The North American Guild of Beer Writers (NAGBW) held its 11th annual awards ceremony October 12, celebrating the best in beer media. This year’s awards were generously sponsored by Athletic Brewing Company, NextGlass, and Untappd.
This year, the competition consisted of 246 works from 78 authors, writers, journalists, historians, podcasters, professors, and other creators. These entrants represent 12 countries, 21 U.S. states and territories, and one Canadian province.
41 judges selected the top works across 18 categories. These judges collectively have more than 800 years of experience in journalism, media, academia, brewing, and related fields. Judges could award first, second, and third place awards, as well as an honorable mention. They could also designate an emerging voice award to a piece of work by an individual who has covered the beer industry for five or fewer years.
This year introduced new Best of Show awards sponsored by John I Haas.
Congratulations to all of this year’s winners:
Best Academic Writing
First Place: McElwee-Adame, Alexandra, Raya Esplin-Stout, Trevor Mugoya, George Vourlitis, Nautica Welch, John Henning, Kayser Afram, Maryam Ahmadi Jeshvaghane, Nathan Mingham, Alexis Dockter, Jacob Eslava, Giovanni Gil, Amran Mohamed, Tram Nguyen, Fatum Noor, Nathan Salcedo, and Arun Sethuraman. “Evolutionary History and Rhizosphere Microbial Community Composition in Domesticated Hops (Humulus lupulus L.).” Molecular Ecology, (2025). https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17769
Best Beer and Food Writing
First Place: Kearney, Breandán. “Brew and Brie: Unlocking the perfect Belgian beer and cheese pairings.” The Brussels Times Magazine, April 1, 2025.
Second Place: Tai, James. “Vignette: Quenelle in Lyon.” Final Gravity, October 2024.
Third Place: Sauter, Em. “5 Perfect Beer And Pie Pairings For Thanksgiving Dessert.” Forbes.com, November 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/emsauter/2024/11/18/thanksgiving-beer-and-pie-pairings/
Emerging Voice: Lee-Weitz, Grace. “Grainbakers: Shaping Community One Loaf and Pint at a Time.” Hop Culture, February 19, 2025. https://www.hopculture.com/grainbakers-spent-grain/
Best Blog/Newsletter
First Place: Veliky, Doug. Beer Crunchers. https://beercrunchers.substack.com/
Second Place: Infante, Dave. Fingers. https://www.fingers.email/
Third Place: Kearney, Breandán. Belgian Smaak. https://www.belgiansmaak.com/newsletter/
Honorable Mention: O’Leary, Chris. Brew York and Beyond. https://brewyork.substack.com/
Emerging Voice: Solarte, Shana and Jenny Pfafflin. Bier Omakase. http://bieromakase.substack.com
Best Book
First Place: Garrett, Jonny. The Meaning of Beer. Hanover Square, 2024.
Second Place: Brown, Pete. Tasting Notes: The Art and Science of Pairing Beer with Music. CAMRA, 2025.
Third Place: Kearney, Breandán. Hidden Beers of Belgium. Luster Publishing, 2024.
Honorable Mention: Phillips, Noëlle. Brewmasters and Brewery Creek: A History of Craft Beer in Vancouver, Then and Now. Torchwood Editions, 2024.
Best Brewery Profile
First Place: Bernot, Kate. “Case Study: Tweak by Tweak, Sunriver Is Operating Its Way to Wins.” Brewing Industry Guide, May 8, 2025. https://www.brewingindustryguide.com/case-study-sunriver
Second Place: Gates, Alexander. “Welcome Back, Koholā! A Brewery Destroyed in Last Year’s Fire Reopens.” Frolic Hawai‘i / Honolulu Magazine, August 6, 2024. https://www.honolulumagazine.com/kohola-brewery-reopens-wailea/
Third Place: Piotrkowski, Sayre. “Exemplars #1: The Slow Pour and the Long Game.” Beer and Soul, April 28, 2025. https://beerandsoul.substack.com/p/exemplars-1-the-slow-pour-and-the
Honorable Mention: Lecoq, Anaïs. “Lève ton Verre — What’s Left of Coreff, France’s First Real Ale.” Pellicle, January 29, 2025. https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2024/1/29/leve-ton-verre-whats-left-of-coreffe-frances-first-real-ale-anais-lecoq
Best Business Writing
First Place: Infante, Dave. “Is Tilray Brands’ Craft Beer Bet ‘Real Smart or Real Dumb’?” VinePair, December 6, 2024. https://vinepair.com/articles/hop-take-tilray-brands-craft-beer-bet/
Second Place: Kearney, Breandán. “From grain to green: The sustainable shift in Belgian brewing.” The Brussels Times Magazine, June 1, 2025.
