I along with several fellow NAGBW members heard a lively virtual happy hour led by podcaster and writer Dave Infante with guest, the sociologist and author Dr. Eli Revelle Yano Wilson. Wilson’s latest book is Handcrafted Careers: Working the Artisan Economy of Craft Beer.”
Here are my takeaways from the discussion:
there are three main pathways for careers in beer, creative, service and hard labor
the first Wilson describes as having a lumpy / organic feel to it since it does not hew to a traditional career path
the people on the creative path are the ones that tend to be idealized and they skew white and male
the service path interestingly is around 50% female
as breweries open second and third locations, the workers become less craft obsessed
what is the end point point for each of these three pathways and why is it good and bad
the last two pathways tend to have employees where the attitude can be, “it’s good for now” while employers tend to look for people they can just plug in rather than grow
the author was on the initial team of the Wurstkuche in the Arts District here in L.A.
I had the great pleasure and fun to be a judge in the Beer Travel Writing category of the North American Guild of Beer Writers annual awards, so I am going to start this post there and then widen the scope to the other winners.
This was the 10th year of the awards. There were 269 entries from 96 writers covering 15 categories. The big winners were David Nilsen, Dave Infante, Courtney Iseman and Brian Yeager who bagged multiple medals.
Here is the full list of winners: (and I suggest you search these writers out)
Best Beer and Food Writing
First Place: David Nilsen. “How to Pair IPAs with Craft Chocolate.” Bean to Barstool Second Place: Grace Weitz. “Stumbling Into the Hot Pink Restaurant With the Most Pleasurable Food in France.” Hop Culture
Best Blog/Newsletter
First Place: Jeff Alworth, Beervana. Second Place: Dave Infante, Fingers. Third Place: Douglas Veliky, Beer Crunchers.
Honorable Mention: Shana Solarte, Top Crop.
Emerging Voice: Cat Wiest, Hopwire Blog.
Best Book
First Place: Matthew Curtis. Manchester’s Best Beer Pubs and Bars. 2023. Second Place: Beth Demmon. The Beer Lover’s Guide to Cider: American Ciders for Craft Beer Fans to Explore. 2023. Third Place: David Nilsen. Pairing Beer and Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. 2024.
Best Brewery Profile
First Place: Lucy Corne. “Women-Led, Women-Brewed — Kweza Craft Brewery in Kigali, Rwanda.” Good Beer Hunting. Second Place: Holly Regan. “Things Are Not What They Seem — Hildegard Ferments & Botanicals in Seattle, Washington.” Good Beer Hunting.Third Place: Claire Bullen. “10,000 Human Decisions — On Mariage Parfait Oude Geuze, Frank Boon, and Belgian Lambic Culture.” Belgian Smaak.
Honorable Mention: Maloy Luakian. “Supernatural Creatures And Blended Cultures — Dokkaebier’s Story Of Shapeshifting.” Good Beer Hunting.
Emerging Voice: Jacqueline Kehoe. “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger — How Iowa’s Big Grove Brewery Defies the Odds and Categorization.” Good Beer Hunting.
Best Business Writing
First Place: Michael Stein. “When Beer Goes Flat.” Slate Second Place: Courtney Iseman. “Building the On-Ramp: Vocational Programs for Brewers.” Brewing Industry Guide.
Third Place: Ken Pishna. “Non-alcoholic beer is growing; Should your brewery grow with it?” Malteurop Malting Co. Honorable Mention: Pete Brown. “Thornbridge to prove Britain’s brewing heritage can be profitable.” The Drinks Business
Emerging Voice: Jacqueline Kehoe. “Wisconsin Intuition — How New Glarus Brewed a State Identity with Spotted Cow.” Good Beer Hunting
Best Commentary or Criticism
First Place: Dave Infante. “The Bud Light Fiasco: How AB InBev Fell for the Gamergate Playbook.” VinePair. Second Place: Courtney Iseman. “Is Craft Beer Cringe Right Now?” InsideHook. Third Place: David Nilsen. “On Curiosity, Empathy, and the Flavor of Beer.” Belt Magazine.
Best General Beer Podcast
First Place: Dave Infante. VinePair Taplines Second Place: Breandán Kearney. The Belgian Smaak Podcast
Third Place: Emma Inch. Same Again?
