Out of the brewery and up onto the pyre

Those who lived there in the Middle Ages and did not have their own monastery now, ran their brewing business in a domestic setting or as a sideline.
And as has been the case since time immemorial, it was mainly women who were active here; be it to directly fuel family and guests, be it to distribute the brew at the next market town.

Bad times for Mrs. Brewmaster

The time of the Reformation - from the beginning of the 16th century - was also an era in which women were once again assigned more domestic roles.
Reasons for this are all sorts of superstitions and the usual frippery.
These include:

• contemporary misogyny
• patriarchal gender role models
• business interests
• envy

These motives are behind the, from today's point of view, comparatively crude practices of the witch hunt, which became increasingly widespread.

In Germany alone, over 25,000 women, men and others were burned at the stake.

In this wash , the brewing industry, which was eyed with male disfavour, was also taken out of the expert hands of women.

And how beautiful:

Men then did not necessarily believe, in a tactile way, that women brewers were of the devil. They did, however, believe that women in general should not spend their time brewing beer. The process, after all, required time and dedication.hours to prepare the beer, sweep the floors and lift heavy bundles of rye and grain. If women could not brew beer, they would have significantly more time at home to raise their children and care for their husbands.

There are now researchers who even say that the well-known image of the witch is the image of a brewer. This may not be entirely true. But it is certain that many brewers fell victim to witch "framing".

The iconography of witches with their pointed hats, cauldrons, brooms and stray cats has persisted, as has the dominance of men in the beer industry.