Episode 23: "Which Witch Is Making Beer?"

By the middle ages, brewing and selling ale provided women a way to work and achieve "good profits, social power, and some measure of independence from men"—especially compared to other trades, which did not. Yet after the Black Plague, societal changes led to men dominating in the field of brewing—which still continues today. But some think women were forced out of brewing because men began to accuse female brewers of being witches and using their cauldrons to brew up magic potions instead of ale.