Women Are Getting Served the Wrong Drinks Because We Still Think Beer Is for Guys

Since Zach Braff made it OK for men to drink Appletinis and we've all had a lot of fun thinking up rosé/brosé puns now that guys have embraced the "girly" wine, you'd be forgiven for thinking that shackles of gendered drinking are cast off. If it gets you adequately buzzed, who cares what colour it is?

While this is all very rad, it seems that beer is still stuck in bloke territory. The beverage of choice for laaaads on the pull and afternoons in front of the footie without the missus.

A new study from global brewing company AB Inbev has gone some way in confirming this, after finding that nearly half of women say that beer is still perceived as a "man's drink."

Surveying 1000 UK women over the age of 25, researchers found that 20 percent had ordered a beer in a bar, only to have it given to their male companion when it arrived. Just 16 percent of women who had encountered this corrected the waiter or bar staff, with 7 percent admitting to drinking the wrong drink to avoid confusion.

Next time you get into an argument with one of those "I don't consider myself a feminist"-types, tell them to think about the girl forced to grimace her way through a Cosmo while her XY-chromosomed drinking buddy happily sips a locally brewed pilsner.

Despite the lingering stereotypes surrounding beer drinkers, the yeasty beverage is more popular among women than ever. AB Inbev's research also found that women over the age of 25 now make up 16 percent of all beer purchases in the UK, the highest rate for the past five years.

They're also consuming beer more regularly, with over 3.2 million women saying they drink it once or twice a week (something that could also lower their risk of heart attack). Lager was found to be the most popular choice among women, followed by ales and stout.

Beer's rising popularity among women could have something to do with the increase of female-led microbreweries like North London's Beavertown, as well as the strides made by campaigners like drinks writer Melissa Cole to expose the sexist practises that still infiltrate some areas of the industry. The appointment of alcohol historian and author Jane Peyton as the "Britain's Beer Sommelier" has also done its bit to banish the image of the beer connoisseur as a paunchy guy with a CAMRA sticker in the rear window of his car.

But as long as there are pumpclips sporting semi-clad women and bartenders who insist on setting your boyfriend's vodka cranberry in front of you, beer still has a way to go before it becomes a universal beverage.