Third Place: Brown, Pete. “What Next for Indie Beer?” SIBA Independent Brewer, May/June 2025.
Emerging Voice: Pachmayer, Ryan. “The Year in Beer: Brewery Closings and a Changing Market.” Westword Magazine, December 2024. https://www.westword.com/restaurants/the-year-in-colorado-beer-brewery-closings-and-a-changing-market-22795125
Best Commentary or Criticism
First Place: Infante, Dave. “Craft Brewing Is Changing. Its Labor Relations Must Change With It.” VinePair, August 30, 2024. https://vinepair.com/articles/hop-take-changing-labor-relations-craft-beer/
Second Place: Bernot, Kate. “Competing on Merit — Bars and Restaurants Could List Non-Alc Drinks Like … Drinks.” Sightlines, April 8, 2025. https://www.sightlines.news/analysis/bars-and-restaurants-could-list-non-alc-drinks-like-drinks
Third Place: Piotrkowski, Sayre. “Why Do People Care About Breweries?” Beer and Soul, August 21, 2024. https://beerandsoul.substack.com/p/why-do-people-care-about-breweries
Honorable Mention: Garrett, Jonny. “Madri is lying to you! Does it matter?” Craft Beer Channel, August 21, 2024. https://youtu.be/NgJmhPwKLyY
Best Historical Writing
First Place: Hawkes, Will. “The Story of Dora Kulka, and How One Woman Changed British Beer Forever.” Pellicle, August 28, 2024. https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2024/8/19/the-story-of-dora-kulka-and-how-one-woman-changed-british-beer-forever
Second Place: Brown, Pete. “Something in the Water.” Ferment Magazine, September 2024.
Third Place: Corne, Lucy. “Endangered Flavors: Preserving Africa’s Rich Brewing Traditions.” Zymurgy Magazine, November/December 2024.
Honorable Mention: Pachmayer, Ryan. “The French Pilsners of Alsace.” Zymurgy Magazine, April 2025.
Best Local Reporting
First Place: Bernot, Kate. “Water fueled Asheville’s flourishing breweries. Then it ravaged them.” The Washington Post, October 24, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/10/24/asheville-breweries-hurricane-helene-flood-water-recovery/
Second Place: Williams, Gail and Steve Shapiro. “Inside Toronado, Still For Sale, A Slow Motion Wake Continues.” All About Beer, May 29, 2025. https://allaboutbeer.com/toronado-bar-sale/
Third Place: Pachmayer, Ryan. “Local Malt Plays a Key Role in the Success of Local Breweries.” Westword Magazine, November 2024. https://www.westword.com/restaurants/local-malt-plays-key-role-in-success-of-colorado-breweries-22438572
Emerging Voice: Lucas, Cliff. “Eetcafé Basseville.” Belgian Smaak, April 28, 2025. https://www.belgiansmaak.com/eetcafe-basseville/
Best Other Beverage Reporting
First Place: Bernot, Kate. “Universal Language — Why Beverage is Core to THC’s Mainstream Crossover.” Sightlines, December 18, 2024. https://www.sightlines.news/analysis/why-beverage-is-core-to-thcs-mainstream-crossover
Second Place: Hadland, Laura. “How do you fingerprint an apple?” Cider Review, November 2, 2024. https://cider-review.com/2024/11/02/how-do-you-fingerprint-an-apple/
Third Place: Bernot, Kate. “The Year of “More”: Hemp-Derived THC Drinks Are Booming (for Now).” Brewing Industry Guide, September 9, 2024. https://brewingindustryguide.com/hemp-derived-thc-drinks/
Honorable Mention: Reece, Alistair. Virginia Cider: A Scrumptious History. American Palate, 2024.
Emerging Voice: Lecoq, Anaïs. “Santé! – A Love Letter to the Proletariat in a Champagne Glass.” Pellicle, October 16, 2024. https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2024/10/16/sante-a-love-letter-proletariat-champagne-glass-anais-lecoq
Best Personal Essay
First Place: Curtis, Matthew. “On Deaf Ears—Beer Spaces and the Hard of Hearing.” Final Gravity, April 1, 2025.
