‘The Most Illegal Beer’ breaks laws in 50 countries, simply by being brewed by women

Have you ever been told or overheard someone say that women can’t do the things men can’t do? Well, personal feelings aside, they may be telling the truth. 

That’s because in over one-third of countries worldwide, women are legally prohibited from doing the things men are allowed to. So, in response, independent feminist craft beer brand Muschicraft, whose English translation is “Pussy Power,” has launched an ale that intentionally breaks those laws by having it brewed by women. 

Created in partnership with Berlin-based creative agency Heimat, “The Most Illegal Beer” breaks laws from over 50 countries around the world by having it made by women. 

In a 90-second education-style video, directed by Manuela Bastian, the brand tapped real women from Russia, Uruguay, Italy, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, the U.S and other countries to get involved in the production and distribution of the ale, as a narrator explains which law each woman broke. B-roll footage of the women engaging in the production of the beer was stitched alongside staged mug shots of each person, in which they hold signs that show which country held these laws. 

Among the laws broken are: producing alcohol (illegal in Lebanon), cleaning running machinery (illegal in Uruguay and nine other countries), carrying heavy beer (illegal in Russia and 22 other countries) much more. Some laws were even broken just by the female brewery workers wearing makeup and low-cut jeans or sipping the beer while working as a bartender.

The beer is packaged with a special label and name that says “The Most Illegal Beer” along with a logo that resembles a woman’s vaginal labia. 

The goal of the campaign, launched on International Women’s Day (March 8), is to shed light on outdated, sexist laws that restrict women’s choice of jobs as well as dictate how they should look and behave, Sophie Tschannett, founder of Muschicraft, said in a statement. 

“With The Most Illegal Beer, Muschicraft sets out to shine a spotlight on the outdated, sexist laws hidden in the legal systems worldwide, and call for faster progress toward gender equality,” she said. “Our beer was created as a bold provocation against the patriarchal world. In this world, the standard is male: Beer is the drink for ‘men’; rules are written by ‘men.’ We want to question and challenge all these.”

As part of the campaign, sales of The Most Illegal Beer will raise money to support Women For Women International, a global organization that fights for gender equality. The beer will also be sent to ministries of justice and legislative bodies in countries with prohibitive laws with the aim of driving change. The new beer will be available to buy online beginning on March 8. 

Other elements of the campaign include OOH posters that raise awareness about the illegality of women brewing beer in certain countries.