Bature Brewery is Championing Consent Education With Beer
We are a nation of big beer drinkers: Nigeria’s annual per capita beer consumption is at 10 litres, compared to the global average of 35-40 litres. The beer industry in Nigeria is largely dominated by big brand names like Guinness Nigeria (Guinness Stout) and Nigerian Breweries (STAR Lager & Heineken), and lesser-known names like Intafact Beverages Limited (Hero Lager, Beta Malt) and International Breweries (Trophy Lager).
The big beer market also means that there are lots of opportunities for smaller breweries to spring up, and it’s in that microcosm of Nigerians who want a deeper, richer experience than generic brands provide that Bature Brewery thrives.
Bature Brewery is an independent microbrewery producing quality ales and stouts in Abuja. Founders, Kevin Conroy, Andrew Seward and James Turley were inspired by the “Naija hustle” spirit and their love for beer. Since 2017, Bature’s brewers have been producing their unique line of beers with locally-sourced fruits, plants, grains and herbs while maintaining the contemporary edge that has made them so popular in the Abuja scene.
Bature Brewery’s older brews stand up to their reputation for great beer. Some of their most popular beers are the Black Gold Stout brewed with Nigerian coffee, the Shakara Zobo Ale (an elevated zobo beer), the Naija Pale Ale (NEPA), and the classic Founder’s Pale Ale.
Their newest beer “Yes Means Yes”, however, is armed with a social message about sexual consent education.
The alcohol industry is complicit in rape culture: in that, heavily sexualised alcohol ads glamourize intoxication and send a subtle message that undermines consent when inebriated. This has caused a lot of misinformation when it comes to the role of alcohol in sexual situations, especially in Nigeria where sexual education is shrouded in taboos and consent education is sorely lacking.
Bature Brewery attempts to take a stance while passing a message across with this new product. About the motivation behind the campaign, they said:
“You have the fundamental human right to consent to any sexual act. Consent has no grey area and can be withdrawn at any time. As a business entity, we believe it is our responsibility to do our part which is why we created this beer to support that philosophy and encourage it to spread”.
That gap is what Bature Brewery seeks to fill with this new campaign in partnership with The Consent Workshop, a non-governmental organisation that aims to fight rape culture with consent education in Nigeria.
Yes Means Yes beers are a coconut cream stout brewed for a balance of sweet and bitter smoothness. Apart from the delicious taste, they are boldly printed with pink labels, a choice that makes their beer more accessible to women in an industry where alcohol ads are exclusively targeted at men. We see this beer provoking conversations and with every conversation, a higher awareness of consent.
All proceeds from YMY beer goes to The Consent Workshop, helping to bring consent education to schools and organisations all over Nigeria.
It is rare for an alcohol brand to make such a decisive social statement against rape culture. It would be commendable to see other alcohol brands take a leaf from Bature Breweries and become more intentional about passing the right message about alcohol and consent.
If you’re in Lagos, Bature Brewery is taking orders from their Shopify store, but you’d have to wait for the Lagos Microbrewery for a more personalised experience of rich, microbrewed beer (which the website promises us is coming soon).