Second Place: Brown, Pete. “The Time I Got Ghosted by the Lead Singer of The Farm.” Pete Brown Patreon, May 12, 2025. https://www.patreon.com/posts/128118828
Third Place: Lee-Weitz, Grace. “Top Surgery & the Taproom: Beer Workers’ Search for Gender-Affirming Care.” Craftbeer.com, December 16, 2024. https://www.craftbeer.com/full-pour/top-surgery-the-taproom-beer-workers-search-for-gender-affirming-care
Honorable Mention: LaForme, Ren. “You can’t ferment in the cold.” Ren Drinks Beer, March 5, 2025. https://rendrinksbeer.substack.com/p/you-cant-ferment-in-the-cold
Emerging Voice: Sigudu, Bono. “Soak It Until It Is Bitter: Umqombothi in South Africa.” Final Gravity, July 9, 2024.
Best Podcast
First Place: Kearney, Breandán. The Belgian Smaak Podcast. Produced by Belgian Smaak. https://www.belgiansmaak.com/the-podcast/
Second Place: Garrett, Jonny. Craft Beer Channel. Produced by The Craft Beer Channel. https://www.youtube.com/thecraftbeerchannel
Third Place: Holl, John. Drink Beer, Think Beer with John Holl. Produced by All About Beer. https://allaboutbeer.com/podcast/drink-beer-think-beer/
Best Public Relations or Corporate Communications
First Place: Bussard, Jesse. “The Untold Story of Crisp Malt’s Legacy in American Craft Brewing.” Crisp Malt, April 28, 2025. https://crispmalt.com/news/the-untold-story-of-crisp-malts-legacy-in-american-craft-brewing/
Second Place: Bussard, Jesse. “The Brewer’s Guide to Flaked Torrefied Rice: Dryness, Drinkability, and Efficiency.” Crisp Malt, June 3, 2025. https://crispmalt.com/news/the-brewers-guide-to-flaked-torrefied-rice/
Third Place: Wiest, Cat. “Yakima Chief Hops Launches CryoFresh, the New Frontier in Fresh Hop Brewing.” Yakima Chief Hops, May 2025. https://www.yakimachief.com/commercial/press-room/cryo-fresh-pr
Emerging Voice: de Silva, Ruvani. “Patagonia Provisions Organic Kernza Lager – Part 1: Shifting the Beer Industry, Organically, Part 2: Craft Beer is All About Quality.” Patagonia Provisions, September 5, 2024. https://www.patagoniaprovisions.com/blogs/learn/shifting-the-beer-industry-organically https://www.patagoniaprovisions.com/blogs/learn/craft-beer-is-all-about-quality
Best Regional, National, or International Reporting
First Place: Crouch, Andy. “From Fresno to Famous: Alex Kidd Brings Life To Beer.” All About Beer, July 31, 2024. https://allaboutbeer.com/alex-kidd-dont-drink-beer/
Second Place: Rail, Evan. “A World Beer Cup ESB Gold for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale? We’re as Confused as You Are.” VinePair, May 19, 2025. https://vinepair.com/articles/how-sierra-nevada-pale-ale-won-best-extra-special-bitter/
Third Place: Corne, Lucy. “Varsity Brews.” BYO Magazine, May 2025. https://byo.com/article/varsity-brews/
Honorable Mention: Nilsen, David. “Between the Bars—On Alcohol, Suicide, and Depression in the Beer Industry.” Pellicle, April 16, 2025. https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/4/2/between-the-bars-on-alcohol-suicide-and-depression-in-the-beer-industry
Best Review
First Place: Goldfarb, Aaron. “Hand-Pulled Heady Topper Is the Ultimate Bucket-List Beer Experience.” VinePair, March 12, 2025. https://vinepair.com/articles/hand-pulled-heady-topper/
Second Place: Kearney, Breandán. “Think You Know Belgian Beer? Not Until You’ve Tried These Under-the-Radar Brewers.” Food & Wine, September 6, 2024. https://www.foodandwine.com/lesser-known-belgian-beer-8707240
Third Place: Hendry, Rachel. “Timothy Taylor’s Landlord — A Polyptych of a Pint.” Pellicle, November 13, 2024. https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2024/10/31/timothy-taylors-landlord-a-polyptych-of-a-pint
