Beer Hour: Rachel Auty
After founding the social enterprise Women on Tap CIC (WOT) in 2017, championing women in the beer industry, Rachel Auty has continually shown up to boost female presence in the sector. Here, she tells Jessica Mason how her love of pubs, the arts and beer have led to such a dynamic career.
The evolution of WOT has been immense. Now, as executive director of the initiative, Auty looks back at how it began, from her “ love of beer and pubs”,and “a desire to find more women who drink and work in beer” right through to where things stand today. WOT has since evolved in myriad ways and, as Auty attests, “we are campaigners, collaborators, and a community across the UK and beyond. We’ve created and delivered seven beer and arts festivals and we now run the International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD) campaign, which is growing international communities too”.
Auty adores beer. Indeed, as she remembers “since the mid 1990s when it really did only come in ‘brown’ – and I’ve always appreciated a good pub as a place to relax and deeply connect”. But there has been an incredible sense of standing her ground amid this, but not without a healthy amount of justification that has led to her moving things forwards, because as she explains “over the years I became immune to comments about ‘women who drink pints’, but when the craft beer revolution started it made me really start to think about who beer was for, who it was marketed to, and why”.
Authenticity and humility
Looking at the resolve she has mustered, Auty reflects on how, today, “Women On Tap CIC just feels like an extension of who I am, and I absolutely love the work we do”. Auty also works part time as a marketing and communications consultant, mostly with arts and heritage clients, which was her background prior to joining the sector. Or, as she puts it “before the beer world charmed me”.
If there is any search for authenticity, it can be found with Auty too. Her love for cask ale in particular has her waxing lyrical about favourite pints and when she speaks about beer her eyes light up. Anyone who has been privy to witnessing her at any of her events or has bumped into her at a beer festival knows this. With Auty you get a genuine sense of ‘this is who I am’ humility radiating from her and that kind of verve is infectious as she speaks avidly about beer and people and the industry as a whole.
“My favourite thing in the world is to go to a taproom and drink a pint of cask just a few metres away from where it was brewed,” she admits. “For me, nothing tastes better than the freshest hand-pulled beer.”
How this usually translates is a pint of Baby Faced Assassin at Rooster’s taproom in Harrogate. Auty will be the first to note how she loves assertive “citrus flavours” and s counts West Coast IPAs as her favourite style of beer. There’s also Jaipur by Thornbridge as another favourite. She says: “Let’s just say I like something strong and punchy.”
Despite the dynamic impact of her work along with her craving for mouthwatering pints, Auty is extremely measured in her view of the world and a lot of this is reflected by how she lives. “Everything in moderation,” she says, takes on new meaning. Not just when it comes to drinks preferences, but also pastimes.
“I aim to live life in balance, full of all the people and things I love – which in reality includes both beer and exercise,” she admits. This is where you get to see her authenticity shine. Because with Auty she has such a clear idea of who she is, what she likes, believes and how she enacts that in the way she carries herself that you can’t help be a little in awe of her determination and drive.
“I don’t believe in denying myself anything I enjoy, and I try to listen to my body, which is quick to tell me when I need to slow down,” she says, before also revealing how much she values her down time too and deftly observes how “a good night’s sleep is often the most important thing I can do with any given 24 hours on the earth”.
“My perfect day involves great work, great food, a big weights session at the gym, and a walk with the dog to the local pub for a couple of great pints and an earlyish night,” she laughs and adds: “I’m a simple beast.”
A ‘social mission’
Right now though, she is keenly aware that for most people in the beer industry the challenges they face in simply getting by can make a great many people powerless as they face tough times. With this in mind, it sharpens everyone’s focus on what they get from it all on a personal level and also what they learn along the way.
“Doing anything more than paying the bills is a big one for the beer sector at the moment,” she says, noting how WOT has been doing a lot of work “alongside the industry through times when money was good” whether that be “during Covid-19 shutdowns, and more recently in an extremely challenging financial climate”. Witnessing the toll such setbacks take on people has also helped her to see people ‘as people’ and fairness and equality is a key battlecry for Auty – something she truly believes in.
She admits: “It’s often hard now to make a case for what we do around gender equality and wider inclusion, but we also know that the change we want to see is in the best interests of the industry and has commercial advantages, as seen across other industries. Saying that, many of our partners and supporters remain very much engaged in the social mission, and for that we’re hugely grateful.” She considers the part she has played in this progress, but also declares that she knows that “at its heart, beer is a truly wonderful space and community”.
