In the central middle ages, hops were introduced into beer, and they made a significant impact in society, especially for women.

Yes, because in the early middle ages, brewing ale was a woman's job. In Ireland we have archaeological evidence of malted grains from the at period, and the brehon laws tell us that when she married, a woman would bring to the marriage the equipment for cheesemaking and brewing, and it would remain hers in case of divorce. In England, in the typical rural farm, brewing ale was something that women did for their family, and if there was any excess it would get sold at the market. Sometime ale was made specifically for sale, perhaps as part of running an ale-house, but it was still a small, cottage industry. Ale was a way to convert the grains that would grow best in the climate of the British Isles into drinkable calories (and no, medieval people did not drink alcoholic beverages because water was contaminated, they were very aware of issues of water quality, with wells and well water mentioned frequently in written sources). But ale was a perishable product, and you could not make it in large quantities and store it for the long term.

Adding hops to the brew changed that. As a preservative, hops allowed brewing in a larger scale than was previously possible. Which in turn required more equipment than what was needed for the small scale ale brewing needed. A new industry was born, to go along with the population and economic boom of the central and late middle ages. But by the end of the middle ages, brewers were no longer predominantly females. The new requirements for equipment and additional manpower meant that funding was needed to purchase equipment and finance growth. Men had access to credit in ways that women did not, and authority over larger workforce. Without access to contracts for supplies and large scale trading for women, the result was a gradual shift to brewing as an industry being owned and run by men.

Source: Bennett, Judith M. 1996. Ale, beer and brewsters in England: women's work in a changing world, 1300-1600. New York: Oxford University Press.