To spotlight global gender injustice in an eye-catching way, independent feminist craft beer brand Muschicraft has brewed up a new beverage called The Most Illegal Beer. This ale intentionally breaks laws from over 50 countries around the world – simply because it was made by women. 

Despite many advances in women’s rights in recent years, laws still exist in over a third of countries that prohibit women from doing things that men are allowed to do – a harsh reminder that gender inequality is still a live issue in 2024.

“With The Most Illegal Beer, Muschicraft sets out to shine a spotlight on the outdated, sexist laws hidden in the legal systems worldwide, and call for faster progress toward gender equality,” says Sophie Tschannett, founder of the feminist craft beer brand Muschicraft. 

Groupshot: Independent craft beer brand Muschicraft involved women at every step of the production and distribution of its new craft pale ale called ‘‘The Most Illegal Beer’

Women from Russia, Uruguay, Italy, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, the USA, and more  joined to make the beer. Intentionally involving women at every step of production and distribution led the beer to violate laws from their countries of origin: from producing alcohol (illegal in Lebanon) and cleaning running machinery (illegal in Uruguay and 9 other countries), to carrying heavy barrels (illegal in Russia and 22 other countries).

“Our beer was created as a bold provocation against the patriarchal world. In this world, the standard is male: Beer is the drink for “men”; rules are written by “men”. We want to challenge this. Changes always start from conversations. My intention is to give people the topic of conversation with this beer – they should talk about gender equality and how we can achieve it,” adds Tschanett.