About Us

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Susan Keating, a Certified Cicerone®, created The Alewife consultancy to address a growing need: to help bars, restaurants, breweries and retailers ensure they are best positioned to not only compete, but thrive in the rapidly-growing Craft Beer movement.

That means having the right selection, the proper service techniques, best practices for beer storage and system cleaning and maintenance, and sales teams who know their beer styles and can confidently pair them with their customers' tastes to achieve higher customer satisfaction.

Because better beer service means happier customers, stronger sales and ultimately, higher profits.

A Cicerone is similar to a wine Sommelier, except that the expertise is applied to both Craft Beer as well as many European beer styles. The word Cicerone (sis-uh-rohn) designates professionals with proven experience in selecting, acquiring and serving today's wide range of beers. To claim the title of Cicerone, one must earn the trademarked title of Certified Cicerone® or hold a higher certification through rigorous study and training. Only those who have passed the requisite test of knowledge and tasting skill can call themselves a Cicerone. 

The term "alewife" was first recorded in England in 1393 to mean "a woman that keeps an ale-house", synonymous with the word "brewster". As far back as ancient Mesopotamia, and throughout history, the original brewing profession was 

principally performed by women. In fact, women brewed the majority of ale for both domestic (farm by farm) and local (village) use throughout England and parts of Europe into the 17th century. By then, consumption was growing exponentially and it was time to scale up to larger commercial operations. Without access to capital, women had to turn the reins over to men, who in turn, grew the industry into what we know today.

The Alewife is an ode to those who came before. Thank you, ladies, for getting it all started!