Bellfield Brewery plays its part to Accelerate Action towards gender parity in the drinks industry
A well-known brewery in Scotland is raising a glass to International Women's Day (IWD) with a specially all-women brewed IWD 2025 beer.
Playing its part to Accelerate Action towards gender parity, Bellfield Brewery in Edinburgh releases Rational Creatures, a delicious and quaffable Table Pale Ale brewed by the women working at the company.
This is the sixth time that the women of Bellfield have got together to brew a special beer to mark IWD. This year they have designed a beer that looks back at their 'Mimosa' IWD beer of 2020.
"Mimosa never got its moment in the sun as it was launched just a few days before the first lockdown at the start of the pandemic. But we were so proud of it – and it tasted so good - that we decided to try and recreate the recipe, with a few tweaks, to account for new processes we’ve introduced since then," says Bellfield Brewery.
A refreshing fruity beer
Bellfield Brewery describes Rational Creatures as a straw-coloured, Table Pale Ale: a balanced, light beer, with a prominent refreshing fruity hop character using hops originally selected for the 2020 IWD brew (Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo).
Rational Creatures has flavors of citrus, pine, orange and tangerine will all feature, balanced with a honey-like and toastie malt profile thanks to the mixture of light malts including Scottish Pale, Vienna, Cara and Cara Gold. The addition of oats delivers a smooth, creamy and luxurious mouthfeel.
Created by an all-women team
Bellfield Brewery's IWD 2025 beer was designed by six team members: Marie Brown, Director; Anna Orr, Sales & Marketing Manager; Giselle Dye, co-founder; Jessica Shoemark and Phoebe Crosbie, Taproom team members.
All five women took part in the brew day in January, fortified by plenty of strong coffee and Greggs doughnuts, a guilty brewery treat.
Dale, a brewer at Bellfield, lent his expert help on the day, supervising the technical aspects and keeping the team focused on track. Meanwhile, Head Brewer Keith listened carefully to what the team wanted to achieve, and designed the recipe with them.
"We’re really chuffed with the result and hope you all enjoy drinking the beer too, when it’s launched in a few weeks time," said Marie, Anna, Giselle, Jessica, and Phoebe.
Inspired by IWD and Jane Austen
The badge for Rational Creatures - its fresh colour palette of yellow and green - has been designed with the mimosa flower in mind. This blooms in early March and is a longstanding symbol of IWD.
The badge design for this beer replaces the stylised soundwaves that normally radiate from the centre of the Bellfield logo with the distinctive leaves of the mimosa plant.
The name is inspired from Jane Austen’s famous and much-loved final novel, Persuasion, which contains the quote: “But I hate to hear you talking so, like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.”
Fundraising for Scottish Women's Aid
Rational Creatures is launched as a limited edition beer in Bellfield Brewery's Edinburgh taproom. and sees 50p from every pint of Rational Creatures sold over that weekend in its Taproom donated to Scottish Women’s Aid, a charity that’s close to Bellfield Brewery's hearts, works to prevent domestic abuse through a network of 36 specialist local Women’s Aid groups.
Celebrating women in the wine industry while raising awareness about challenges
Meanwhile, the wine industry is coming together to launch a ‘Co-ordinated Campaign Against Harassment’ in support of IWD 2025.
The initiative was co-ordinated by Effi Tsournava, director of Vinocial Wine, and industry communicator Sophia Longhi.
Curious Vines, which is also part of the campaign, stated that the initiative aims to celebrate women in the wine industry while raising awareness of the challenges they face.
The campaign highlights two groups that help Accelerate Action for gender equality.
Suzy Lamplugh Trust has a mission to reduce the risk of violence, aggression and abuse through campaigning, education and support. The trust has partnered with L’Oréal Paris to offer a free 30-minute training on bystander intervention.
Meanwhile, White Ribbon UK focuses on allyship, engaging men and boys to prevent violence against women by addressing its root causes.
Accelerating Action for gender equality in the drinks industry
Furthermore to mark IWD, industry magazine The Spirits Business hosts an evening of discussions and celebration surrounding women in the hospitality industry.
The focus on the need to Accelerate Action forms the basis of the event.
The evening kicks off with bespoke cocktails curated by The Guards Bar and Lounge, setting the perfect ambiance for an engaging chat and networking session. Following this, Melita Kiely, editor-in-chief of The Spirits Business, chairs an exclusive panel discussion with some of the leading ladies in the hospitality industry. From highlighting achievements to diving into the treatment of women in the industry, the panel includes discussions with Alice Taraschi, manager of The Guards Bar & Lounge, Hebe Richardson, owner of London bar Soda & Friends, Siobhan Payne and Hannah Sharman-Cox, co-founders and directors of London Cocktail Week, Hands London Consultancy and The Pinnacle Guide, and Anna Sebastian, bar consultant and founder of Celebrate Her.
“We were blown away by the enthusiasm for last year’s International Women’s Day event, which we designed to not just be a celebration of women, but to offer advice, tips and shared experiences to leave guests feeling empowered and better-equipped to pursue their professional ambitions,” says Melita. "This year we’ve taken much the same approach. We want this to be a safe space for open, thoughtful and insightful discussions around women in hospitality, from achievements and success to how we can break down more barriers and support more women in the trade."
The event, which is exclusively for women-identifying drinks industry professionals, is sponsored by Cap Gin, Drylaw Vodka, Amber Beverage Group-owned Kah Tequila, Doctor’s Funk, Jackson McCrea, and Rebels 0.0% amaretto. Drinks from all brands are being served throughout the night. Women from all walks of life have been encouraged to join The Spirits Business event celebrating the diversity and inclusivity of womanhood, embracing individuals of every background, identity, and experience.