News

  • 06 Oct 2017 10:14 AM | Bryan Roth (Administrator)


    The North American Guild of Beer Writers held its annual awards ceremony Oct. 6. Congratulations to all our winners:


    Best Beer Book

    1. Jeff Alworth - Secrets of Master Brewers

    2. Ron Pattinson - Scotland! Vol. 2

    3. Jeff Cioletti - Beer FAQ


    Best Beer Podcast

    1. The Beer Temple Insiders Roundtable

    2. Experimental Brewing

    3. Steal This Beer

    Honorable Mention: Drinking on the Last Frontier


    Best Beer Blog

    1. Breandan Kearney - Belgian Smaak

    2. Jeff Alworth - Beervana

    3. Robin Shepard - Beer Here


    Best Beer and Food Writing

    1. Jesse Friedman - Brewers' Almanac — On Beer & Nosh in the Year 2017

    2. Bo McMillan - Liquid Bread: Brewers Experiment with Kvass

    3. Nicole Garneau - Science Says You’re Wrong About Pairing IPAs and Spicy Foods


    Best Beer and Travel Writing

    1. Brian Spencer - At Bionic Brew, That Which Does Not Kill You Makes You Stronger

    2. Robert Kidd - Not (Just) for Tourists: Patagonia’s Beer Boom

    3. Brian Yaeger - Beer at the End of the World

    Honorable Mention: Blake Tyers - GBH in Residence — A Camping Coolship Adventure


    Best Local Reporting

    1. Josh Noel - Your next beer may taste like a cocktail, as craft revolution pushes on

    2. Andi Prewitt - Brewers Make Foray into New Areas of Fungi Kingdom

    3. Austin L. Ray - Critical Drinking — Georgia’s Race to the Bottom


    Best National/ International Reporting

    1. Matthew Sampson - Just to Live This Here Lifestyle (Scratch Brewing)

    2. Gail Ann Williams and Steve Shapiro - Feral Ones:The Unlikely Origins Of Firestone Walker's Barrelworks

    3. Joshua Bernstein - Second Acts: As the beer industry matures, brewers ponder their next steps

    Honorable Mention: Crystal Luxmore - What is wild yeast and why is it all the rage in beer, wine and cider?


    Best Short Form Writing (fewer than 600 words)

    1. Tom Wilmes - When "Local" Isn't Enough

    2. Rebecca Kirkman - Brewers Showcase Hoppiness Without Bitterness in Zero IBU IPAs

    3. Dan Rabin - On Location: TRVE Brewing Co. in Denver


    Best History Writing

    1. Breandan Kearney - Once a Trappist — St. Bernardus Brewery in Watou, Belgium

    2. Arnie Meltzer and Steve Frank - The Evolving Role of Women’s Contributions to Brewing Beer

    3. Jeff Alworth - Bourbon County Brand Stout: The Original Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Beer

    Honorable Mention: Ezra Johnson-Greenough - An Oral History of the Horse Brass


    Best Technical Writing

    1. Stan Hieronymus - From Bees to Beers: Exploring the Links Between Bees and Beers Brewed with Honey

    2. Brian Yaeger - Savoring Acidity: The Quest to Explain Sourness in Beer

    3. Randy Mosher - Hot Process: Exploring the Role of Heat in Brewing


    Best Beer Criticism or Commentary

    1. Andy Sparhawk - A Sour Beer Pickle: Can American Brewers Better Define this Beer Style?

    2. Lew Bryson - Beer Criticism: Are You Doing it Wrong?

    3. Chris Herron - Watch the Hands, Not the Cards — The Magic of Megabrew

    Honorable Mention: Tomm Carroll - Anthony Bourdain: The Donald Trump of the Anti-Craft Beer Set


    Want to display the new NAGBW logo to highlight your membership or win? Download it here.
  • 07 Aug 2017 4:35 AM | Bryan Roth (Administrator)

    The North American Guild of Beer Writers (NAGBW) announces its 5th annual competition for writers, bloggers, authors and broadcasters -- now underway. The 2017 NAGBW Awards accepts entries Monday, Aug. 7 to Friday, Aug. 25.

    The NAGBW Awards honor the best beer and brewing industry coverage in 11 categories, ranging from newspaper and magazine stories to podcasts.

