August is women’s month and South Africa Breweries (SAB) is celebrating with the launch of Bold Brew, a beer that is designed and brewed entirely by women and embodies what it means to be a woman in South Africa today.
SAB teamed up with five women who are passionate about empowering women and who are passionate about the beer craft to create a special, limited edition, small-batch brew celebrating women in brewing. The beer’s ingredients were also selected by women members of the public via a poll run on SAB’s social media pages.
Pranisha Maharaj SAB and AB InBev’s Corporate Reputation Manager said, ’We wanted to make a beer that embodied the characteristics of strong, independent women. We gave the public a chance to vote for ingredients that would form part of a ‘secret brew’, and then we put the results into the hands of a team of talented women to create both the beer and its packaging.’
#BrewingTheBold
Once the results of the public vote were in, the team chose their ingredients from the shortlist. And when brew day rolled around it was all hands on deck, with the team members joining fellow women from the craft brewing industry lending a hand to get the brewing process started.
A lot of thought went into creating the perfect packaging to reflect the ideals of the #BrewingTheBold project. Ultimately, the design had to reference both the brew and the women behind it.
‘The icon shows a woman holding up the sun – representing power, life, warmth and unity,’ explained Dearling. ‘It also cues the sun giving life and the warm and toasty caramel flavours of the malt.’ She added that the open ‘B’ represents open-mindedness, while the dynamic geometric shapes indicate women’s stability and strength.
As someone who isn’t directly involved in the beer industry, Haller found the project’s message particularly important. ‘What this project demonstrates for me is that women are relevant in any space, and our preferences and our tastes are relevant in any industry,’ she said. ‘It shows that women can come into industries that they’re not expected in, and still create great work.’
#BrewingTheBold also presented a chance to inspire young women who are just starting out in their careers. ‘SAB’s involvement means that we can reach so many more women than the handful of us in the brewing industry,’ said Elbie Louw – IT profession and homebrewer.
The women behind the beer
The aim of the campaign was to make the beer as broadly representative as possible. The brewing team comprised of women from diverse backgrounds and working in industries ranging from beer brewing to IT, design and filmmaking. Overseeing the process was South Africa’s first black female Brewmaster, Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela, whose company – Brewsters Craft – was also responsible for brewing the beer.
‘I think #BrewingTheBold is an amazing project,’ said Nxusani-Mawela, ‘not only for those within the beer industry, but for women in general. I want young women to believe in themselves, and to know that they can become great brewers, Brewmasters, hop growers, and barley breeders.’
Lynn Wicomb-Leibrandt – External Quality Manager, SAB and AB InBev Africa, ensured the quality aspects of Bold Brew. ‘As a representative of SAB, my responsibility was to support the brewing team to ensure that the customer would receive the best quality product,’ she said.
The beer is available to the public at the SAB World of Beer in Newtown, while stocks last.
