The Strong Girls Club. That was the legend emblazoned on the T-shirt of the youngest participant at the Attic Brew Co x Hand Brew Co International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD) held in Birmingham recently. She was a truly feisty young lady. What she lacked in years she more than made up for in personality and charm. That fierce young kid made me smile and think a lot about what the IWCBDs have come to mean to me in recent years.
It most definitely is a Strong Girls Club. You can read all about the history of IWCBD in a piece I wrote for CAMRA last year, so I don’t think I need to go into all of the details here. Each year it is a pleasure for me to join in with the brew days (pictured), whether by giving a talk or simply as a participant. I seem to sign up for more and more since I find them so rewarding. I’m up to four so far this year, with a potential fifth on the horizon. Since they all take place at the same sort of time, in the lead up to International Women’s Day on 8 March, I’ve had to regretfully turn down one or two invitations as well.
There is always a good mix of general members of the interested public in attendance, quite often a strong presence from whichever women’s beer group has formed in the area and, of course, a range of brilliant women from the brewing industry. The events see a free and informal exchange of knowledge and ideas which is helping to inform a new demographic about the practicalities of brewing. They inspire no small number of female-identifying participants to think more about joining the industry professionally too.
The IWCBD is centrally coordinated now, run by the Women on Tap CIC, but it wouldn’t work in the UK without that pivotal informal network of women’s beer groups. It’s easy to forget that these groups are all independent, unfunded and run just because the people involved want to share their love of beer and cider with like-minded individuals.
This year’s IWCBD theme is belonging and that resonates with me increasingly as the years go by. I am proud to be considered an honorary member of a number of women’s beer groups – most of whom I have met through IWCBD brew days. They welcome me with open arms, even though I’m not local and cannot attend their meetings regularly. The Ladies of Darkness, Glasladies, Brum Beer Babs. A huge geographical spread, but part of a beer loving community that makes me feel like I belong wherever I go in the UK.
Locally, I am excited that for the first time I will be collaborating on a special IWCBD with brewer Andrew Brough at the All Nations Inn in Madeley, Shropshire, to brew a special batch of Eliza Lewis. The 4.3 per cent pale ale celebrates the career of Mrs Eliza Lewis, the licensee who brewed at the pub from the 1930s until the 1980s. Famously, she only drank tea herself.
“I think I am the only woman in the Midlands who does home brewing professionally,” she proudly told the Shropshire Star for its first edition on 5 October 1964. Once a week, the diminutive (but reputationally fierce) woman would get up at 3am to mash in, preparing the ale for service on the bar. Being able to follow in Mrs Lewis’ footsteps gives me a new sense of belonging in my adopted Shropshire home. Knowing that this brew will raise funds for West Mercia Women’s Aid is the icing on the cake. All of the IWCBD events have committed to raising money for women’s charities. In 2025, there were 61 brew days that raised a total of £27,000. That’s a lot of money going towards supporting the victims of domestic abuse, women’s health and other often-overlooked charities that desperately need funds to maintain their vital work.
I spend a lot of time writing about how beer people are the best people. I’m so fortunate to be immersed in this world professionally, but it has brought me a huge number of really incredible friendships that really transcend my work.
I think we all know how hard it can be to find meaningful social bonds as an adult. My experiences with the various ladies beer groups combined with the growing strength of IWCBD has genuinely enriched my life. The beer community is all the better thanks to the outspoken members of this unofficial Strong Girls Club who are fostering a sense of belonging in breweries and pubs across the world.
Find out more about this year’s IWCBD at iwcbd.org
