Historian Jane Peyton has been researching the history of beer, and she’s found that up until about 200 years ago women were responsible for beer. Because beer was considered a food, it was women’s work — and their skill in crafting ale was considered so special that in Mesopotamia and Sumeria, only women were allowed to brew the stuff or run taverns. Same goes in Norse society and ancient Finland (where women were considered to be a formal ingredient in its creation). In England “ale-wives” brewed beer at home and brought in significant income for their families; Queen Elizabeth I enjoyed a daily liquid breakfast and consumed ale at other points during the day.
