The beer industry has been considered a male-dominated one for the longest time. Even though there are many barriers left to be broken, a big barrier-gate was brought down by Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela in South Africa in the last few years.
Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela is the first black female brewer in the continent. She was studying microbiology when she realised her fascination with the fermentation process. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree, she went on to intern at South African Breweries (SAB) for a little more than a year and then earned a diploma from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. This set her right on the path of becoming a Brewmaster.
In 2015, Apiwe started her venture Brewsters Craft which is the first female majority-owned brewery in Roodepoort, Johannesburg, and has a capacity of 1000 litres. Today, Brewsters Craft is also one of the top companies providing training, quality analysis and consultant services in the South African brewing industry.
Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela is also the woman behind Bold Brew, a limited-edition beer designed and brewed by females. SAB reached out to her for a collaboration for Women’s Month campaign which required her to manufacture and package the beer for them. The whole process, starting from making decisions on choosing the ingredients to designing, was handled by an all-women team. Women beer drinkers around the world were presented with the opportunity to vote for the beer ingredients in a poll run by SAB, while the team brought the mix to life.
Apiwe is extremely passionate about beer and everything that goes into it becoming an ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage. She wants more women to follow their passion and hold space in the brewing industry.
Commendable, isn’t it?
