For the past week, a reckoning around sexism has gripped the craft beer industry.
It began with a question, posed May 11 by Massachusetts brewer Brienne Allan on her Instagram to fellow women in the business. “What sexist comments have you experienced?” she asked.
Allan received a flood of responses: more than a thousand accounts of alleged misogyny, racism and sexual misconduct from women across the country who work within the “boys’ club” of craft brewing. The accounts quickly garnered national attention. The fallout from the accusations has already unseated several prominent industry players, from San Diego to Pennsylvania.
The reckoning has also, inevitably, reached Vermont’s tight-knit craft beer scene.
Several anonymous testimonials that Allan posted on Instagram described first- and secondhand accounts of misogynistic behavior by Shaun Hill, the founder of Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro. Allan herself said that she was told that Hill had made a degrading comment about her two years ago.
Hill is a star in Vermont brewing. For years, Hill Farmstead has ranked among the best breweries in the nation. His establishment draws crowds of beer aficionados to rural Greensboro Bend in the Northeast Kingdom. And he’s one of many high-profile men in the beer industry who are now implicated in the testimonials.
VTDigger was not able to independently corroborate the allegations against Hill, and Allan has maintained that she “does not vouch” for the accuracy of individual stories she has shared, most of which she received via Instagram messages. (Allan did not return an interview request.)
But the sea of stories, Allan told Good Beer Hunting, has still proved “liberating” for many in the beer industry who have experienced abuse. “People are listening,” she said.
Initially, Hill provided a lengthy statement to VinePair in response to the allegations. “I surely have a different perspective on what has been shared both overtly and anonymously,” he wrote, “but what matters is how each person sees it.”
Still, he continued, “I have never acted in a manner that was openly, willingly or consciously dismissive, degrading or threatening.” The statement, critics noted, did not include an apology or an acknowledgement of wrongdoing.
Reached Friday by VTDigger, Hill maintained that “these things did not happen the way that they were perceived to happen.” He emphasized that most of the testimonials Allan shared were secondhand accounts — “a game of telephone.” As for the comment he allegedly made about her, he said, “I did not say these words.”
Ultimately, when pressed on whether he planned to apologize, Hill said, “I am sorry. I am not a perfect human being.” He added that he was “committed to participating in changing the beer industry.”
‘We’re at a turning point’
The accounts have rippled beyond Hill and across Vermont’s craft beer scene. On Wednesday, Rochester restaurant Maple Soul, known for its beer selection, announced it would no longer sell products from breweries implicated in the allegations. Others, including the Alchemist brewery in Stowe, have put out statements in support of those coming forward.
Women in Vermont’s brewing industry say the reckoning this month has brought needed attention to a longstanding problem.
For Jen Kimmich, co-founder of the Alchemist, the many testimonials Allan shared resonated with her, after nearly three decades in the beer business.
“So many of the stories I’ve read were so much like my own story,” she said. “Being overlooked because I’m a woman. Being pressured by bosses. Being disrespected. I’ve experienced all of that.”
But visible in the testimonials, Kimmich said, was a sense of camaraderie that was absent when she was breaking into the industry. She was “absolutely in awe” reading them. “This is the first time I have felt really hopeful for young women in craft beer,” Kimmich said. “I am so relieved that things are shifting.”
No one is surprised, though, about the content of the accusations Allan shared, which range from degrading comments to sexual assault.
“We’re at a turning point,” said Elise Pecor, general manager and partner at Vermont Pub and Brewery.
Pecor says she believes misogyny in brewing — while not specific to beer — is fueled by the power dynamics at play in the industry, which has turned brewers like Hill into minor celebrities.
“When you combine that inflated ego with alcohol and flat-out bad character, you get men who feel like they can get away with anything,” she said. “Especially when the community is lacking diversity.”
“I wish I could say to you that it were shocking. It’s most certainly appalling. But it’s not at all shocking,” said Jen Huntington, co-owner of Maple Soul. The restaurant’s decision not to stock products from implicated breweries, she said, was the “best thing that we could do.”
“We’ve been looking for a voice, we’ve been looking for someone to pay attention for years,” Huntington said. “So I’m thrilled that this is picking up steam.”
“We’re not immune here in Vermont,” said Melissa Corbin, executive director of the Vermont Brewers’ Association. Corbin, whose organization represents more than 60 breweries across the state, says she has heard similar accounts from women in the past.
On Friday, Corbin said, she reached out to brewery employees throughout Vermont, offering to listen to their stories. It was just the first step, she said, before further action.
“It’s heavy,” she said. “But I’m so glad we’re having this conversation.”
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