About

Meet Christina.

Dr Christina Wade is a beer historian specialising in the hidden histories of the brewing trade, especially the role of women. She received her doctorate in History from Trinity College Dublin in 2017, and since its completion has been researching the story of Irish beer. In 2025, her book on this subject, Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland, was published with Nine Bean Rows.

Additionally, in 2024 her book, The Devil’s in the Draught Lines: 1000 Years of Women in Britain’s Beer History, was published with CAMRA books; and won Best Book About Beer or Pubs 2024 at the British Guild of Beer Writers Awards.

Wade has spent much of her time writing about women and beer history on her website Braciatrix which was shortlisted for an Irish Food Writing Award in 2022; and has recently launched a Substack newsletter of the same name. A BJCP Certified Beer Judge, Wade is also the resident historian, audio editor, and co-host of the Beer Ladies Podcast, which was recently featured in Vinepair and shortlisted in the podcast category for the 2023 Irish Food Writing Awards. Additionally, she founded the Ladies Craft Beer Society of Ireland in 2013, which has grown to over 1,400 members at time of writing.
Besides her blog and podcast, Wade has written for BEER Magazine, The Medieval Dublin Series, The Journal of Franco-Irish Studies, TheTaste.ie, and Beoir Magazine. She currently sits on the League of Historians at the Beer Culture Center and so has spoken about her beer history research at their annual Beer Culture Summit. In addition, Wade has presented her work around the world, at events like Electric Picnic, the Ballymaloe Festival of Food, the International Medieval Congress, The Beverage Research Network Conference, the Women’s International Beer Summit, Indie Beer Feast, Sheffield Beer Week, Friends of Medieval Dublin Lunchtime Lecture Series, The FemAle Beer Festival, Alltech Brews and Food Fair, BrewCon, and the Killarney Beer Festival.

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Rebellious alewives, heroic barmaids, renegade beer goddesses, and more inspiring brewsters than hops in a quadruple IPA. Beer history. About women.

Like its name suggests, Braciatrix is particularly interested in the contributions of women to beer and brewing history. Inspired by the many amazing women of the modern industry, I decided to embark on a project detailing the history of female brewers, consumers, and sellers of beer. Weaving together the stories of real people with the literary tales and mythological figures, the central aim of Braciatrix is illuminate the pivotal role of women to the story of beer.

In 2016 I decided begin a personal exploration of  women and brewing history. As I began searching for sources, it became quickly evident that there is a dearth of information available to the general public. Importantly, as an academic, I found it to be an understudied area, particularly outside of England, amongst my colleagues.

In that light, this project was born.

Posts on Braciatrix will run the gamut from things like original research conducted on contemporary sources in Ireland to historical accounts from around Europe to posts about medieval breweries as I travel. As the modern beer industry in the last several decades has seen a surge of female brewers, bloggers and consumers, I also feel this is an important element to include. From medieval to modern and commoner to queen, the end result will hopefully be a series of books detailing women and beer throughout history. 

Happy Reading!