Brave Noise

In the last year the craft beer industry experienced a wave of stories highlighting emotional, physical, and sexual abuse across our industry (if you have not heard anything about this, Brienne Allan’s Instagram (@ratmagnet)stories are worth spending some time on - or going into a deep dive, as many of us have - or reading this article, or this one, or this one). It all started from a simple question: Is anyone else experiencing sexist comments?

Some of these stories hit particularly close to home for us. We are a tiny team. And 100% of the women that have worked with us in our 2.5 years of existence have experiences to share from working in the beer industry. Some of them were shared on the national stage through this movement. It is not our place to re-share these stories, but it is our place to reflect on how these experiences shape who we want to be as a business and how we choose to make decisions now and in the future.

The Brave Noise collaboration was born from this movement. It is a collaborative project that advocates for safe spaces and inclusive environments by requesting breweries to be transparent with their policies and commit to long-term work to combat gender discrimination, racism, sexual assault, and harassment; and to bring further awareness to the issues that women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ individuals face in craft beer.

We’ve had numerous conversations about this as an entire team. We know we have a lot of work to do as an industry and although we are a small drop in the bucket, we are committed to doing our part. We have adjusted our harassment policies to be more reflective of who we aspire to be, and will continually reflect on these and adjust as we think is needed. 

Proceeds from this beer will be donated to the Metropolitan Association to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA). 

Alma Mader Brewing Code of Conduct 

Alma Mader Brewing is committed to providing a safe environment for all its employees free from discrimination on any ground and from harassment of any kind. We always strive to provide a welcoming and safe environment for everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical apprearence, body size, race, or religion. Alma Mader is committed to listening, learning, and adjusting our operations in a way that supports a safe environment for everyone. We treat all incidents seriously and promptly investigate all allegations of harassment. Any person found to have harassed another will face disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from employment. 

All complaints of harassment will be taken seriously and treated with respect and in confidence. No one will be victimized for making such a complaint.

Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature which makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or intimidated. It includes situations where a person is asked to engage in sexual activity as a condition of that person’s employment, as well as situations which create an environment which is hostile, intimidating or humiliating for the recipient. 

We do not tolerate the following behaviors: 

Physical conduct

  • Any unwelcome physical contact

  • Physical violence, including sexual assault  

  • The use of job-related threats or rewards to solicit sexual favors 

Verbal conduct  

  • Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, age, race, or religion

  • Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behavior in spaces where they’re not appropriate

  • Comments on a worker’s appearance, age, private life, etc.

  • Deliberate misgenerding, refusal to respect an individual’s pronouns, or use of ‘dead’ or rejected names

  • Sexual comments, stories and jokes

  • Sexual advances

  • Repeated and unwanted social invitations for dates or physical intimacy  

  • Sending sexually explicit messages (by any communication form) 

Non-verbal conduct  

  • Unwelcome sexual attention

  • Belittling, or subtle expressions of bias

  • Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease

  • Bullying, intimidation, or victimization

  • Display of sexually explicit or suggestive material  

  • Sexually-suggestive gestures  

  • Deliberate intimidation

Anyone can be a victim of harassment, regardless of their gender and of the gender of the harasser. Alma Mader Brewing recognizes that sexual harassment may also occur between people of the same gender. What matters is that the sexual or verbal conduct is unwanted and unwelcome by the person against whom the conduct is directed. 

If you are approached as having (consciously or otherwise) acted in a way that might make your teammates feel unwelcome, listen with an open mind and avoid becoming defensive. Remember that if someone offers you feedback, it likely took a great deal of courage for them to do so. The best way to respect that courage is to acknowledge your mistake, apologize, and move on — with a renewed commitment to do better. 

Consequences of Violating the Code of Conduct:

Alma Mader Brewing and it’s employees reserve the right to ask customers, vendors, or contractors to exit the premises or to cease an existing working relationship if this code of conduct is violated. 

Adhering to the code of conduct is a criterion for employment. Repeated or severe violations of this code can and will be addressed by our leadership, and ultimately lead to disciplinary actions, including termination.

Tania Hewett