Daily AncestorAlewife
An alewife was a woman who brewed ale for sale or kept an alehouse, a common trade for women in England before brewing became mostly men's work.
The word is first recorded in England in 1393, meaning a woman who kept an alehouse; brewster meant much the same. Ale went sour within days, so it had to be brewed constantly, and before the Black Death women made most of England's ale, for their households and for sale.
Over time the trade passed into men's hands. Do not confuse the word with the alewife, a fish of North American rivers that shares the name.
As seen in a recordOlder English records, 1500s and 1600s
Margery Cole, alewife
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Daily Ancestor. "Alewife." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/alewife. Last checked 2026-10-10.