Honorable Mention: Emily Hutto. RadCraft Industry Relief
Best Historical Writing
First Place: Mark Dredge. “From One to All — The Past, Present, and Future of Lager Yeast.” Good Beer Hunting. Second Place: Tony Rehagen. “The Utterly Fascinating History and Mystery of Oklahoma’s Choctaw “Choc” Beer.” Garden & Gun. Third Place: Anaïs Lecoq. “Garçon, un Picon! — The Past and Future Success of Amer Bière in French Drinking Culture.” Good Beer Hunting
Honorable Mention: Noelle Phillips. “Angry Hen Brewing and the Legacy of Shirley Warne.” The BC Ale Trail
Best Local Reporting
First Place: Courtney Iseman. “Secondary Fermentation — New York City’s Strong Rope Brewery and the East Coast Cask Revival.” Pellicle Magazine. Second Place: Eli Radtke. “THC Takes Over the Twin Cities.” Heavy Table. Third Place: Brian Yaeger. “Oral History Of Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale.” Bend Source Weekly. Honorable Mention: Alexander Gates. “An Ode to Lahaina’s Beer Scene.” Frolic Hawaii. Emerging Voice: Shamim de Brún. “The Quest For A Perfect Smithwick’s in Dublin.” Totally Dublin.
Best National or International Reporting
First Place: Alyssa Pereira. “The Man, Now Myth — Searching for Tony Magee.” Good Beer Hunting. Second Place: Lucy Corne. “Get to Know Umqombothi, a South African Tradition.” Craft Beer & Brewing. Third Place: Joshua Bernstein. “The Real Mystery of Bud Light.” The Atlantic. Honorable Mention: Dave Infante. “How Sapporo USA Sank Anchor Brewing Co.” VinePair.
Best Beer Review
First Place: David Nilsen. “Precious and Grace — Brouwerij Van Steenberge’s Tripel Van De Garre.” Pellicle Magazine. Second Place: Melinda Guerra. “Stardust and Loss: Friendship, Grief, and a Shared Saison.” Final Gravity. Third Place: Brian Yaeger. “One Of The World’s Most Obscure Beers Comes To Bend.” Bend Source Weekly. Honorable Mention: Loren Green. “A breath of fresh air.” Heavy Table.
Best Short Form Writing
First Place: Cliff Lucas. “Café de Hanekeef.” Belgian Smaak Second Place: Bryan Roth. “b-Roll no. 701.” Good Beer Hunting. Third Place: Andy Crouch. “Oh Brother: Newly Sober Hulk Hogan Releases “Real American Beer.” All About Beer.
Best Technical or Brewing Podcast
First Place: Jonny Garrett. The Craft Beer Channel.
Second Place: Jen Blair. False Bottomed Girls.
Third Place: John Holl. All About Beer Brewer to Brewer.
Best Technical Writing
First Place: Joe Stange. “Czech Lager: The Art of the Addictive.” Craft Beer & Brewing. Second Place: Don Tse. “It’s the Malt’s Fault (How Malt Choices Affect Beer’s Shelf Life).” Brewing Industry Guide. Third Place: Shana Solarte. “How Yeast Affects Flavor.” Top Crop. Honorable Mention: Matthew Curtis. “Old Gold, Heritage Malts Return to British Beer.” Craft Beer & Brewing.
Since it was the last category of the event, we will finish with the travel category:
1st place: My Father, Lion Lager, & Home by Ruvani de Silva (Final Gravity)
2nd place: A Happy Valley of Beer — Investigating the Pubs and Breweries of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England by Michael Clarke (Good Beer Hunting)
3rd place: Anarchists, Surrealists, & Spanish Brewers by John McMahon (Final Gravity)
Honorable mention: No Blitz — How Arkansas Tech University Fans Tailgate in a Dry County by Brian Sorensen (Good Beer Hunting)
Emerging Voice: Rebirth and Reinvention — As Chattanooga Grows and Changes, Local Beer Follows Along by Drew Pitt (Good Beer Hunting)
A few beer writers got the chance for an update on the National Black Brewers Association (NB2A) thanks to our guild and it was heartening to see that for an organization that was put together just in December of 2022 has made such strides. Kevin Asato from the NB2A and Beny Ashburn from Crowns & Hops were on hand to break it down for us.
Here are some of the positives for what is still a nascent trade group:
there are around 86 black owned breweries in the U.S.
over the last two years, 70% of black breweries have been outpacing breweries overall
National Black Brewers Day is part of the agenda of the Congressional Black Caucus and House Bill 1297 is in the works to make it official on a federal level
there has been numerous brewing equipment donations that help one of the biggest hurdles in opening a brewery, the cost of equipment
and a real biggie, before she took up the presidential mantle, VP Kamala Harris had made contact with the group to work together with the White House!
