Happy V-Day

This is getting a lot of linkage in the Beer 'Sphere, but in case you've missed Lew Bryson's great piece on women and beer, go read it. Now.

Snippets:

Why don't women drink beer? More to the point, why do brewers think women don't drink beer? They do, I've seen them. Smart, chic women, too, I might add...

I happen to believe that women are just like men when it comes to their tastes. That women, like men, have different tastes as individuals, and that they are not gender-selective for sweets and glop any more than men are. That women deserve to be treated with the same respect when selecting a beer that men do, not a patronizing assumption that they want something light, fruity, candyish, or wine-like. They, like men, may not even know what they like. But I believe that the best way to find that out -- for both of us -- is to offer them the same kind of choices that I would a man.

He also makes some excellent points about the condescending and sexist way beer tends to be marketed (especially by the merchants of mass-produced swill in this country) and how that probably plays a huge role in putting women off of the beverage. Which strikes me as a collosally stupid business practice...not to mention an excellent opportunity for craft brewers to expand their market share...