UK’s first female beer sommeliers unveiled

The first two accredited female Beer Sommeliers have been announced by the Beer Academy.

Six months after the Sommelier qualification was launched, Sophie Atherton and Annabel Smith were accredited as Beer Academy Sommeliers following a stretching viva examination with Beer Academy Chief Examiner, Dr George Philliskirk.

He said “Traditionally the vast majority of UK beer has been drunk by men.

“But things are changing.  Women do enjoy beer but tend to be more discerning that the average male beer drinker.  They like to know how it’s brewed, what raw materials are used and how these affect the flavour of the final product and which beers are the best partners for different foods.”

Atherton is a journalist and beer blogger writing about beer in the national, local and specialist beer press.  In her work with Cask Marque,  Smith is in regular contact with their 8,000 accredited pubs around the country and in her spare time she is a founding member of Dea Latis, the forum set up to increase women’s awareness of beer.

Atherton said, “I hope that by becoming a beer sommelier I can enable more people to enjoy the enormous variety of beer and find out just how well it goes with food.”