Tag: North American Guild of Beer Writers

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NAGBW Awards 2024

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)

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NAGBW talks to the N2BA

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.

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With a K?

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.

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NAGBW – Malt Night

A couple nights ago, lucky members of the North American Guild of Beer Writers talked malt with Admiral Maltings, Headlands Brewing and Crisp Maltings,

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.

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NAGBW – Packaging & Sustainability

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
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NAGBW – Sales Numbers

Back to hearing from other beer writers, this time economist and data expert Michael Ulrich of Seventh Point Analytic talks sales.

Here are my bullet points:

  • Don’t place bets on 2022 sales but if you had to bet on down
  • seeing more tweets on breweries for sale
  • cider generally filed with wine and seltzer under beer
  • the bigger – small brewers losing more share
  • 15-30k barrels the current sweet spot
  • prices are increasing compared to costs
  • wine and spirits have stockpiles compared to beer but the pandemic drew down the reserve which may cause prices to rise
  • 9 months from ingredient price rise to beer price rise
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NAGBW – Distribution

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
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NAGBW – Cerveceros

Next up in “News from the NAGBW” are my takeaways from a night talking about the SoCal Cerveceros.

First you should read the article that prompted the J-School discussion, HERE.

The most interesting point was brought up by Ricky Ray Rivera, founding member of the home brew club, now at Norwalk Brew House. Press and attention is good but too focused on the Latino aspect and not enough on the hone brewing can seem patronizing.

The six year old (around there) club started with seven members and is now over 250 with many having started breweries.

The networking is now important it seems. People have joined whose interests lie in food or other businesses.

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NAGBW – Guilds

Next up in “News from the NAGBW” are my notes from last nights talk on the Inner Workings of Brewing Guilds on Diversity with Danielle D’Alessandra.

  • Will we revert back to pre-pandemic ways and forget about issues that have been brought to our attention?
  • DEI has to to start from the top and it needs to be driven by hiring more women and more people of color.
  • craft beer is new to the political process
  • How do we help diverse breweries to succeed and get past the barriers imposed on them such as ability to get loans?
  • What is the best way to bring beer to minorities in a way that educates them?

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Enter the Guild

NAGBW

This month I joined another Beer Writer group.  The North American Guild of Beer Writers.  I was swayed by this section of their mission statement: “Sometimes we act as evangelists, advocates and celebrators. Other times we are antagonists, agitators and truth-seekers. We are authors, writers, publicists, bloggers and columnists. We tirelessly cover the brewing industry — and those who appreciate beer — across North America.”

Hopefully, I will be able to learn a thing or three and bring even better posts to this website and promote craft beer in Los Angeles even more.