Miller Lite Honors Female Brewers With 'Mary Lisle' Can

Men dominate the beer industry, but in colonial times, so-called “alewives” were women brewing beer as part of their domestic tasks. In 1734, Mary Lisle inherited her father’s Philadelphia brewery, making Lisle the first recognized brewster in America, long before Adolphus Busch, Adolph Coors, Frederick Miller, and Joseph Schlitz, among many others, got into the beer game.

In recognizing women's role in American beer, Miller Lite is rolling out a special-edition can featuring Lisle in time for Independence Day. Changes to the familiar white label include changing “Miller Lite” to “Mary Lisle” and the trademark “A Fine Pilsner Beer” to “There’s No Beer Without Women.” A portrait of Mary Lisle gets etched into the can, and the limited-edition release includes information about the history of women in brewing.

“Women have been written out of brewing history in America, and we want to remind people during the biggest beer-drinking weekend of the year that without women, there’s no beer,” says Kelsey Ott, associate marketing manager for Miller Lite, in a press release. “Mary Lisle is the first documented brewer in American history, but it took 100 years to record her name. There were countless women who came before her and played an incredibly important role in brewing beer in America.”

Miller Lite will also give away the special-edition cans via sweepstakes. The brand plans to donate $5 from every case sold through Instacart and Drizly during the July 4th weekend (up to $250,000) to Pink Boots Society, a non-profit organization supporting women and non-binary individuals in the brewing industry.