Winners at last year’s award ceremony

 

Entries have opened for this year’s British Guild of Beer Writers Awards, with a total prize fund of £11,000 for top journalists, broadcasters, bloggers and other communicators.

Entries are invited between now and September 7, and will be judged on how well they further the guild’s mission “to extend public knowledge and appreciation of beer and pubs”.

Judges this year are: Amy Bryant, food editor at The Telegraph; James Cuthbertson, managing director of Dark Star Brewery and founder of the Beer and Cider Marketing Awards; Stu McKinlay, co-founder of Yeastie Boys; Jenn Merrick, founder of Earth Station Brewery; Zoe Smith, retail correspondent at The Guardian; and Mark Taylor, Bristol-based food and drink writer. The current beer writer of the year, Adrian Tierney-Jones, chairs the panel.

Guild chairman, Tim Hampson, said: “We are excited about embarking once again on our annual awards, which not only reward those who excel in their field, but also help to raise the public profile of beer and pubs.

 

New award

 

“As the UK’s beer and pubs sector develops, so too do our awards. We are delighted to be introducing a new award this year in conjunction with Britain’s Beer Alliance, which recognises the vital role that pubs play at the heart of our communities. We look forward to receiving entries to this category that celebrate all that is great about the British pub.”

Entries are invited in nine categories, each carrying a prize of £1,000 for the winner and £500 for the runner-up, with the exception of the best writer about pubs and best citizen beer communicator awards, which give one prize of £1,000 only, and the corporate communications category, where entries are submitted by organisations rather than individuals and the winner receives a trophy.

More detail on how to enter can be found on the guild’s Awards page