Sound The Alarm — Why Aren’t British Breweries Listening to the Sound of Brave Noise?
Editor's note: Following the final draft of this article being submitted, it has come to our attention that a small number of UK breweries which contributed to the Brave Noise project have also recently collaborated with BrewDog, as part of its annual Collabfest event. In June 2021 a group calling itself Punks with Purpose published an open letter that contained allegations against BrewDog, accusing the multinational brewing entity of fostering a “rotten culture” within its workplace.
As a publication, it is our opinion that true accountability for these accusations has not been taken by BrewDog thus far. We consider that any brewery collaborating with BrewDog also participating in the Brave Noise project has essentially broken the code of conduct it produced in order to do so. Collaborating with a brewery which, in our opinion, has not demonstrated sufficient action in light of the allegations of workplace abuse and toxic workplace culture is antithesis to what Brave Noise stands for.
Breweries are able to sign up to participate in Brave Noise until the end of December, 2022.
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How many times have you seen anti-harassment posters at a pub? Scrappy pieces of paper plastered to the back of toilet doors, claiming a “safe escape” from a date that “doesn’t feel quite right”—leaving a potential perpetrator sipping their pint, none the wiser.
Harassment and discrimination in bars, clubs, pubs and taprooms has existed for as long as pints have been poured—but policies against them haven’t. Schemes set up by various police forces or campaigners over recent years have been launched, with each having its own methods and merchandise. Now, they belong hidden away in (usually women’s) bathrooms, shamefully sun-bleached alongside condom machines—untouched, unrecognised, and unaccounted for.
According to a 2021 UN Women UK report, 80% of all women admitted to being sexually harassed in public. I’m one of them.
I’ve been sexually harassed at pubs, beer festivals and in deemed ‘safe spaces’ with such schemes birthed to protect me. I’ve been leered at, catcalled, touched without consent, and discriminated against because of my sex. It’s nothing new for me, though. It’s been this way for as long as I can remember.
I’m hardly alone either, as a recent YouGov survey found that 81% of women want safer bars, pubs and restaurants, and over three-quarters of UK adults think improved safety procedures in bars, pubs and nightclubs are necessary.
Additionally, nearly seven in 10 LGBT+ people in the UK have been harassed at work; and over three in ten people from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds have admitted to being bullied and harassed in the same setting—with racism rife in the workplace.
Thankfully, the rumblings of change are afoot. Everyday sexism, discrimination and harassment in the brewing and hospitality industry based on gender, sexuality and race is being targeted by one global initiative, with the hopes of it being eradicated for good. Except, the problem is that hardly anyone is listening.
“Have you ever experienced sexism in the beer industry?” was the simple question asked by Brienne Allan [previously of Notch Brewing in Salem, Massachusetts] on her Instagram stories in May 2021. Little did she know that it would ignite a reckoning.
The co-founder and head brewer at Sacred Profane Brewery in Maine, USA, opened the floodgates with a single query, in the process revealing decades of abuse, trauma and the sheer prevalence of sexism in the industry worldwide—both in workplaces and at events.
These stories of misconduct even included countless unresolved sexual assault and rape cases, eventually leading to scores of resignations of high-profile brewery figures across the board.
I remember reading these stories and shaking with anger, fear and tears—recognising myself in too many of them, while also recognising breweries I’d once loved, respected, and invested in accused of committing disgusting crimes against women. It no longer mattered that they were once “revolutionaries”—they were abusers.
But, above all, I was relieved. Hopeful, even: the industry had been shaken, and caught red-handed for the first time.
From the fires of trauma and grassroots activism, Brave Noise was born. Set up by Brienne and Ash Eliot, founder of Women of the Bevolution, the US-based initiative invited breweries globally to brew a Brave Noise beer in order to raise awareness of discrimination and harassment in the industry.
"Once a few well-established breweries were called out about toxic work environments and mistreatment of their employees, it shone a larger spotlight on how global this issue really is," Ash tells me.
Illustrations by Tida Bradshaw
"We all knew there had to be something to follow once hundreds of stories were being shared and women in the industry were looking for action and accountability," she adds. "We wanted to honour those who have spoken up and create a collaboration that requires action."
Before signing up to produce a Brave Noise collaboration beer, the scheme insists breweries have a code of conduct in place, focusing on the safety of its staff and consumers. Once this has been submitted, the participating brewery then receives everything they need to brew and publicise a Brave Noise Pale Ale, including the label, social media graphics and the recipe—with the choice to add their own spin on it.