    With its annual writing competition, the Guild aims to broaden the conversation about beer and brewing, raise the standards of writing, provide leadership and continuing education for practitioners of our profession, while also encouraging and supporting more participation throughout all media channels.

    Deadline to apply: Friday, Aug. 25, 2017

    Entries published between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017 are eligible.

    Enter the 2017 NAGBW Awards

    Fees are prorated for members at $15 per entry. Non-members pay $30 per entry. You must be a current paid member of the NAGBW to get the discount. To join the NAGBW, please allow 24 hours for your application to be processed at www.nagbw.org

    Questions: email bryandroth@gmail.com or contact NAGBW via Twitter @nagbw

    Winners will be announced Oct. 6 at NAGBW’s annual meeting during the Great American Beer Festival. A full list of rules can be found here.

    ABOUT THE NORTH AMERICAN GUILD OF BEER WRITERS – The new Guild has members from USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Costa Rica. Guild membership is open to all writers and content producers who cover beer and brewing, although industry and associate memberships are both non-voting categories. For more information, visit http://www.nagbw.org.

  • 14 Jun 2017 10:55 AM | Bryan Roth (Administrator)

    NAGBW members,

    We're writing to inform you of an exciting change at the North American Guild of Beer Writers. In January, Our director, Erika Bolden, decided to step away from her position in order to accept a new opportunity working at a brewery. In her place, the Board of Directors appointed Bryan Roth to take over operations at the Guild. We will confirm his position with a vote at our annual meeting this fall in Denver during GABF. We feel Bryan is the ideal candidate given his capacity for both day-to-day detail management and strong vision for the future of the organization. Bryan has been a thoughtful and prolific contributor in the freelance community, and on his own blog, ThisIsWhyImDrunk.blog.

    We are proud to have kept the annual writers contest going over the last few years, and we're now eager to see the organization evolve under Bryan's leadership. We are so glad to have him on board.

    We have a short survey for you to answer that will help determine focus for the Guild moving forward. Please take a quick moment to respond: https://goo.gl/forms/P7AkB2sipyInBqtr1

    Happy writing and have a great summer,

    Erika Bolden
    Jay Brooks
    Stan Hieronymus

  • 28 Apr 2016 10:02 PM | Deleted user

    We are proud to announce that the inaugural Beer Writer's Symposium, presented by the North American Guild of Beer Writers, will take place on Saturday, May 7, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The all-day event is free to guild members. It will take place at The Belgian Café, located at 601 North 21st Street, at the corner of 21st and Green in Philadelphia, courtesy of Tom Peters, who also owns Monk's Cafe in Philadelphia. 

    The Belgian Café is about a 30-minute walk from the Philadelphia Convention Center, approximately 1.3 miles away. Please plan on arriving around 8:30 AM so we may begin on time. A light breakfast spread will be provided. Beer and lunch will be available for purchase at the Café. We encourage everyone attending to plan on buying lunch there and generously tipping servers as a thank you to Tom Peters for allowing us the use of his restaurant for our Symposium.

    Please RSVP to Jay.Brooks@gmail.com (and please put "Symposium RSVP" in the subject line) at your earliest convenience, so we have a rough idea of how many will be attending. No member will be turned away, but it will help our planning to have a good idea of how many will be there.

    We've assembled a stellar lineup of speakers to talk about writing, publishing and beer topics we believe will be of great interest to all of our guild members.

    This event is free to active members, there is a $25 fee for non-members (who we encourage to join the Guild!).

    NAGBW Symposium | Sat., May 7, 9AM-4 PM | The Belgian Café, 601 N. 21st St., Philadelphia

    Symposium Schedule

    9:00 AM: Carl Kins (EBCU) and Luc De Raedemaeker (Brussels Beer Challenge director)

    10:00 AM: Panel on book publishing with Kristi Switzer, Clare Pelino and Charlie Bamforth.

