In “Meet a Member,” we highlight the people who make up the North American Guild of Beer Writers. It’s a chance to learn more about the wide collection of journalists, podcasters, bloggers, and vloggers who cover the industry. See and archive of these Q&A profiles.
Where can people find you on social media?
On Instagram at: @helles___belle and @detroitgpo
Where can people find your work?
Michigan Craft Beer Podcasts and Reviews: https://betterondraft.com/
What topics do you regularly cover?
Beer and brewery reviews.
What topics would you like to cover more in the future?
How to spend time in a certain city, where to get the best whatever style of beer, history of certain beers, beer and travel.
People should consider me an expert on ____ … and why:
Stephen King trivia, because I have been reading him since I was 9 years old. Way too young, but you can’t unring that bell, I’m afraid.
What’s a favorite thing you’ve created in the last year?
I got my Girls Pint Out chapter’s Instagram to over 1,000 followers, and when I took it over in 2019 it had somewhere in the area of 250. I have worked hard to get women interested in beer in my area, and to create positive and mutually beneficial relationships with breweries, as well as fellow writers. I’ve gotten my Certified Beer Server pin, as well as two others on my way to Certified Cicerone, and I’m starting brewing school this fall. It’s so rewarding to finally figure out my passion, and to be welcomed into such an amazing community.
What’s the last great thing you read or heard? (beer or not)
Member of the Family, a memoir of a woman who joined the Manson Family at age 14. I’m not a true crime fan, but my book club chose it and it blew me away. Not the best writing, but wow – the 60s were nuts, man.
What’s a fun fact, hidden talent, or something you enjoy that has nothing to do with beer?
I have one superpower: The ability to determine what other shows/films an actor has been in after seeing them only once – and I will make such exclamations loudly, in the middle of viewing, whether anyone else wanted to know such information or not. Okay, not a hidden talent necessarily, but it’s what I’m good at.
