Theme beers – beer brands that are developed to target a specific demographic, have come and gone over the years. But a new theme beer, Beer Girl has high hopes that it can fill an unserved niche in the beer market, women.
Beer Girl beer is the creation of a beer girl. Caroline Foulk, whose family founded Wagon Wheel Brewing Company just north of Los Angeles, found that many women who visited the Wagon Wheel brewpub often ordered seltzer or other non-beer beverages such as cider. Caroline worked in all phases of the family brewing benzenes, including hospitality. She told ProBrewer in a phone interview that she was able to conduct her own customer research as she served and met the customers of the brewpub, often finding that women avoided the beer category due to the perception that beer is “too heavy” with the potential to make them bloated
Caroline was happy to oblige by serving what the customer wanted, but when asked what she drank her reply was “I’m a beer girl.” Hence the name of the new stand-alone brewing company Beer Girl that Caroline owns with her husband. The beer is made at the Wagon Wheel brewing facility but Beer Girl handles distribution, sales and marketing on its own.
Beer Girl sticks to a specific style of beer that Caroline knows women generally prefer; a low-alcohol, Mexican-style lager. Beer Girl uses traditional brewing techniques to achieve a 3.5% abv beer and packaging that specifically targets women. The beer is available in 12 oz cans and draft from San Diego to Ventura County.
After talking to a number of wholesalers, Caroline knew her new brand would get little attention from a distributor, and they have opted to do self-distributing throughout the tri-county area. “Our goal is to win here, and time will tell when to expand into other markets,” Caroline said. “Beer Girl isn’t just about creating a product; it’s about changing the conversation around beer and who it’s for.”
In a challenging marketplace, adding new customers to the beer space is a step in the right direction. Seeing firsthand that women customers at the brewpub were passing on Wagon Wheel beers and instead ordering non-beer guest products was an opportunity that Caroline and her husband have tapped into.
The beer is available in 12 oz cans and draft from San Diego to Ventura County.