Now, the picture is not all rosy. It is still a small organization staffing wise and the current craft beer malaise makes the overall job more of an uphill one but that climb will be easier once black owned breweries are seen as less DEI and more integral to craft beer success and vitality.
I have never understood either purposeful exclusion or almost worse, not even trying to appeal to a broad swath of customers and I wholeheartedly agree with Ashburn that it is critical for sustained success to reach out to anyone who shows interest in craft beer. Everyone in this country should have the access and encouragement to either enjoy craft beer or make it.
I have a sore spot when it comes to new products that use a K when it should be a C or vowels being left out. The new Haas hop only breaks the first rule as HBC 586 is now Krush.
The hop grower describes the flavors as “mango, guava, citrus and resin character.” Sounds up the alley for a tropical IPA. I am now on the clock to see how ling before I see that K on a beer label.
Here are my takeaways from the night and a review of the Headlands beer too!
Hops get the headlines, yeast gets some spotlight along with malt whilst water is left out altogether. But new malts like from Haná barley could bring some more shine.
Haná is a heritage barley, the second from Crisp after Chevalier. It was a key component of pilsner way back and a landrace un-heavily modified barley. It hasn’t been malted in the UK for 100 some odd years before Crisp re-started it. And the reason Admiral Maltings was involved is that they had a relationship with Crisp and because Haná has been and now is again, grown here.
Let’s jump to the end of the chain first and describe the Headlands Brewing Munich Helles. It pours a light straw yellow color. Nice bubbly look to it. Normally for me, a Helles would have a minimal aroma. But this one was bright and reminded me of spring. It had a great balance of lightness but also very full flavored. A mix of cracker and bread dough.
Back to the malt. There are precious little malt collaboration beers and even less that count two maltsters collaborating so the fact that two maltsers from two different countries floor malted this same heritage barley is a big deal. And an even bigger deal was being able to get your hands on some of this malt. A brewery had to jump at the chance when offered.
And you may see some if you are near Russian River, Firestone Walker, Alaro, Sierra Nevada or Almanac (which is next door to Admiral). Those breweries got small allotments for R&D. Or you can head to the Bay on June 29th for the It’s the Malt a craft Malt Festival that celebrates local agriculture and craft malt.
Chevalier and Haná are first steps into reviving a host of barleys that bring with them different flavors as well as making brewers adjust how they brew to maximize them. We have seen how different hops require new ways of brewing and it is exciting to see that come into play with malts. Because that will create whole new playing fields and maybe, new beer styles.
This year, I had the great privilege of judging for the North American Guild of Beer Writers (NAGBW). I was in the Travel Writing category and I am not going to bury the lede, here are the full winners:
Best Beer and Travel Writing
Honorable Mention
Em Sauter: “Share What You Have — A Visit to John Stoner’s Richmond, Virginia,” Good Beer Hunting
Third Place
Megan Eaves: “Life Stays Close to the River — Solar Beer and Wildebeest in the Serengeti,” Good Beer Hunting
Second Place
Ryan Pachmeyer: “Where Kölsch Night is Every Night,” Craft Beer & Brewing
First Place
Sorrel Moseley-Williams: “Interpreting the Andes — Carlos Barroso in Pachar, Peru,” Good Beer Hunting
For me, Em Sauter’s piece would have ranked higher but the three winners were super interesting glimpses outside the U.S. brewing world.
Here are the other 1st place winners:
Best Commentary or Criticism
Dave Infante: “Hop Take – The Cowardly King of Beers Bends the Knee to Bigots,” VinePair
Best Short Form Writing
Ashley Joanna: “The Conservator,” Belgian Smaak
Best Beer and Food Writing
Lana Svitankova: “Sour, Salty, Umami — The Ukrainian Brewers Transforming Pickling Traditions Into Beer,” Good Beer Hunting
Best Beer Review
David Nilsen: “In the Understory: Primitive Beer’s Frosted in Moss,” Final Gravity Zine
Best Historical Writing
Kevin Kain: “Mexican Lager: History and Appropriation,” Casket Beer
Best Beer Blog or Newsletter
Beth Demmon: Prohibitchin’
Best Technical Beer Writing
Jeff Alworth: “Cold IPA is a Technique, Not a Style,” Beervana
Best Brewery Profile
Anaïs LeCoq: “The Art of Vinifying Grains — Brasserie Ammonite in Burgundy, France,” Good Beer Hunting
Best Business Writing
Aaron Goldfarb: “The Most Important Company in Craft Beer Makes Marshmallow Extract,” VinePair
The North American Guild of Beer Writers (NAGBW) Members, have announced the recipients of this year’s Diversity in Beer Writing Grant. Per the Guild, “Now in its sixth year, the grant supports stories that showcase diversity and inclusion—in all its forms and challenges—within beer.”