    11:00 AM: Charlie Bamforth, UC Davis Professor

    LUNCH 12:00-1:00 PM

    1:00 PM: Bill Covaleski (Victory Brewing) and Carol Stoudt (Stoudt’s Brewing)

    2:00 PM: Ed Lordan, Professor of Communication Studies, West Chester University

    3:00 PM: Keynote address: Greg Koch (Stone Brewing)

  • 28 Apr 2016 9:58 PM | Deleted user

    Here are details for the 2016 NAGBW meeting at the Craft Brewers Conference. The meeting will take place at U-Bahn, a subterranean bar three blocks from the Convention Center. Enter through the upstairs door at BRU. Please be prepared to renew your membership.

    We will begin at 12:30 promptly so please aim to arrive between 12-12:15, so that we can complete the meeting in time for the second round of seminars.

    Deschutes beer from the previous night’s tap takeover will be available for $5. There is also a Shelton Brothers event upstairs at BRU, and you are welcome to bring beer down from there.

    NAGBW Annual Meeting | Fri., May 6, 12:30 PM | U-Bahn, 1320 Chestnut St., Philadelphia

    We look forward to seeing you in Philly! 


  • 10 Aug 2015 7:25 AM | Deleted user

    We are excited to announce The 2015 NAGBW Awards is now accepting entries. The Board of Directors has worked to restructure this year's categories by content, rather than publication type. The deadline to submit is Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. Winners will be announced on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver (more details to come). Please see the categories below and submit your most competitive work.

    In the coming months we will roll out improvements for the NAGBW, including a new website, in order to supply resources and networking for members. We encourage you to renew your membership and participate in this period of growth. There will be opportunities for members to submit their input and suggestions for resources. 

    Best Beer and Food Writing: Beer writing, including print or online media, that places beer in the context of food, including but not limited to recipes and pairings (cookbooks submit here).

    Best Beer and Travel Writing: Beer writing, including print or online media, that transports the reader to a place and provides guidance or insight on the location’s unique features and beer landscape (travel books submit here).

    Best Beer Writing, Short Form: Beer writing, including print or online media, that contains fewer than 600 words.

    Best Beer Writing, Editorial/ Humor: Beer writing, including print or online media, that provides the author’s position or opinion on a topic related to the beer industry with or without comedic emphasis (submit columns here).

    Best Beer Writing, History/ Technical: Beer writing, including print or online media, that chronicles beer historically and/ or technically, offering industry guidance (introductory beer books submit here). 

    Best Beer Writing, Local/ Regional: Beer writing, including print or online media, intended for a local, statewide or regional audience (alt weeklies, brewspapers, local newspapers submit here).

    Best Beer Writing, National/ International: Beer writing, including print or online media, intended for a national or international audience (magazines, online magazines and newspapers with national/ international circulation or readership submit here).

    Best Podcast/ Broadcast: A serial podcast or broadcast that focuses on beer/ the brewing industry. Please submit three examples of your online series that best represent your beer industry coverage.

    Best Blog: A blog series dedicated to beer/ the brewing industry. Please submit three posts that best represent your beer industry coverage.

    Enter the 2015 NAGBW Awards: https://northamericanguildofbeerwriters.submittable.com/submit

    Questions: email erika@nagbw.org

  • 10 Oct 2014 1:31 PM | Stan Hieronymus (Administrator)

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  - October 7, 2014 - The North American Guild of Beer Writers (NAGBW) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2nd annual competition for writers, bloggers, broadcasters and authors. Results of the NAGBW Awards were announced on Friday, October 3, 2014, during the Great American Beer Festival at the McNichols Civic Center Building in Denver, CO.

    This year, over 140 entries, published between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, were submitted to the contest in eight categories. Winners represented 13 states across the U.S. and three countries. Congratulations to all of the winners.

