Your report (Higher stout consumption driven by female drinkers and low alcohol options, 4 April) quotes Tom Holmes from Vocation brewery as attributing stout’s popularity to a female preference for sweeter tastes: “We think there is something around the sweeter flavours of stout being introduced that are bringing more females in, as it does not have the same bitterness typically associated with hops, so it’s more accessible.”
Leaving aside the wince-inducing use of “females” as a noun, this sentence immediately raised my antennae. As a woman who prefers black coffee, dark chocolate and a pint of bitter (and, yes, stout), I wondered if there was any scientific evidence that women have a sweeter tooth?
Turns out there’s not. Study after study shows that factors determining a preference for sweet tastes are multifaceted and incredibly complex – there’s nothing that straightforwardly shows women prefer sweet tastes.
Perhaps this comes down to socialisation and gender norms. Men are discouraged from drinking strawberry daiquiris or rosé wine as we have decided that they are feminine.
My guess is that plenty of men enjoy a Baileys, a piña colada, or other drinks that I would find too sweet and creamy, and plenty of women enjoy a pint of bitter or a negroni. But that’s just a guess. I’d be very interested in seeing a proper deep dive into this in a future article.
Emma Joliffe
St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex
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