Ladies and gentlemen,

welcome to the main event.

Last year, I teamed up with some kickass women from all corners of the country and various facets of the craft beer industry to present the first ever “20 Most Eligible Bachelors of Craft Beer”. After reviewing last’s year process, we made some tiny adjustments to this year’s competition, and added more women to the nomination committee and the judging panel.

All though the process was slightly tweaked, the basic qualifications and the judging criteria remained the same.

The basic qualifications were as such:

1. Must work for a craft brewery (all positions considered)
2. Must NOT be married (other relationship statuses accepted)

Now, this whole concept might sound simple, but I assure you that it is more complicated than it looks. We accepted nominations via Twitter, Facebook, the comment section on this site, email, etc. After sorting through the various nominations from the outside, adding more to the list from the inside, and then reviewing the previous year’s winners, we were able to narrow down the pool. Many men were evaluated, and only 20 made the final cut. The top 20 nominees were then submitted to a judging round, where they were each judge on three very specific criteria.

The judging criteria were as follows:

1. Industry Talent
2. Personality
3. Appearance

I hate to disappoint, but this was not a “beauty pageant” type contest. In fact, the qualification that had the most impact on the scores, and the overall rankings, was personality. Looks and talent can get you far, boys, but personality will get your further.

20 men of all ages and positions were scored and ranked — but only ONE man will take home the crown of Mr. Craft Beer 2012. Without any further ado, let me present the winners of the 2012….

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#20 Mr. Troy Casey

Photo Source: Facebook

Brewer, AC Golden Brewing Company

Golden, CO

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#19 Mr. Matt Cole

Photo Source: Cleveland.com

Brewmaster, Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon

Cleveland, OH

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#18 Mr. Brandon Borgel

Photo Source: Facebook

Director of Sales & Marketing, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers

San Francisco, CA

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#17 Mr. Randy Clemens

Photo Credit: Stone Brewing Co.

Media & Communications Linchpin, Stone Brewing Co.

Escondido, CA

Personal Twitter: @RandyClemensESQ

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#16 Mr. Doug Rehberg

Photo Source: Widmer

Brewer, Widmer Brothers Brewing

Portland, OR

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#15 Mr. Jared Rouben

Photo Source: Goose Island

Head Brewer, Goose Island Brewpubs‘

Chicago, IL

Personal Twitter: @jbrew312

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#14 Mr. Victor Novak

Photo Source: Facebook

Brewmaster, TAPS Fish House & Brewery

Brea, California

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#13 Mr. Michael Steffing

Photo Source: MyLastPint.com

Co-founder & brewer, Jester King Brewery

Ceres Park, TX

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#12 Mr. Noah Regnery

Photo Credit: MSN Today

Brewmaster, Hollister Brewing Co.

Hollister, CA

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#11 Mr. Matt Dauffenbach

Photo Source: Matt Dauffenbach

Colorado and Oklahoma Sales Manager / Craft Beer Evangelist at Tallgrass Brewing Company

Manhattan, KS

Personal Twitter: @mkdauff

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#10 Mr. Brent Cordle

Photo Source: FeastingFortCollins.com

Manager of the Pilot Brewhouse & Barrel-aging Program, Odell Brewing

Fort Collins, CO

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#9 Mr. Jason Yester

Photo Source: Facebook

President & Brewmaster, Trinity Brewing Company

Colorado Springs, CO

Personal Twitter: @SaisonMan

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#8 Mr. Ben Edmunds

Photo Source: OregonLive.Com

Brewmaster, Breakside Brewery

Portland, OR

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#7 Mr. Garrett Oliver

Photo Credit: Facebook

Brewmaster, Brooklyn Brewery

Brooklyn, NY

Personal Twitter: @GarrettOliver

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#6 Mr. Tyler King

Photo Source: Cal Poly Pomona

Brewmaster, The Bruery

Placentia, CA

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#5 Mr. Shaun O’ Sullivan

Photo Source: Facebook

Co-founder & Brewmaster, 21st Amendment

San Francisco, CA

Personal Twitter: @ShaunOSullivan

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#4 Mr. Jamie Floyd

Photo Source: Facebook

Co-founder & Brewmaster, Ninkasi Brewing Co.

Eugene, OR

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#3 Mr. Dustin Kral

Photo Source: Facebook

Head Brewer, Firestone Walker

Paso Robles, CA

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#2 Mr.  Adam Avery

Photo Credit: Imbibe Magazine

Founder & Brewmaster, Avery Brewing Co.

Boulder, CO

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And this year’s Most Eligible Bachelor of Craft Beer crown goes to….

MR. CRAFT BEER 2012

Colin Presby

Photo Source: Weyerbacher

Cellerman, Weyerbacher Brewing Co.

Easton, PA

Possesing one of the less glamorous positions in the industry, Colin’s duties include (but are not limited to) bottling, kegging, machine operator and mechanic, transferring of brews, cleaning crew, quality control, and helping out as a sales rep which includes bar events, beerfests, and liquor store tastings — all of which he does with ease, pride and joy.

Photo Source: Weyerbacher

(And meet Peggy: the three legged goat he helped rescue!)

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Well folks, that wraps up this year’s Bachelors of Craft Beer Competition! As you can see, we had quite a number of upsets — only eight men from the previous year made it to the top 20 this time around. The craft beer industry is ever evolving and this list will most likely continue to evolve with it. If we missed your favorite beer fella this year, make sure to leave a comment below, or send me an email to routson@gmail.com, so we can put him on our radar for next year.

