew that they’ve concocted virtually to select the exact brew ingredients. The final brew they will be a Jam Doughnut Stout and I for one am very excited to get my hands on some! 

4. Listen to A Women’s Brew IWD Podcast – The IWD special podcast will launch 8^th March and their will be a discussion with women about their experiences in craft beer which will certainly be worth a listen! Subscribe to the podcast now to ensure you don’t miss out when the episode drops.

5.Join the Cloudwater Live Stream – presented by a bunch of the ladies that make up 50% of the team at Cloudwater. Details coming soon of the exact time, but expect a tasting of the new Cloudwater beers and sodas, interviews with and general fun.

Here are a few more ways your can support and celebrate women this in the beer industry around the world:

6. Reach out and celebrate your favourite women in beer

Like, share and save social content from your favourite beer femmes on 8^th March for IWD. Or even hit subscribe on their podcasts/leave reviews, or share a stories about why you love and appreciate them.

7. Buy some beer books from badass women – here’s a few for starters:

• Natalya Watson: Beer: Taste the Evolution in 50 Styles
• Melissa Cole: The Little Book of Craft Beer: A Guide to Over 100 of the World’s Finest Brews
• Jackie Brown: The Craft Beer Cookbook
• Jane Peyton: The Philosophy of Beer

8. Support some awesome female fronted industry campaigns

Don’t forget you can donate money on the home of IWCBD, by visiting the Unite webpage here.

A few other awesome campaigns I encourage you to check out and support if you can (I know times are difficult right now):

• Eugenia Brown, aka Black Beer Chick is currently fronting a campaign called ‘Road to 100’ to raise money to pay for women of color to take the Cicerone Certified Beer Server exam. Donate now or buy a beautiful t-shirt, to play your part in helping the cause.

• The Queer Brewing project was set up by Lily Waite to provide visibility for LGBTQ+ people in and around beer, and to build community, advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and raise money for vital LGBTQ+ Charities. Show your support by subscribing to their Patreon for as little as £1 a month.

9. Buy beer merch from female entrepreneurs

• Janine Byrne and her dog Cosmo at Easy Graphics Now produce epic merch like this cool Blood, Sweat and Beers tee. Don’t fancy it on a tee shirt? Buy the licensed graphic for a small fee and stick it on whatever you want!

Ok, so there’s plenty of ways you can get involved this IWD 2021, I’ll update this blog as more info is released!

Please support the women in our community and remember your voice is powerful so use it wisely. We still have a long way to go!