Honorable Mention: Mather, Katie. “These Wooden Ideas — The Incomparable Theakstons’ Old Peculier.” Pellicle, September 18, 2024. https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2024/9/18/these-wooden-ideas-theakstons-old-peculier
Best Short Form Writing
First Place: Norman, Malin. “Cuddles to warm you up in the cold.” Scan Magazine, December 1, 2024. https://scanmagazine.co.uk/cuddles-to-warm-you-up-in-the-cold/
Second Place: Holl, John. “Major Overhaul Coming to the 2025 Great American Beer Festival.” All About Beer, April 1, 2025. https://allaboutbeer.com/gabf-2025-great-american-beer-festival/
Third Place: Walsh, Eoghan. “Don’t Look Now // Estaminet du Théâtre Royal de Toone.” Brussels Beer City, January 5, 2025. https://www.beercity.brussels/home/2025/dont-look-now-estaminet-du-thtre-royal-de-toone
Best Technical Writing
First Place: Bernot, Kate. “These Lager Yeasts Have Something to Say!” Craft Beer & Brewing, December 23, 2024. https://beerandbrewing.com/expressive-lager-yeast/
Second Place: Nilsen, David. “Pulp Nonfiction: The True Story of Brewing with Cacao Fruit.” Craft Beer & Brewing, February 17, 2025. https://beerandbrewing.com/pulp-nonfiction-the-true-story-of-brewing-with-cacao-fruit/
Third Place: Pachmayer, Ryan. “The Lowdown on Low Dissolved Oxygen Brewing.” Zymurgy Magazine, June 2025.
Best Travel Writing
First Place: Kruglyak, Maria. “The Glory of the Portuguese Half-Pint.” Final Gravity,July 9, 2024.
Second Place: Leskin, Joey. “Down To The River We Ride — The Emergence of Independent Beer in Thailand.” Pellicle, January 28, 2025. https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/1/28/down-to-the-river-we-ride-the-emergence-of-independent-beer-in-thailand
Third Place: Mather, Katie. “Races Are Coming Your Way — Beer and Cyclocross in Belgium and The Netherlands.” Pellicle, May 3, 2025. https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/2/27/races-are-coming-your-way-beer-and-cyclocross-in-wallonia-belgium
Honorable Mention: Holl, John. “It’s not that unusual to see a dead body at Oktoberfest.” Wine Enthusiast, October 2024.
Emerging Voice: Lecoq, Anaïs. “Her Name Is On The Front Door — Élise Provost and the Celtic Soul of Tavarn Ty Élise, Brittany, France.” Pellicle, April 23, 2025. https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/3/18/her-name-is-on-the-front-door-lise-provost-and-the-celtic-soul-of-tavern-ty-lise-in-brittany-france
Best of Show Winners
Winningest Winner of the Year
1st Place: Kate Bernot (10 entries submitted, 6 wins (4 1st, 1 2nd, 1 3rd), 36 total points)
2nd Place: Breandán Kearney (17 entries submitted, 6 wins (2 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd), 30 total points)
3rd Place: Dave Infante (7 entries submitted, 3 wins (2 1st, 1 2nd), 19 total points)
Publisher of the Year
1st Place: VinePair (13 entries submitted by 5 writers, 4 wins (3 1st, 1 2nd), 26 total points)
2nd Place: Pellicle (20 entries submitted by 14 writers, 9 wins (1 1st, 1 2nd, 2 3rd, 3 HM, 2 EV), 23 total points)
3rd Place: All About Beer (9 entries submitted by 4 writers, 4 wins (1 1st, 2 2nd, 1 3rd), 20 total points)
4th Place: Final Gravity (16 entries submitted by 14 writers, 4 wins (2 1st, 1 2nd, 1 EV), 20 total points)
Emerging Voice of the Year
Shana Solarte & Jenny Pfafflin
Best Blog/Newsletter: Bier Omakase https://bieromakase.substack.com/
Writer of the Year
Kate Bernot
Best Local Reporting: “Water fueled Asheville’s flourishing breweries. Then it ravaged them.” The Washington Post, October 24, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/10/24/asheville-breweries-hurricane-helene-flood-water-recovery/
The awards ceremony were recorded and are posted here https://youtu.be/Pje4Qc_A2VA