Finalists Announced in Beer Writing Competition
The British Guild of Beer Writers has shortlisted 27
journalists, writers, bloggers and broadcasters in its Annual Awards. The
winners and runners up in nine categories will be unveiled at the Guild's
annual Awards presentation and dinner on 1st December.
The shortlist was selected by five judges: Dave Myers - one
half of the 'Hairy Bikers' TV chefs duo;
Rebecca Smithers, consumer affairs correspondent at The Guardian; Kate
Nicholls, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers;
Roger Ryman, head brewer at St Austell Brewery and last year's Beer Writer of
the Year, Breandán Kearney, who chaired the panel.
Judges read, viewed and listened to more than 150 entries
which included books, newspaper and magazine articles, both printed and online,
as well as radio, video and television programmes and podcasts.
Myers said, “It was a revelation to discover just how much
seriously good writing about beer and pubs is out there. Everyone on the shortlist
has earned their place by demonstrating a sure grasp of their subject matter
coupled with a talent for storytelling that engages you as a reader and makes
you want to try the beer they've drunk, visit the pub they've been to or meet
the brewer they've interviewed.
“A passion for beer and pubs shone through all our
finalists' works, but at the same time, they managed to make their work
accessible to a broader audience beyond the 'beer geek'. Many of them are
producing material that deserves a slot in mainstream print or broadcast
channels and I hope that the added profile of being an Awards finalist helps to
secure this.”
Kearney commented, “Whittling down the large initial field
to a shortlist was a challenging task, but one that proved to be enjoyable
thanks to the high standard of the entries overall. I'm grateful to our judges,
who showed tremendous enthusiasm and commitment to the process, some even going
so far as to 'road test' several recipes from the beer and food category.
“It was especially pleasing to see high quality work
submitted from both established names and from less well known entrants, and to
see how creatively people are communicating about beer and pubs across a range
of platforms, whether that's in print, broadcast or online.
“Reaching the last stage of this competition, which receives
more entries every year, is a tremendous achievement and our finalists should
feel very proud.”
The Awards dinner, held at the Park Lane Hotel on
Piccadilly, is open to non-Guild members.
For more information, visit:
http://beerguild.co.uk/tickets-available-for-beer-writers-dinner-and-awards/
GUILD OF BEER WRITERS ANNUAL AWARDS 2016: THE SHORTLIST
There's A Beer For That Award for Best Beer Broadcaster
· Lucy
Stevenson & Louise Mulroy: We Made A Beer podcasts
· BBC Radio
Four The Food Programme
· Matt Curtis:
Good Beer Hunting podcasts
Badger Ales Award for Best Young Beer Writer
· Jacopo
Mazzeo: posts on Beer without Frontiers blog
· Jordon Lee
Smith: posts on Frontier Hoptometrist blog, and other websites
· Joshua
Farrington: posts on Beer And Present Danger blog
St Austell Brewery Award for Best Beer and Travel Writer
· John Holl:
work in All About Beer magazine
· Pete Brown:
The Pub book
· Mark Dredge:
The Best Beer in the World book
Guild Award for Best Beer Writer – Corporate Communications
· Beer Hawk:
Hoptical magazine
· Beer
Merchants: magazine
· Carlsberg
UK: Tapsters Cask Ale Guide/Crafted from Carlsberg
Shepherd Neame Classic Collection Award for Best Beer and
Food Writer
· Mark Dredge:
Cooking with Beer book
· Susan &
Judith Boyle: articles in Leinster Leader
· Adrian
Tierney-Jones: articles in Daily Telegraph
Caledonian Brewery Award for Best Beer Communicator – Online
· Boak and
Bailey: boakandbailey
· Pete Brown:
petebrownblogspot
· Matt Curtis:
total ales/good beer hunting
· Will Hawkes:
Craft Beer London
· Jonny
Garrett: Craft Beer Channel
Fuller's 1845 Award for Best Beer Writer - Trade Media
· Roger Protz:
articles in Morning Advertiser
· Jonny
Garrett: articles in Brewers Journal
· Pete Brown:
articles in Morning Advertiser
· Adrian
Tierney-Jones: various press articles
· Nigel
Huddleston: articles in Off Licence News and The Wine Merchant
Adnams Award for Best Beer Writer - Regional Media
· Alastair
Gilmour: Cheers magazine
· Simon
Jenkins: The Great Leeds Pub Crawl book
· Mark Briggs:
articles in Lancashire Telegraph
· Susan &
Judith Boyle: articles in Leinster Leader
· Gavin
Aitchison: articles in The Press, York
Molson Coors Award for Best Beer Writer - National Media
· Adrian
Tierney-Jones: London's Local Pubs book
· Sophie
Atherton: various press articles
· Jane Peyton:
various press/radio work
· Mark Dredge:
Best Beer in the World and Cooking with Beer books
· Pete Brown:
The Pub: book
Caption to attached image: Breandán Kearney, Beer Writer of
the Year 2015 and chair of judges for the 2016 competition
The Guild is grateful to the following sponsors, whose
support makes possible our annual awards and dinner:
Adnams
Established in 1872, Adnams combines innovation with
tradition. Behind the walls of its Victorian-looking building, it has some of
the most advanced and energy-efficient brewing equipment in Europe and
constantly experiments with new, innovative techniques. Adnams brews a range of beers which reflect
its heritage but also challenge conventions. They use locally-grown East
Anglian grains of malted barley, rye, wheat and oats wherever popular and
deploy a number of different hop varieties from Britain as well as across the world
– all of which contribute to their beers' individual characters.