Lastly, congrats to all the men that made this list. Although it was fun to objectify these lovely gentlemen, the overarching goal was to give credit where credit was do and promote some of the most talented and amiable men of craft beer in a fun and playful way.

According to its publisher, The Oxford Companion to Beer is the first major reference work to investigate the history and vast scope of beer. The 960 page book features more than 1,100 entries written by 166 of the world’s most prominent beer experts.

As you can imagine, writing such an all-encompassing, comprehensive piece of work can be a daunting, if not impossible, challenge. And sadly, because its bold assertions come with high expectations, the book has been receiving quite a bit of criticism, even being called a disaster.

When I was in college, I took two back to back Astronomy courses. In the first class, scientists discovered that Pluto had a moon. By the time I got to the second class, Pluto was no longer a planet. The moral of the story? Science isn’t perfect, history is objective, and humans make errors. People will find errors in this book, some will fight over facts, and there will be lots of opinions thrown around. However, it does not take away from the fact that this awesome book is an extremely valuable piece of work for our beer culture and society in general.

And for those of us who are technological inclined (read: dependent), Oxford University Press released a series of very short YouTube videos featuring Garrett Oliver, the primary author of the Oxford Companion to Beer, talking about some of the topics covered in the book. I found the videos quite perfect, short, sweet, to the point, with interesting and relevant content, leaving me craving more information and desiring to read the book to get more answers. And because I enjoyed the videos, I would like to share them with you all. If you have 10 minutes today, take the time to watch them. Cheers!

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What is “Craft Beer”?

Favorite Quote: “But to your average person, craft beer is beer that is particularly tasty”

The Rebirth of Beer Diversity

Favorite Quote: “What craft brewing really is is the rebirth of the diversity of beer.”

Inside the “Oxford Companion to Beer”

Favorite Quote: “Beer contains history, beer contains culture, and beer contains some of the more amusing moments of a lot of our lives.”

The Worldwide Craft Brewing Movement

Favorite Quote: “Craft beer is not really in some ways a new thing, but it is an evolving thing and it really takes in the entire world.”

The Science of Brewing

Favorite Quote: “A lot of things that you see around you became popular and necessary industrially because brewers needed it.”

Brewing in the Middle East

Favorite Quote: “Even places that no longer brew beer, like say Saudi Arabia, there was back in ancient times a beer culture.”

130-year-old Beer Tastes “Awesome”

Favorite Quote: “It tasted like a really beautiful old Madeira. It was really amazing.”

Why Beer is Better than Wine

Favorite Quote: “Beer has a much much wider range of flavor than wine does. In fact, it’s not even close. And the reason for this is actually quite simple. Brewing is a lot more closer to cooking than wine-making.”

Ladies and gentlemen,

welcome to the main event.

After weeks of nominations and eliminations, the 20 Most Eligible Bachelors of Craft Beer (2011) have been determined.

The basic qualifications were as such:

1. Must work for a craft brewery (all positions considered)
2. Must NOT be married (other relationship statuses accepted)

Many men were evaluated, and only 20 made the final cut.

The judging criteria were as follows:

1. Industry Talent
2. Personality
3. Appearance

20 men were scored and ranked — but only ONE man will take home the crown of “Mr. Craft Beer 2011.”

Without any further ado, let me present the winners of….

THE 20 MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELORS of CRAFT BEER 2011

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# 20 — Mr. James Watts

Founder, BrewDog

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# 19 — Mr. Dylan Lintern

Vice President, NOLA Brewing Company

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#18 — Mr. Chad Melis

Marketing Director, Oskar Blues

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#17 — Mr. Jon Carpenter

Brewer, Dogfish Head

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#16 — Mr. Eric Salazar

Brewer, New Belgium Brewing Company

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#15 — Mr. Colin Ferguson

Beer Jockey, Great Divide Brewing Company

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#14 — Mr. Tyler King

Brewmaster, The Bruery

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#13 — Mr. Jason Yester

President & Brewmaster, Trinity Brewing

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#12 — Mr. Jason Oliver

Brewmaster, Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company

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#11 — Mr. Matt Dauffenbach

Sales Manager & Evangelist, Tallgrass Brewing Company

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And now for the top ten most eligible men in the craft beer industry … drum roll please….

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#10 — Dr. Bill Sysak

FOH Beverage Supervisor, Stone Brewing Company

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#9 — Mr. Adam Avery

Founder & Brewmaster, Avery Brewing Company

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#8 — Mr. Jamie Floyd

Co-founder & Brewmaster, Ninkasi Brewing Company

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#7 — Mr. Greg Koch

CEO & Co-founder, Stone Brewing Company

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#6 — Mr. Garrett Oliver

Founder & Brewmaster, Brooklyn Brewery

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#5 — Mr. Joe Mohrfeld

Brewer, Odell Brewing Company

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#4 — Mr. Shaun “Sully” O’ Sullivan

Brewmaster & Co-Founder, 21st Amendment

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#3 — Mr. Kelly Ryan

Brewer, EPIC Beer

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#2 — Mr. Matt Bryndilson

Brewmaster, Firestone Walker Brewery

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#1

MR. CRAFT BEER 2011

NOAH REGNERY

Head Brewer, Pizza Port Brewing Company

Photo Credit: Facebook

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Well, there you have it. The most eligible bachelors of craft beer in 2011. But before all you ladies start bombarding these fine gentlemen with emails, facebook messages, text, tweets, etc… take heed because, unfortunately, many of them are in committed relationships.

BUT WAIT FOLKS. The fun DOES NOT stop here. As with the Miss America Pageant, we have decided to give some of these boys “special awards”… stay tuned for Mr. Congeniality, Mr. Best Dressed and more!