When Ash Eliot launched Women of the Bevolution—a safe space and exchange of information and job opportunities for women and nonbinary individuals in the alcohol industry—in 2019, she couldn’t have known that she and her platform would be well-positioned to lead the charge in an actual revolution. Already a fierce advocate unafraid to confront issues of sexism, misogyny, inequity, and lack of workplace safety in beer, Eliot didn’t miss a beat when Brienne Allan’s momentous Instagram post in May of 2021 opened the floodgates for staggering accounts of abuse and discrimination in beer.
With over a decade of experience in the music industry, Eliot is a born mover-and-shaker. She rolled up her sleeves this spring, helping to share women’s stories and fight for a total transformation in beer. Women of the Bevolution’s Instagram feed is a hub for resources, support systems, calls to action, further reading on the various issues women are facing in this industry, and ways to get involved. It is on Women of the Bevolution’s site, and in numerous interviews, that Eliot has been effectively educating and galvanizing both beer industry members and consumers in the march toward safety, equity, and inclusivity.
By this summer, Eliot had teamed up with Brienne Allan to launch Brave Noise, a collaboration open to breweries worldwide. Eliot and Allan planned the participation requirements to ignite maximum impact, asking all breweries to first write or perhaps improve upon their codes of conduct, then share those codes with both staff and consumers upon release of their Brave Noise beers. Eliot has also worked with Allan, Jen Blair, and Another Round Rally to establish the Brave Voices Fund, providing financial aid and resources to alcohol professionals who need assistance leaving toxic workplaces.
“I’m motivated to keep this movement going because I see a future with more women, non-binary, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ [people] in leadership roles, production, and launching their own businesses,” Eliot says. “In the next year I want to help make that happen.”
Words,Courtney Iseman