At the heart of the beer industry, women and non-binary leaders are not just breaking barriers – they are reshaping the future of brewing. While International Women’s Day serves as a reminder of the ongoing journey toward gender equality, we believe it’s essential to spotlight the contributions and achievements of these trailblazers all year round.
Their leadership, vision, and determination are creating opportunities and forging new paths, challenging the status quo, and making room for the next generation of women and non-binary people to thrive in the traditionally male-dominated industry. Celebrating these remarkable individuals every day highlights the progress we’ve made, and the continued work needed to build a more inclusive and diverse beer industry for all.
Today we shine a spotlight on Annelies Nijskens the co-founder of Madocke Beer Brewing Co. She is also an elected director of the Independent Brewers Association (IBA) and was nominated for Gold Coast Woman of the Year in 2024 for her entrepreneurial work and dedication to the brewing industry.
She tells Beer & Brewer, that her journey began eight and a half years ago when her and husband Jimmy Van Eetvelde moved to Australia from Belgium. The pair came with a plan to brew great Belgian beer for the Australians who she called “the best beer drinkers in the world”.
Inspired by a high school exchange to Australia, Nijskens said she always knew she wanted to return one day.
“I always felt I wanted to come back, but I got stuck in life. I met the man of my dreams, started a family, started a business and built a home. But I always say, as soon as you place one foot in Australia, you’ll never get that foot back. It will always try to drag the rest of your body back here.”
From one small business to the next
The couple ran a business installing air conditioners in Belgium, with Nijskens working across all areas of office admin and management, which at times felt thankless.
“When you install an air conditioning, nobody cares. Nobody ever says to you ‘Oh my gosh, the temperature up here, It’s actually really nice. That air conditioning installer, he did an awesome job’.”
But after discovering a passion for homebrewing – a skill they learned from friends – the pair began dedicating their downtime to their new hobby.
“We noticed that people really loved the beers we made, and they wanted to understand how we did it and where it came from. There was a sense of appreciation for us having given it to them.”
Deciding it was time for a change, they learned as much as possible about brewing in Belgium before selling everything and making the move across the world.
“It was important to us that we bring a little bit of our heritage, traditions and stories with us. But we also wanted to do something with our lives that we loved and something that brings people joy.”
Nijskens said joy is at the core of her work and a key to Madocke’s success.
“The best part of what we do is putting smiles on people’s faces. It’s being in the taproom and seeing that people are enjoying themselves. But it’s also how we’re all working together in this industry. In one way, we’re all competitors to each other, and we’re all fighting for the same limited spots on the shelves but on the other hand, we are also working really nicely together against the big commercial breweries.
“I can only hope that we [Madocke] are being seen not only as a brand, but also as a potential leader for the industry and as team players, which is what I want to push forward and achieve for this industry that has given us the most incredible opportunities and that I love so dearly.”
A leader in change
Nijskens was elected by her peers as a director of the IBA and said she is proud to be surrounded by incredible women in leadership, including CEO Kylie Lethbridge.
Humble in her reflection of her own role at the IBA, Nijskens insists that the focus is not on her or any one person but remains on policy reform and industry support.
“I have been given the opportunity to sit at the board, and I want to use it well. It’s still a very hard climate that we are in, and I think we need to start realising that this might be the new norm. My goal for the future is trying to mitigate how we are going to stay viable in this new environment.
“We are just getting bombarded left, right and centre, with more taxes, more excise, more red tape, more legislation. It’s a constant battle that we are willing to fight,” she said.
Inclusion in beer
Nijskens told Beer & Brewer that throughout her career she has found herself working in male dominated industries and small businesses – both presenting similar challenges.
But she is proud of how the brewing industry is progressing and creating opportunities for women.
“I think it’s exciting that the industry is embracing diversity. There are women represented in all jobs from head brewers to packaging to sales. I have always worked in male industries, but I have also had the privilege of not experiencing negativity because of being a woman,” she said
“I worked hard, as many other women do and at the end of the day it shows that if you have the right skills and respect, we can do any job.”
While she believes there is always more to be done to champion the voices of women in brewing, she said in this moment we should be celebrating the progress.
“I think it is more important now than ever for all people in this industry to hone their skills to do their job, gender shouldn’t matter. I hope it doesn’t.”