They’re then asked to donate a majority of proceeds to a non-profit or initiative of their choice that advocates for safe spaces. Brave Noise has done most of the work for you, and have even suggested nonprofits to donate to. It’s that simple. The ultimate aim is to ensure that participating breweries commit to the long-term work involved in changing the beer industry for the better.
"This collaboration is about being proactive, taking steps for change and working together for a better beer world,” Ash says. “We are here to help."
Despite this harrowing call to arms, at the time of this article’s publication, only 12 breweries in the UK have taken part, including Amity Brewing Co., Bedlam Brewery, Cloudwater, Elusive Brewing, Fierce Beer, Laine, Lost and Grounded, Merakai Brewing Co., The Park Brewery, Unity Brewing Co., Wilderness and Vault City. Out of an estimated 2,426 breweries in the UK (according to data firm Statista), a mere 0.49% have listened.
Sadly, it rings the same in the US, too, with only 198 out of an estimated 9,250 breweries taking part in the collaboration—less than 2.2%. (For context, over 1200 breweries participated in Weathered Souls Brewing’s Black is Beautiful collaboration, while over 550 joined Other Half’s All Together project.)
“I’m not sure why other breweries wouldn't want to help support Brave Noise,” Emma O’Neill-Parsons, co-founder of Merakai Brewing Co. in East Sussex, tells me. “Brewing a Brave Noise beer demonstrates that you believe in creating positive change within our industry. It shows that you care about the struggles and negative experiences your peers and members of the community have been through.”
Merakai’s version of the beer, a 5% New England style pale ale, hopped with Idaho 7 and Sabro, launched this March and sold out in 48 hours. Proceeds from the beer, brewed with Merakai’s community (including myself, I was even on the can!) helped fund The Coven Wellness Officer Programme. Wellness Officers are individuals that appear at beer festivals and events who are first aid and mental health trained, with additional training in active-bystanding. The Programme launched with great success at Leeds International Beer Festival in September 2022.
“Safety is of paramount importance to us,” Emma says. “The main aim of Wellness Officers is to provide safety and support to festivals, ensuring everyone there feels that they can have a good time, and feel safe in doing so.”
Despite the success of Merakai’s Brave Noise beer, plus the resulting campaigns and live tastings to raise awareness of the initiative across the country, only one brewery has since followed suit: Bristol’s Lost and Grounded, which collaborated with beer festival organisers We Are Beer and industry platform Burum Collective for its Brave Noise brew.
“I think it would help if we had someone in the UK or Europe promoting Brave Noise,” Emma suggests. “Is it that Brave Noise may be seen as an American thing?”
Perhaps. However, as I mentioned earlier, the stats showing relatively low levels of participation based on the size of the beer industries on either side of the Atlantic suggest otherwise.
Admittedly, when I’ve talked to brewers at beer festivals explaining the notion of Brave Noise, I’m often met with glazed over eyes, or a response of: “Oh, that was beer’s #MeToo movement in the US, wasn’t it?” While they’re right, it’s frustrating to think that so many high-profile figures in the industry think it’s solely US-based, as Brienne’s stories were global—including several grim stories that emerged from notable UK breweries.
Determined to change this misconstrued interpretation of Brave Noise, We Are Beer—organisers of several large scale events, including the London Craft Beer Festival (LCBF)—invited the team behind the scheme to the UK for the first time, hosting a stall at its flagship event.
“When stories were coming out from Brienne last year, it was clear that there were a lot of us that had no idea what was going on,” Tom Maya, marketing manager at We Are Beer tells me. “And when I say a lot of us, I mainly mean white cis men who have never had to deal with any issues of abuse, misconduct, harassment and the like.”
After listening to a number of podcasts featuring Brienne and Ash, with the same question being asked every time: “Why aren’t there more breweries in the UK taking part?”—Tom decided to take matters into his own hands.
“We’re not a brewery, but we normally have a festival beer for each festival, so we started off by thinking we would make all our festival beers a Brave Noise beer,” he says, adding that We Are Beer decided to invite the team to their “biggest festival” as “the catalyst to drive more support for Brave Noise”.
“Our hope from us working with the Brave Noise team is that other festivals, whether that’s exclusively beer festivals or not, will take notice and become advocates for the Brave Noise movement, too,” Tom adds.
Lost and Grounded’s 4.6% ABV Brave Noise American-style lager was pouring all weekend at the festival, with £1,500 of proceeds going to Womankind, which “supports women’s rights organisations […] with the resources they need to challenge oppression,” according to its website.
