Girl Beer, Mom Water, and the Rise of Identity-Based Drinks

“Watching ways women have been traditionally marketed to, you think pink-washing, pandering,” Biebuyck said. “[TikTok] leaning into this ‘clean-girl’ aesthetic leaves a lot of women out of the equation, women who might identify with different things.”

Brewbound managing editor Jessica Infante initially eye-rolled Girl Beer. But she appreciated how Biebuyck taps into rebellious, humorous marketing for a purely enjoyable product. “When do we get to have fun?” Infante said. “So many women’s products are targeted toward health and wellness, or some function to help us accomplish a task…how often is it like, ‘Hey, this is for you, it’s just fun’?”

Self-awareness is key. Beer Girl—not to be confused with Girl Beer— is named simply for how founder Caroline Renezeder Foulk thought of herself. “When people asked, ‘Do you want a tequila soda?’ or, ‘Do you want a wine?’, I’d say, ‘No, I’ll take a beer. I’m a beer girl.’”

Foulk was on the operations team for her family’s Wagon Wheel Brewing Company in Oxnard, California when she realized a lot of the guests ordering seltzers and ciders were women. She decided to figure out what they could brew in-house that those consumers would like, and developed the light lager she and her husband would eventually brand as Beer Girl.

Jill and Bryce Morrison both worked in healthcare before launching Mom Water and Dad Water. The idea sparked when Jill preferred both the less-sweet, more-refreshing flavor and hangover-, bloat-free experience of drinking vodka-splashed spa water while on vacation. She continued making it at home in water bottles, labeled “Mom” so the kids wouldn’t accidentally grab it, said Bryce. The branding is tongue-in-cheek, but they’ve also connected with parents seeking more refreshing, lower-alcohol options—like Dad Strength’s 2.9-percent IPA. They’ve not only engaged that parent community, but also created something fun and recognizable. Bryce says one of their biggest demographics is college-aged to 30-year-old drinkers.

“I think consumers, especially young ones who were raised online, recognize this is not prescriptive,” said beverage alcohol journalist and Sightlines lead reporter Kate Bernot. “What is the vibe of a beverage that moms love? Light, spritzy. It conveys a personality more than a straight-up demographic prescription.”

Not only is today’s (especially Gen Z) consumer driven by flavor, wellness, and moderation, but they’re also more fluid in their perceptions of gender. By taking a more playful, ironic approach, brands like Girl Beer and Dad Water could actually be perceived as less alienating than Budweiser.

Girl Beer filmmaker Domingo-Young acknowledges that at least the Girl Beer brand proves the term is prolific enough to warrant a “taking it back” moment. “For the women saying, ‘I don’t drink beer, it’s gross,’ [Girl Beer] could be an easy entry point,” Domingo-Young said. “Hopefully being in the [beer] community helps them grow and understand the bigger context…And maybe [a] dude learns something when he buys it.”