    Best Beer and Food Writing

    1. John Holl, “Roast Masters: Exploring the Art of Brewing Beer with Coffee.” All About Beer Magazine.

    2. Evan Rail, “Where What Is Brewing Is a Recipe.” The New York Times.

    3. Mark Dredge, Beer and Food. Dog 'n' Bone Books.

    Best Blog

    1. Oliver Gray, “Literature and Libation.” Literatureandlibation.com.

    2. Bryan Roth, “This is Why I’m Drunk.” Thisiswhyimdrunk.wordpress.com.

     3. Jessica Miller, “Hey Brewtiful.” Heybrewtiful.com

    Best Book

    1. Patrick Dawson, Vintage Beer. Storey Publishing.

    2. Tim Webb/ Joe Stange, The Good Beer Guide to Belgium. Campaign for Real Ale Ltd.

    3. Evan Rail, Beer Trails: The Brewery in the Bohemian Forest. Self-published.

    Best Brewspaper/ Free Zine Writing

    1. Ken Weaver, “Getting Hopped Up -- Again.” Bohemian.

    2. Jonathan Shikes, “Avery Brewing’s got good taste -- and the science to back it up.” Westword.

    3. Randy Clemens, “Mark Jilg: The Craftsman.” West Coaster.

    Best Magazine Writing

    1. Evan Rail, “Born Again in Berlin.” All About Beer Magazine.

    2. Joshua Bernstein, “Of a Certain Age.” Imbibe Magazine.

    3. Aleszu Bajak, “Stemming the Rise of Barley Disease.” Beeradvocate Magazine.

    Best Newspaper Writing (Paid Circulation)

    1. Ronnie Crocker, “Crafting a Houston Icon.” Houston Chronicle.

    2. William Bostwick, “Build a Beer Collection.” The Wall Street Journal.

    3. Tom Acitelli, “Rising Hop Prices Make Craft Brewers Jumpy.” The Wall Street Journal.

    Best Online Magazine Writing

    1. Gerard Walen, “The Death of Hunahpu’s Day.” All About Beer Magazine (online).

    2. Austin Ray, “Headbanger’s Brew: A History of Heavy Metal and Craft Beer Collaborations.” First We Feast.

    3. Christian DeBenedetti, “A Brief History of Sour Beer.” The New Yorker (online).

    Best Podcast

    1. Strange Brews Podcast. Strangebrewspodcast.tumbler.com.

    2. Tales from the Cask. Talesfromthecask.com.

    3. What’s on Tap. Kprcradio.com/media/podcast-whats-on-tap-whatsontap.

    Thanks to new and returning judges representing 11 states in the U.S., two provinces in Canada and Europe. The judges for the 2014 NAGBW Awards included:

    Tom Acitelli, Michael Agnew, Jeff Alworth, Ray Bailey, Steve Beaumont, Jessica Boak, Erika Bolden, Jay Brooks, Astrid Cook, Ray Daniels, Christian DeBenedetti, Pat Fahey, Oliver Gray, Steve Hamburg, Stan Hieronymus, Edward Lordan, Alan McLeod, Randy Mosher, Ryan Newhouse, Josh Noel, Evan Rail, Don Russell, Zak Stambor, Heather Vandenengel, Joe Wiebe

    ABOUT THE NORTH AMERICAN GUILD OF BEER WRITERS – The Guild has members from USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe. Guild membership is open to all writers and content producers who cover beer and brewing, although industry and associate memberships are both non-voting categories. For more information, visit http://www.nagbw.org or follow us on Twitter @NAGBW


  • 31 Jul 2014 8:33 PM | Deleted user

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  - August 1, 2014 - The North American Guild of Beer Writers (NAGBW) announces its 2nd annual competition for writers, bloggers, broadcasters and authors. The 2014 NAGBW Awards contest will accept entries in eight categories, beginning Friday, August 1 through Monday, August 25, 2014.

    The NAGBW’s members broaden the conversation about beer and brewing, raise the standards of writing, provide leadership and continuing education for practitioners of our profession, while also encouraging and supporting more participation throughout all media channels.

    As of June 2014, there are more than 3,000 breweries in existence with many new breweries and brewpubs in planning across the United States. When Canada is included, that number climbs even higher. Yet many media outlets in cities and towns of all sizes still do not regularly cover craft beer or brewing in their local newspapers, magazines or radio stations.

    The NAGBW Awards honor the best beer and brewing industry coverage in eight categories. Journalism, feature writing, freelance authors, blogs and broadcast, published in print or online, are eligible.

    The 2014 NAGBW Awards is now accepting entries online, with a discount on entry fees for current members:

    https://northamericanguildofbeerwriters.submittable.com/submit

    Deadline to apply: August 25, 2014

    Beer writing/broadcasts published between July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014 are eligible.

    Fees are prorated for members ($15 per entry) /non-members ($30 per entry). You must be a current paid member of the NAGBW to get the discount.