“The charity especially is very important to us and as we grow as a business, it’s important that we still give back,” Aimee Allen, London sales manager at Lost and Grounded tells me.
Merakai’s Emma O’Neill-Parsons joined Lost and Grounded at its brew day, alongside Helen Anne Smith, the co-founder of Burum Collective, which also serves as an online publication encouraging a safer, healthier and more equitable working environment for those within the drinks and hospitality industry.
“This beer isn't the solution, it's not even close, but it's a very small gesture, and it's a start,” Helen tells me. “This beer has become incredibly important to me because the deafening silence from the breweries who aren't getting involved hurts.”
“I know that the cost of everything is sky-high right now, but a singular brew that could let those most vulnerable in the industry know that they do actually matter is huge,” they add.
Notably, Tom acknowledges that large parts of the community were concerned about the presence of the Welsh brewery, Tiny Rebel, at LCBF this year. The brewery has been embroiled in debates about sexism and misogyny numerous times in the past, causing general disgust online by attributing deemed sexist names to both its beers and its brewery’s burgers, namedly ‘The B-J’ and ‘The Motorboat’. Though the brewery “admitted” its mistakes, many industry figures are understandably unwilling to forgive this.
“I'm sure there'll be points of view and queries from within craft beer's amazing scene of passionate advocates. We have these chats on incredibly complex issues internally because we do care,” says Tom when asked why Tiny Rebel were invited to pour.
“We care deeply about craft beer, the audience and work hard on making sure the experience is great for everyone,” he adds. “The work with Brave Noise, the codification of principles and expectations into policy is a great step forward.”
Tom adds that 140 breweries attended LCBF, “all of whom will [have seen] the presence of the Brave Noise team and will likely [have met] or [had] the opportunity to approach [them] and learn more about the initiative,” adding that Brave Noise’s “pledge board was filled with people people pledging support.”
“I think there are going to be a variety of reasons as to why the uptake has been slow in the UK,” he adds. “The only people who can answer these questions are really the breweries themselves, we need to find out what the barriers are for them.”
Elsie White, South and West London account manager at Lost and Grounded tells me that the UK “is not very good at rocking the boat,” or that many breweries “feel as if it’s not their place if there’s not a woman on the team.”
“It’s trying to get people to see the bigger picture,” Elsie adds. “There’s still so much that needs to be done and it’s really hard, There’s no quick fix.” her colleague Aimee adds: “It’s about not being afraid.”
Helen tells me that they believe it’s up to “bigger breweries getting involved” and to act as “industry leaders.” “Not just in terms of brewing, but in terms of what we stand for, because the customer base in the beer industry aren't having these conversations,” they add.
Unfortunately, Helen adds that “most of the people attending LCBF looked at our Brave Noise stall like we had three heads,” implying that most brewery workers or representatives had no clue what Brave Noise even was. “Most of them don't know what happened last year, they're just people with regular office jobs and money,” Helen adds.
“From a personal point of view, I just wanted to help however I could, with the power and platform I have,” Tom clarifies. “If just one more UK brewery joins the Brave Noise initiative (though I hope a lot more do) this would have been worth it.”
And, since writing this piece, Tom’s wishes seem to have been granted, with not one but two more breweries signing up to brew a Brave Noise beer: Berkshire’s Elusive Brewing and Unity Brew Co of Southampton.
While this is amazing news, there’s still a long journey ahead—and 12 out of thousands of operating breweries in the UK is still pretty embarrassing.
"All brewing-related businesses need to step up and should be having daily conversations on making this industry better for women, non-binary, BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and people of colour] and LGBTQIA+," Women of the Bevolution’s Ash Eliot adds.
“This industry globally has a lot of work to do,” she tells me. “It’s still a majority led by men and catered towards men,” adding that the deadline for other UK breweries to collaborate with and brew a Brave Noise beer is 31st December 2022.
“I’ve grown up in the industry and I have had misogynistic behaviour and have had to fight my way through that,” Aimee adds. “I want to be seen as the same as men.”
It’s time to make some noise and pierce the not-so blissful ignorance, UK breweries. The fight against discrimination and harassment in the brewing industry shouldn’t just be at the hands of women, or LGBTQ+ people. It’s up to everyone in this industry—including cis white men—to join the battle.
“We cannot do this alone,” Helen agrees. “Everyone needs to take responsibility and step the fuck up.”
