Growing up there was always beer in my parents’ fridge. I mean, it was Labatt 50 and Labatt Ice for the most part, but it was beer. It was my dad’s drink of choice nine times out of 10, so I feel like I had no other option in life but to love the sudsy brew. I used to feel like such a badass as a girl who loved drinking beer, because to me it was mostly a “guy’s drink”. So when I was at a family wedding recently and heard about the “Society of Beer Drinking Ladies”, I was immediately interested. Turns out there are thousands of women, just like me, who LOVE beer.

Erica Campbell is one of five founders of the Society of Beer Drinking Ladies, and I recently chatted with her about the group. Campbell along with four other beer loving women, Jamie Dobbs, Jen Reinhardt, Magenta Suzanne, and Ren Navarro came up with the idea back in 2013. They wanted to get together once every couple months, share some bottles they were enjoying at the time, and have a couple laughs.

From there, the Toronto women decided to create a “bevy” event, and open it up to other ladies who might be interested in having a little, kind of secret, sociable. They wanted the same kind of concept, gathering in a living room and chatting beer. So the group opened up ticket sales on Eventbrite, expecting that maybe a dozen or so ladies would think it was a cool idea. Just 48 hours later, 90 tickets had been sold. The Society had to start renting out event spaces to keep up with the popularity. While the group has grown to host big festivals, the ladies remain committed to hosting bevies every couple of months. Close to 400 women attend the events. It’s a chance to showcase a couple of the latest beers on the market, while connecting with other women.

The beer scene is viewed by many as a “boys club”, and that’s part of what drove the Society to form. Campbell says it was created to make friends, and build a community, but also draw attention to the fact that there’s room for improvement when it comes to women in the beer industry. Not to get newsy, but there’s a serious lack of women graduating from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs in Canada, which directly impacts the beer industry. Stats Canada says in 2011, just 39 per cent of STEM graduates were women. Not that the Society of Beer Drinking Ladies says it’s going to change that over night, but the group is at least shedding a light on it.

The Society is also focused on making sure it gives back. A portion of all ticket sales, from their events, go to the Canadian Women’s Foundation. With the Toronto Pride Parade coming up, the group has teamed up with Henderson Brewing to come up with a beer to help support the LGBTQ community. It’s a light hazy pale ale called “Picnic Point Ale”. The name is in honour of Toronto’s first Pride event back in 1971 at Hanlon’s Point on the Island. Part of the proceeds of this brew will be going into LGBTQ initiatives of the Canadian Women’s Foundation, and has even been dubbed the official “bevy brew” for the upcoming Society for Beer Drinking Ladies Craft Beer Fest on June 2.

The Ladies Craft Beer Fest is one of the biggest events for the Society. It has grown to be the largest of its kind in North America. On average there are about 1000 women at the festival. The really cool part is that the Society is pairing up with women performers, food vendors and crafters to really keep the event a “lady’s only” affair. If you’re looking to get involved, and get a free pass to one of the festivals, the Society is always looking for volunteers (seriously, you get a ticket to the event, and some beer afterwards for a couple hours of work!).

In the past five years, demand from women across Toronto, and beyond, has been big. The Society recently launched in Ottawa this past April. The ladies are still focused on expanding within Ontario, but would like to potentially expand outside the province in the coming years. In the meantime, if you want stay in the know about future events, you can head to ladiesdrinkbeer.com, sign up for their newsletter and see all that they have to offer. Turns out this little, secret society isn’t so little, or secret, anymore.

Cheers!

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Feature photo courtesy of Roxanna Nazarowicz (@rx_xo)