Women in Craft: UnBarred x Bitter Women Brewery – A Summer Celebration of Community, Creativity & Women+
This summer at UnBarred Brewery, we’re thrilled to be brewing up something truly special for our annual Women in Craft collaboration beer: Hop Girl Summer, a 5.4% Hoppy IPA
We’ve partnered with the amazing (and exquisitely named) Bitter Women Brewery, a Brighton-based, female-led beer collective who are redefining what it means to love beer, build community, and to put the joy in crafting. The beer we've created together is a beauty, but there's more to it than that...
What We Mean When We Say 'Craft'
Although in the booze industry 'craft' has no legal definition, to us, craft is more than just a buzzword. At UnBarred when we call our beers craft, we mean that they're made with skill and care, on a small scale that's rooted in independence, creativity, and community.
Whether it’s the liquid in your glass, the friendships formed while sharing a good pint, or the spaces we carve out to bring people together, craft beer should be about creating something beautiful. Doing all this as an independent brewery - the “little guy” (or gal!) - gives us a unique perspective and drive.
When we think about Women in Craft, it’s a double-whammy: in an industry where both being independent and being female put you in the minority.
Like many sectors, the world of beer is still male-dominated—and it’s easy for women and folks of marginalised genders to be overlooked. At UnBarred and Bitter Women we want to flip the script so we’re here to celebrate the skill, creativity, and connection women bring—not only to beer, but to craft as a whole.
Our 2025 Collab Partner: Bitter Women Brewery
This year, we were delighted to work with Bitter Women Brewery and their brilliant founder, Fê. If you haven’t come across Bitter Women yet, here’s what you need to know.
In Fê's words:
"Bitter Women Brewery is a female-led beer collective that gets people together once a month to drink beer and do an activity: quizzes, crochet club, pottery painting, floristry workshops, drink and draw, tastings, yoga, walks… you name it!"
"Bitter Women Brewery is a female-led beer collective that gets people together once a month to drink beer and do an activity: quizzes, crochet club, pottery painting, floristry workshops, drink and draw, tastings, yoga, walks… you name it!"
Their mission? To raise visibility of female beer drinkers, put women+ into traditionally male spaces, and foster community and creativity through events, beer, and shared experiences. Everyone is welcome, no matter your gender or beer knowledge, it's a matter of getting involved, enjoying some craft beer and, more often than not, enjoying some craft activities too.
They’ve packed this Hop Girl Summer with awesome events like Barre at the Bar, Wandering Women Hikes, Lagerita Night, and a Pre-Pride Beading Bash - not to mention a craft market taking place in the UnBarred Taproom itself.
Fê tells us that this is a real full circle-moment for Bitter Women as they held their first ever event (of many!) here at UnBarred Taproom! Now they’re back once again but this time with the gloves on, sifting through hops and digging out the mash tun - there’s nothing a Bitter Woman can’t turn a hand to!
Behind the Scenes: Women in Wellies
There’s a new face in the brewing team here at UnBarred this Summer! We’re super proud to have Amy, our newest apprentice brewer, as part of the small gang crafting the beer itself.
There’s a new face in the brewing team here at UnBarred this Summer! We’re super proud to have Amy, our newest apprentice brewer, as part of the small gang crafting the beer itself.
Amy says:
'Since joining the brewery full time, it has been great to get stuck into everything alongside the other brewers at Unbarred. For me, brewing is all about community and graft, and Hop Girl Summer really represents this. I'm proud to be learning my craft amongst a team that champions getting more women into the beer industry whilst being able to learn about something I'm super passionate about. Happy Hop Girl Summer to all that celebrate! I'm really excited for everyone to try what we've created!'
Team UnBarred and Bitter Women were joined by a group of local women+ from the bustling Brighton independent booze scene for a day of brewing featuring collage and lashings of beer and pizza (essential craft fuel, of course!). The result, a stunning beer and a cheerful community of ‘Hop Girls’ - I’ll drink to that!
The Label: Designed by Lizzie Lomax
The artwork for Hop Girl Summer is a biggie – it had to encompass both UnBarred's vibrant, graphic vibes and Bitter Women's colour pallette and collage-y style.
Who better to take this on than incredible local artist (and beer lover) Lizzie Lomax! Her playful, textured style brings the spirit of this collab to life. We couldn’t have imagined a better visual celebration of women, beer and craft, as shown by the luxuriously, lounging beer-drinker on the label.
The Beer: A Hoppy, Summer-y Delight!
We wanted the beer itself to be the eponymous hero of this collab season, so we’re delighted to present: Hop Girl Summer – the beer!
Together, the women+ of UnBarred and Bitter Women devised and brewed a delicious, hazy IPA packed with Idaho 7, Enigma, and Citra hops. In essence it’s a style of beer we all love drinking, that's immensely quaffable and comes in at a sturdy 5.4%, this is a proper beer-lovers' beer, crafted in UnBarred style, by hand, in the heart of Brighton and with great attention to every detail.
We wanted the beer itself to be the eponymous hero of this collab season, so we’re delighted to present: Hop Girl Summer – the beer!
Together, the women+ of UnBarred and Bitter Women devised and brewed a delicious, hazy IPA packed with Idaho 7, Enigma, and Citra hops. In essence it’s a style of beer we all love drinking, that's immensely quaffable and comes in at a sturdy 5.4%, this is a proper beer-lovers' beer, crafted in UnBarred style, by hand, in the heart of Brighton and with great attention to every detail.
It’s juicy and vibrant with tonnes of hop character, and is perfect for late summer days — think soft, hazy IPA, chilled and bursting with fruity hop character. It’s dying to be sipped together with friends, sunshine, and sisterhood.
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We hope you love the beer, and if you'd like to be part of UnBarred's Women in Craft activities (or know any beery women+ who would) we'd love to be in touch.
Hop Girl Summer will be pouring at many independent retailers across Brighton and the UK, and of course in the UnBarred Taproom.
Cheers to Hop Girl Summer and to the Hop Girls of many Summers to come: All beer is women’s beer!
Love from UnBarred and Bitter Women Brewing
