As part of your
entry fee you got a glass and in that beaker you could be served pints,
half-pints or a third of a pint. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The same hall
where I had worked as a ballot steward at the local elections was now lined
with beer and cider barrels. There was no music and all areas were brightly lit
as if we were at a conference.
Arriving at six
o’clock there were pre-dominantly men between 40 and 60, perhaps older, sipping
their pints or halves or thirds, nodding knowingly, searching for the perfect
brew: pale, bitter – or dry if they had cider. An organisation called CAMRA
(Campaign for Real Ale) was behind the festival and was originally formed in
the 70s by four men in the North who were disillusioned with the UK beer
market.
A couple of hours later the know-it-alls had left and
the crowd consisted of mainly 20 and 30-year-olds who drank just to get pissed
even if sips were swapped and the occasionally comment about flavour slipped
into the conversation. Most people seemed to pick their pint by name: Kama
Citra, Snake Slayer and Nightmare were only a few of the choices. Others looked
out for the ales with the highest alcohol percentage.
To say that the beer festival was a male dominated
event isn’t an exaggeration. There weren’t that many women in the room who gave
their opinions on real ale. In England, as well as in Sweden, I’ve experienced
that people (often the ones who are a bit older) have been surprised when I’ve
wanted beer instead of wine or a drink at the pub. Times have changed, but the
older generation still frown if a woman orders a pint. Once I went to an
informal job meeting with a male colleague and the person we met up with asked
what we wanted to drink. Pint of Harveys my
colleague said, and I said that I wanted the same. The person who offered the
drinks looked at me and said: half pint? As
if I wasn’t allowed a full pint because I was a girl.
I’m not saying it’s a good thing that girls drink as
much as guys nowadays, but it’s not fair to assume that a girl drinks a certain
drink and a certain amount just because she’s a woman. And the same goes to say
for guys. I’ve met men who towards the end of the night only wanted half a
pint, but haven’t had the guts to order one because it’s not considered macho
enough.
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