    To join the NAGBW, please allow 24 hours for your application to be processed at www.nagbw.org

    Questions: email contest director Erika Bolden at erika@nagbw.org or contact NAGBW via Twitter @nagbw

    See links to instructions and entry forms below. Follow @nagbw on Twitter for updates. Enter soon, and good luck!

    ABOUT THE NORTH AMERICAN GUILD OF BEER WRITERS – The Guild has members from USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe. Guild membership is open to all writers and content producers who cover beer and brewing, although industry and associate memberships are both non-voting categories. For more information, visit http://www.nagbw.org.

     

  • 11 Oct 2013 3:36 PM | Jay Brooks (Administrator)

    The North American Guild of Beer Writers is pleased to announced the winners of the 2013 Beer Writing Contest. Awards in six categories were announced earlier today at the McNichols Civic Center Building in Denver, Colorado. The awards were for work that was published between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. This was the first awards for the newly reformed writer's guild, who received just over 100 entries for this year's awards. Congratulations to each of the winners.

    Best Brewspaper/Free Zine Writing

    1. Randy Clemens, “Drinking on the Job: Traditional Belgian & French Farmhouse Ales”
    2. Brian Yaeger, “An Oral History of Widmer Hefeweizen”
    3. Ken Weaver, “The Big Show: Local brewers prepare for the Great American Beer Festival”

    Best Beer Blog

    1. Oliver Gray, Literature and Libation
    2. Alan McCormick, Growler Fills: Craft Beer Enthusiasm
    3. Terry Lozoff, Drink Insider

    Best Beer and Food Writing

    1. Ken Weaver, “Genesis of a Beer Dinner”
    2. Kurt Epps, “Now Batting: Ted Williams at Tapastre”
    3. No award

    Best Newspaper (Paid Circulation) Writing

    1. Evan Rail, “In London, A Flood of Pints”
    2. Josh Noel, “The Best Beer in the World”
    3. No award

    Best Magazine Writing

    1. Martin Thibault, “Top Secret - The Farmhouse Brewing Traditions of Lithuania”
    2. Joe Stange, “Alt Reality”
    3. Aleszu Bajak, “Brewing in Thin Air”

    Best Book

    1. Tim Webb and Stephen Beaumont, “The World Atlas of Beer”
    2. Janet Fletcher, “Cheese and Beer”
    3. Tom Acitelli, “The Audacity of Hops”

  • 04 Oct 2013 2:29 PM | Jay Brooks (Administrator)
    As GABF week looms, it is my great pleasure to announce our annual North American Guild of Beer Writers GABF Meet-Up & Membership Drive. On Saturday, October 12, the good folks from Blue Moon Brewing at Coors Field (formerly SandLot) will host us for a little get together beginning at 6:00 p.m. and ending at either 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. The Blue Moon Brewery is located at 22nd and Blake Streets. As of today, my contact at 10th & Blake was still working out details with the owners of Coors Field to see if we might be able to stay an hour after they close.

    Directly after the event at Blue Moon ends (at 8 or 9), we'll walk a few blocks to Great Divide Brewing, located at 2201 Arapahoe Street, where owner Brian Dunn has agreed to host us in their back room, the more private brewery area where they used to hold annual media events at the start of GABF (for those of us old enough to remember those). They close at 10:00 p.m. but have graciously agreed to let us stay there an additional hour, until 11:00 p.m., but have asked that we leave promptly at 11, since for the tap room staff it will be the end of a very long and busy week.

    From there, we're on our own, and if there's enough interest, there's plenty of nearby spots we could move the party to, but we'll wait until Saturday night to make that decision.

    There's no need to RSVP, just come on to down Blue Moon, or join us later at Great Divide. I'll update the time for leaving Blue Moon once I know that for certain. As this is not only an opportunity for the members to get together, but also a membership drive, we'd like to encourage any beer writers who are not currently members to join us, too. If you have any literary friends and colleagues who have not yet joined the NAGBW, please invite them to come and drink with us, no strings attached. We simply hope they'll have such a great time that they won't be able to resist becoming a member.

    If you have any questions, feel free to send me an e-mail to Jay.Brooks@gmail.com. I hope to see you all in Denver.

    Jay R. Brooks
    co-president, NAGBW
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