Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer Birthday: Tara Nurin

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Today is the 51st birthday of beer writer Tara Nurin. She’s originally from Annapolis, but now calls Camden, New Jersey her home, where she writes for Forbes, USA Today, Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, VinePair, and many others. Her most recent book is about the history of women in beer, entitled “A Woman’s Place Is in the Brewhouse: A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs.” She also founded Beer for Babes (f.k.a. Barley’s Angels New Jersey). I don’t remember when I first met Tara, possibly at a North American Guild of Beer Writer events, but she’s been a great addition to the beer writer’s cadre, and a couple of years I worked with Tara on her media panel for the Craft Brewers Conference. Join me in wishing Tara a very happy birthday.

Tara with a taster of beers.
With Herlinda Heras at the Hopland Tap during a recent trip to California.
With Samuel Adams brewer Megan Parisi.

NOTE: All photos purloined from Facebook.

Out Now!: A Woman’s Place Is in the Brewhouse.

Beer Birthday: Kate Bernot

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Today is the 36th birthday of beer writer Kate Bernot, who’s been with Good Beer Hunting (and. specifically their Sightlines)and The Takeout for more than a decade, among much else. More recently, she was named the Executive Director of the North American Guild of Beer Writers. We’ve corresponded over the years, but I got to know her much better in Toronto last year when we were both judging the inaugural Canada Beer Cup. Please join me in wishing Kate a very happy birthday.

Me and Kate at a NAGBW event at CBC in Nashville.
Bryan Roth with Kate as she accepts one of her awards from the NAGBW.
Kate’s profile pictuire.

NAGBW Beer Writing Awards Announced

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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”

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Time To Enter Our Beer Writing Contest

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If you write about beer in print or online or broadcast, please consider joining over 100 of your colleagues in the newly reformed North American Guild of Beer Writers. Even if I can’t persuade you to join, if you’ve written something you’re proud of between July of last year and June 30 of this year, you should enter it in our NAGBW Writing Contest, which is open to non-members as well as guild members. Our goal is to raise the level of beer writing by rewarding the best efforts of our colleagues. “NAGBW’s awards honor the best beer and brewing industry coverage in seven categories. Journalism, feature writing, freelance authors, blogs and broadcast or published in print or online are eligible.” Don’t delay, because the deadline is coming up fast; it’s August 26.

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The seven categories are for Best Book, Magazine Writing, Newspaper (Paid Circulation) Writing, Brewspaper/Free Zine Writing, Beer Blog, Beer and Food Writing, and Broadcast/Podcast. The cost to compete is $30 per entry (but only $15 for members — see, you should join).

Submit your entry or entries online through our partner Submittable by next Monday, August 26. Again, that’s for work published or broadcast between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. Online submissions are accepted at submittable.com, and print books may be mailed to: Lucy Saunders, Attn: NAGBW Awards, 4230 N. Oakland Ave. #178, Shorewood, WI 53211.

If you have any questions, contact www.nagbw.org via our website, drop me a line, or simply comment here. Award winners will be announced during GABF, date and time to be announced shortly. Perhaps I’ll see you there?