In January 2022, Anne-Charlotte Cheminal opened a shop in Croix-Rousse where she sells her own brand of beer, La Soro.
Self-taught, she crafted her beer according to her deep convictions: organic, local, ethical and feminist.
Three great figures of feminism have given their names to bottles of blonde, red and IPA, to give them their place of honor.
“La Soro is my small contribution to feminism!
In her small boutique in Croix-Rousse (Lyon 4), Anne-Charlotte Cheminal is well surrounded.
Vintage furniture, colorful posters, and dozens of bottles of beer she's been selling since the beginning of the year.
"I was born in Croix-Rousse, it's really my home," she explains.
“This room belonged to my family, and my mother told me that I could take it over if I had an idea.
I had several, but nothing pleased me, until…”
Until enlightenment, in August 2019. This mother of two young children was driving on the holiday route, in the Drôme, when she knew she wanted to produce beer.
“I did research, took training, bought a tank, tested my recipes in my kitchen.
I left myself a few months to find one or two correct recipes before setting up a structure.
As it was impossible for her to produce large quantities in her premises, Anne-Charlotte Cheminal approached a brewer.
“I found one, in the Drôme, who shares my values in terms of organic and local agriculture.
But the first contact turned out to be… difficult.
“I felt that I was arriving in a fairly masculine world!
she laughs.
“And then we hit it off, and it became easier.
»
Behind the brand, values of feminist exemplarity
With her husband and partner, she created her microbrewery, La Soro, “for sorority, with the idea of mutual aid between women”.
Because it is the whole soul of her beer: “As I am deeply feminist, I wanted to show that women can very well make beer.
That they don't necessarily drink lychee or raspberry blonde..."
When a friend asked her if she was not afraid to segment her market, she replied that she preferred to invest in her convictions.
“I have two daughters, and I want my education to be no different than if my children had been boys.
There is a value of setting an example: I find it important to show them that you can be a woman, a mother, have your business in beer even if, at the base, it was not an environment that wanted us .
»
Another specificity of La Soro: the three figures that adorn the labels of its bottles.
"The blonde is the Gloria, for Gloria Steinem, journalist and American activist who is still very combative," explains Anne-Charlotte Cheminal.
“IPA is Maya, for Maya Angelou, another iconic American activist.
And the redhead is Pénélope, for Pénélope Bagieu, the comic book designer.
»
The content is even developed according to the personalities of each: “Pénélope Bagieu was red-haired when I discovered her, so I worked a lot on the color in addition to the taste.
For Maya, I based my recipe on African Queen hops, which are very dark in color.
For Gloria, as I also had Emma Watson in mind, I waited to taste the beer to find that she was finally more Gloria than Emma!
»
The young brewer thus highlights lesser known figures of feminism.
“I like the word disinvisibilization, I want to give them back their place.
This is also why I would also like to make this place a place of committed exchange.
With the assurance of finding there, not beers for girls, but excellent beers for everyone.
Society
Guinness wants to make its famous black beer a greener beer
Society
Marseille: "I represent all clandos", the fabulous destiny of Losseny, best apprentice brewer in France
start-up
Lyons
Brewery
Beer
Society
Feminism
0 comment
0 share
Share on Messenger
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Flipboard
Share on Pinterest
Share on Linkedin
Send by Mail
To safeguard
A fault ?
To print