Badger Ales
Badger Ales have been brewed in the heart of the Dorset
countryside since 1777 by independent brewers Hall & Woodhouse. As one of
the leading independent brewers in the UK, Hall & Woodhouse is well known
for its range of award-winning ales brewed under the Badger brand and its
network of public houses throughout the South of England. The brewery is still
owned and managed by the seventh generation of the Woodhouse family.
Caledonian Brewery
Since its founding in 1869, Caledonian Brewery – also known
as 'The Caley' - has been renowned for
creating some of Scotland's finest beers and its pioneering spirit has ensured
that this is a brewery never content to rest on its laurels. Innovation is at
the heart of the Caley's ethos. One of
the original Victorian breweries of Britain, it's the only one to still use
direct open fired coppers. At Caley they
brew beer by hand, and that's not just a nice phrase - it's true, full leaf hop
flowers and specialty malts are weighed and added by hand to the carefully
crafted recipes.
Caledonian's range of traditional craft ales comprising
Deuchars IPA, Edinburgh Castle and Flying Scotsman is joined by its more
contemporary craft styles, Three Hop and Coast to Coast and now Rare Red.
Fuller's 1845
Fuller's has been brewing at the Griffin Brewery in
Chiswick, London, since 1828. They are the only UK brewery to have three
different beers named Champion Beer of Britain by CAMRA; collectively London
Pride, Chiswick Bitter and ESB have received this accolade five times. Other beers in its extensive and wide-ranging
portfolio include Honey Dew, Bengal Lancer, Wild River and Frontier.
Fuller's 1845 is a strong, rich and fruity ale, specially
commissioned to celebrate 150 years of the Fuller, Smith and Turner
partnership. It's a live, bottle-conditioned beer, skilfully brewed to mature
over time.
Molson-Coors
For more than 350 years, Molson-Coors has been brewing,
innovating and delighting the world's beer drinkers. With a long history of
creating local and international brands, Molson-Coors' global beer portfolio
has more than 100 beers. Always looking for ways to bring something new and
exciting, their innovations are inspired by insights from customers and
consumers.
Shepherd Neame
Shepherd Neame is an independent family brewery and pub
operator based in the medieval market town of Faversham, Kent. Dating back at
least 400 years, it is Britain's oldest brewer and still creates its range of
Kentish ales and award-winning lagers using traditional methods with 100%
natural ingredients; chalk-filtered mineral water from the artesian well below
its site, the finest malting barley and Kentish hops.
Its beer portfolio includes Spitfire Premium Kentish Ale and
the new Spitfire Gold, Bishops Finger Kentish Strong Ale and Master Brew. More
recent introductions include Spitfire Lager, the contemporary Whitstable Bay
Collection and a new collection of limited edition No.18 Yard Brewhouse beers,
named after its historic cask store. It also brews a number of high quality
international lagers under licence including Asahi and Samuel Adams Boston
Lager.
St Austell Brewery
Founded in 1851 by Cornishman Walter Hicks, today St Austell
Brewery remains a 100% independent and family owned brewer and pub operator.
Its brewery in St Austell produces many of the region's most popular beers for
sale in pubs, bars and supermarkets in Cornwall, Devon, across the UK and also
overseas. St Austell brews beer with
individuality, character and spirit which is true to its vision of what good
beer ought to be.
St Austell's sponsorship of Best Beer & Travel Writer
Award is apt as Cornwall is the UK's favourite domestic holiday location and
its leading brand Tribute is now served on British Airways flights and in BA
lounges all over the world.
There's A Beer For That
There's A Beer For That is a campaign to reignite Britain's
love of beer by focusing on the quality, diversity and versatility of beer.
Backed by Britain's Beer Alliance, the campaign is seeking to change consumers'
attitudes and behaviours around beer through a number of events, digital
activity and media partnerships. It recently launched partnerships with
Picturehouse Cinemas and the Telegraph Media Group to further change the image
of beer, and place it where consumers can learn, trust and experience great
beer and food pairings.
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