Precious Katsande started at Beerhouse Fourways back in 2014 as our Admin Fairy, she now runs all of the admin for the store and is a member of the Social Media & Marketing team for HQ. She is studying PR and Communication and her biggest beer goal is to grow from being a novice beer drinker to an adept beer lover.
Janine van Wulven started at Beerhouse on Long in 2013 as a bartender and worked her way up to become the first female general manager, not only does she run the entire shop she is also a key member of the Social Media & Marketing team and created the ‘Pint for a Purpose’ initiative which has raised over R80, 000 to date for charity. These are the ladies who were on the ground for the #shelovesbeer campaign launching on National Women’s Day (9th August 2016). The campaign will address common stereotypes faced by women within the industry as well as those who just love having a beer! They have played a crucial role in creating a community for women to talk about something they love, exchange ideas, create meetups and share skills. It was great to have such strong ambitious women on the ground helping me bring this campaign to life! Have a look at my blog on the concept behind #shelovesbeer: link to blog)
What about this campaign piqued your interest?
Precious: I have just began my journey, I have fallen in love with beer! I have also come across many stereotypes about women in the beer industry, so how could I not get involved in such a bold campaign? From the moment that Hayley and Janine pitched the idea to me I wanted to be involved!
I was given the opportunity to meet and mingle with fierce and remarkable women that are leaders and the backbone of the South African beer industry. There is no better way to spend an afternoon than in great company, with fun conversation and thirst quenching pints!
Janine: Being one of the forerunners of the #shelovesbeer campaign I have had so much fun getting involved in all aspects of organising this campaign from concept and now into a finished product. Having a background in film I naturally took the lead for the photo shoot we did in Cape Town. In this photo shoot I worked with my life-long friend and fashion photographer Gavin van den Berg as well as all of the wonderful women involved in the South African beer industry.
What was your favourite part of the campaign and/or what was the part that you played?
Precious: My favourite part of the campaign was when we went to Brewhogs Brewery, where Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela and Michelle Erasmus brewed the “African Queen Vic Secret Amber Ale”, which will be available at Beerhouse Fourways on the 9th August for you all to try (Lucy Corne & Lynnae Endersby have brewed a Black IPA, ‘’Orange is the New Black’, which will be available at Beerhouse on Long). It was lovely to see women of all ages, from all walks of life, representing the beer industry, showing up and united by our love for beer. We did not all know each other but we had one thing in common, beer! Getting the conversations started was not too hard, these women are confident and love all things beer!
It was very fascinating and educating to watch Apiwe and Michelle in action, getting their hands dirty and working their magic. I’m yet to get over the intrigue of the brewing process; the incredible journey of the grain through the brewing house and ultimately into the glass.
I also really enjoyed hosting the women at Beerhouse Fourways on the 25th of July for our photo shoot. We had an absolute blast and Chloe Boshoff our photographer was incredible. You can feel her love for her art in her attitude and the awesome pics!
Janine: At Beerhouse on Long we shot two concepts in one day, a set of profile pictures and the Grain to Glass concept both of which form the #shelovesbeer campaign. Grain to Glass is our way to show how women are involved in various, if not all of the aspects of the beer industry. Whether it be brewing beer, being a sales rep, a bartender, a manager or even just a girl who loves drinking beer. This campaign shows that girls can and already are do it all in the industry.
I oversaw the Cape Town bio pictures and as tiring as I had to keep my energy levels up, ensuring that we got the best shots while also keeping it natural and fun of all these women, my favourite part was having the time to get to know everyone. When it hit me that we have so many women in the industry (and they are really interesting and cool chicks) I realised that we have something extremely special. A sorority of girls in beer!
What is #shelovesbeer to you and what is your advice for women that want to be a part of the movement?
Precious: #Shelovesbeer to me is about women in the industry taking a stand and saying, we love beer, we drink beer, we speak beer, we make beer and we are unrelenting and unapologetic about that.
My advice to anyone wanting to join this movement is, buckle up, exciting times are coming! Do not be intimidated by what society says about women and beer. We are breaking boundaries, making our own rules and loving every minute of it!
Thank you to all the women that took part in this amazing campaign, from the brewers, to the photographers and to all the girls that showed up and made all this possible, YOU ROCK!
Janine: #shelovebeer women stand out in a crowd full of ordinary. Any girl that wants to be apart of our movement must just do it! I think as a group we have nothing but love for the women that share our common goal and common interest.
Watch out for the campaign that will launch on social media on the 9th August 2016.
Cheers to the girls!
Stay Thirsty, Stay Curious!