Partner Content
Auty also has a gift for seeing the people behind the change. Whether those people are watching events unfold or are taking part, seeing people for what they bring is a quality that is rare in a world of beer brands and budget cuts.
“I come from an arts background, and I’m really interested in audiences. In the beer industry we call them consumers, but it’s essentially the same thing,” she says. “I think it’s really interesting how consumer lifestyles have and are still evolving after Covid-19 times, with more people moderating alcohol.” Auty considers this for a moment and muses: “I wonder how much attention the beer industry is really giving this. It’s absolutely key to evolve brands and product ranges in line with where demand is heading. I’m not sure how good the beer industry is at getting ahead of the game here, aside from those with bigger budgets and agency/ consultancy input.”
Auty points out that “there’s a lot of talk at the moment about young people giving up drinking completely, but the most common trend is that people are moderating strategically, with practices like zebra striping and bookending becoming increasingly common”. This is where she shows her more shrewd marketing side and can cut through to what is really going on and how it is best-approached.
She observes: “There’s a younger generation of people who are very much interested in beer and pubs, and the industry needs to make sure it’s in good shape to engage them.” On this point, she insists: You don’t need to have big budgets to do some research, thinking and strategising around this.”
For Auty, she believes that “being part of a small organisation” means that WOT “can work fairly intuitively”. Since WOT is “all about collaboration, partnerships, and community” Auty says that the venture will “always stay in contact with those around us to listen and have an understanding of what matters to them and how we can support that in a way that enhances impact and influences positive change”. She highlights that “as a certified social enterprise all our income is reinvested in our mission, and I am led by that in everything I do at WOT.” This means that WOT’s priorities include “enabling women to really thrive in beer spaces” and “contributing positively to the health of the beer industry”.
That drive and determination remerges in Auty once again as she says: “When you adopt core values like this and let them lead you as you move forward, shape ideas and launch projects, it will always be authentic.”
‘Don’t underestimate women’
Working with a lot of different people, personalities and characters has helped her to shape her views on the sector and where it stands within the equality debate too. Auty is aware things need to shift and become more inclusive, but never gives up on attaining a goal once she sets out to grasp it.
She says, encouragingly that so long as people recognise that work needs to be done, it truly doesn’t matter how little or big the part they play becomes in making things happen. So long as they don’t give up. She explains: “On the whole, people are great. In the work we do, most of the people we speak to want to do better but don’t know how, or worry their efforts are just too small to make a real impact.”
But, she also reveals that the biggest lesson she has learned is “when you do meet resistance or obstacles – keep going”. And says: “The amount of times I’ve stood up in front of others and felt like the only person in the world who believes women deserve better. It’s a hard gig sometimes but if you truly, deeply and passionately believe in what you’re saying, that will get you through and you will make a difference.” Reminding that there is also one key thing to remember: “Not everyone will always be your cheerleader, but you’ll definitely have cheerleaders.”
This gumption is what Auty brings to work every day. “Anyone who thinks I can’t ‘as a woman’” will note her renewed drive and focus on proving otherwise. She admits: “This type of judgement becomes like a second skin, but as the years pass I also feel judgement driven by ageism creeping in”. And she warns: “Don’t underestimate women.”
Looking back, she recalls how she could “never forget hearing how an ex had scoffed at my children when they told him I was training for a half marathon a few years back” and she heard that he’d wagered: “I bet she can’t!”. How did Auty deal with this kind of undermining attitude? She smiles: “I ran two.”
This is her way of showing up in the world. She grins: “Tell me I can’t and I’ll make sure I do. And I’m getting more ambitious, determined and capable the older I get.”
What are her ultimate goals? “To see more women thrive in careers they love. To watch my two daughters live independently and fully in a world that accepts them. To make paintings that earn me an income. To run another half marathon (maybe).”
Will she achieve all of this? Yes, she will. With this kind of talent and drive, you don’t melt into the background and become a wallflower, you make people notice. Auty shows great strength. She is a creative and tenacious person and yet also still something of an introvert with a huge fire in her belly with a determination to make things happen. Sometimes people like Auty serve to remind us how to be both a powerhouse and a genuine inspiration.
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