Welcome to not just small beer, a show about women, brewsters and ale.

Ale ­­– or small beer – was an important source of nutrition in the medieval world. Like bread, it was seen as being crucial to the social order. It was one of three main sources of grain in the diet at the start of the fourteenth century in England, along with pottage (vegetable-based stew) and bread. Small beer contained just enough alcohol to act as a preservative and provided hydration without intoxication. It was consumed daily by almost everyone in the medieval world, including children, with higher-alcohol ales served for recreational purposes. It was largely brewed and sold by women.

If we look closely at most ancient cultures, we will find women celebrated as goddesses of beer (often connected with fertility and harvest), along with images of women brewing and selling or providing beer for their families and their neighbours.

Our show celebrates these women and their work and seeks to make them visible in various ways. Like them, we are all individuals and have chosen to focus on different aspects of this theme and interpret it in our unique ways.