This past Friday, November 1st, I attended the Diversity Symposium. I went to session 3: Crafting A New Vibe: How the Zero Proof Movement Maximizes Inclusion & Belonging. Initially, I did not know what the session was going to entail, so I was quite off guard when we started talking about the history of beer at the session. Initially, I was confused about how drinking beer was related to establishing diversity and equity. As we got further into the history of beer, it started to make sense that drinking beer is a social thing that has been established over centuries.
Drinking alcohol for a lot of people helps them to feel included in the social atmosphere and puts them at ease. The pleasure from drinking is not only a social thing but can also be an individual thing. A can of beer at the end of the day can signify a transition to a relaxing period or be a stress relief. Not even because of the alcohol itself but because of the taste, which signals the brain to relax. The people in the session recognize these aspects of beer, which is why they work to advertise non-alcoholic beer across the country.
The speakers emphasize that not everyone can drink alcohol for reasons such as health, addiction, pregnancy, or simply just do not want to that day or have obligations following the social event. Non-alcoholic beer helps to get rid of the between whether or not one should drink if they cannot, whilst still feeling included and not left out. The speakers brought up that there are still limitations to non-alcoholic beer that prevent inclusion, such as bars that do not have it on tap or have it visible for people to order without making it obvious that they want a non-alcoholic beer, which defeats the purpose of being included because it stills single out the individual who is not drinking alcohol.
But overall, the presenters mention that they get amazing feedback from the non-alcoholic beers, especially at tailgates, athletic events, reunions, and business events, people are thrilled and grateful to see non-alcoholic options because it releases some of the stress of being singled out. The presentation also included a non-alcoholic beer tasting of about 5 different beers, which the audience seemed to really enjoy, each beer tasting was meant to be taken in as an experience the audience was told to first take time to smell it and then drink it slowly to fully taste in the flavors. The audience was also very engaged and had a lot of questions and comments throughout the presentation.
The presentation overall was fun, comedic, and educational, I never thought about how drinking beer socially can be exclusive or make individuals feel singled out if they decide not to drink. This presentation brought new perspectives on what inclusion looks like, and I am happy I went.
—Da’Mirah Vinson