Here is the rest of the press release with my added notes of the articles that I am looking forward to:
“The Grant receives support from Crafted For All, a professional development platform that fosters inclusive, equitable, and just spaces and experiences in the craft beverage sector; Craft x EDU, which champions inclusion, equity, and justice in the craft brewing community through education and professional development; CraftBeer.com, a website published by the Brewers Association; and Allagash Brewing Company. These partnerships have allowed the NAGBW to commission its greatest-ever number of stories through the Diversity in Beer Writing Grant.
After receiving a strong collection of applications, the grant will fund the work of the following journalists. These pieces will be published at craftbeer.com, Crafted for All, or CRAFT x EDU. Please join me in congratulating the recipients:”
Meghna Jaradi
Offering a glass of water is a sign of hospitality, but in brewery taprooms, it’s not just a simple pint of tap water. This piece explores the work and the environmental and social considerations that go into breweries’ non-alcoholic water offerings.
Elizabeth Bera
This story will focus on how breweries welcome guests from various ethnic communities through game nights, such as hosting loteria, mahjong, dominos, etc. Games become a conduit for cultural exchange among players.
Ian Donley
This is first-person piece from the perspective of a person with autism, mixed with reporting from experts in neurodiversity, that explores how breweries can be a space for testing and practicing social interaction. What makes these brewery spaces unique as “playgrounds” for socializing? (this sounds like an intriguing piece, 1st on my list)
Anaïs Lecoq
This piece explores how women and non-binary people in France are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to festival safety. This piece briefly touches on the problems, but focuses on solutions that are coming from women and non-binary members of the French beer world.
Jose Abonce
Despite its ownership by a Korean-Polish-American family and the diversity of its neighborhood, inclusion among Marz Brewing staffing and customer base was not always the case and had to be cultivated. This story will examine how giving an employee ownership over her role allowed her to leverage her language skills and cultural understanding in service of engaging the Latinx community.
Supon Peter Dulin
This piece will unpack the economic and business development hurdles Vine Street overcame on its way to becoming Kansas City’s first Black-owned brewery, with a particular focus on economic development and financing hurdles. (financial inclusion is a big deal, this could be a very educational piece)
Amanda Thomas
This case study examines how the Mosaic State Brewers Collective inspires and empowers underrepresented people to build careers in the beer industry, asking whether this three-phase model could serve as a template for other such mentorship programs.
Due to an unknown snafu, I could not watch the live stream of the discussion where the NAGBW tackled inflation and packaging and sustainability. But I did watch a couple days later. The speaker was Bourcard Nesin a beverage industry analyst and it was made clear what should be done, which is quite different from what might be done.
Here are my takeaways from the discussion…
most sustainability claims are bullshit
U.S. is exceptional in are low recycling rates
part of the problem is that there is no centralized recycling system in place
returnable and re-used glass would be the best option
Oregon is leading that charge
un-returnable glass is the worst option compared to aluminum and plastic because of cost to create, cost to re-make and weight of shipping
a “universal bottle” be it plastic or glass would create economies of scale.
no returnable bottles infrastructure
you will probably hear the word “lightweighting” in the future
lots of promises by business to endorse “extended producer responsibility” but when it arrives business does not do it
A week or more back, the NAGBW broached the three-tiered topic of distribution. The speakers were Kimberly Clements of Pints LLC and Lester Jones of the National Beer Wholesalers Association.
Here are my nuggets of wisdom from the Q&A…
California is a whole market on its own
lots of merger and acquisitions, but the consolidation game isn’t over and despite barriers to entry, smaller, boutique outfits are not to be written off
the role of the distributor is essentially the same though the world around is different
where beer is being distributed has grown
coverage of distributors seems more negative, though most days it works just fine in the background
you have to take what the market gives you, if cans get too expensive, then draft may grow
on premise and off premise lines are blurring when you can drink a beer at a grocery store
