It’s time to objectify showcase the extremely talented, charming and ever-handsome single men in the craft beer industry.
Every year, I team up with a group of kickass women (and some men) from all corners of the country and various facets of the craft beer industry to present “Most Eligible Bachelors of Beer” competition. We are now in our third year, which means that the kinks have been worked out.
Anyone can submit a nomination. Because the competition is stiff, we are asking that when and if people submit nominations, they give us as much information on the nominees as they can, including photos and brewery bios if possible. Although I will accept nominations from the comment section on this site, I prefer if nominations are submitted via this Survey Monkey poll.
The basic, bare minimum qualifications for nomination are as follows:
All men being considered will be individually judged (and ultimately, scored) on the following three measures:
1. Industry Talent: Although many of the men excel at other hobbies, this measure strictly speaks to the “industry impact” that these individuals have made. This can be evidenced by number of awards won, books written etc… The main question is: are they important and relevant in the craft beer industry? And how important and relevant are they?
2. Personality: Let’s face it, brewers (although adorable in their awkwardness) are not known for being social butterflies. However, a select few stand out from the crowd. These are the speakers that can steal a room, the men that can sweet talk you into drinking anything….the men that draw you like a moth to the flame.
3. Appearance: Being in the beer industry is less than glamorous, and those who make it look glamorous deserve a little bit of credit. Drinking beer for a living can adversely affect one’s health and physical fitness. Yet, there are some men who have gone above and beyond to ensure that they keep a beach-ready physique. And well, then there are those that are just adorable in their own awkwardly geeky ways.
Lastly, there are always questions and criticisms about this concept. Here is my attempt to address them:
Q: Why would a self-empowered, self-proclaimed feminist start a silly beauty pageant-like competition highlighting men in the beer industry?
A: Because I can. Because it’s fun. And because the boys deserve the promotion and praise.
Q: What about the Eligible Bachelorettes of Beer?
A: I’m totally down with supporting a Bachelorette of Beer competition and would gladly help anyone who wants to do it start it and execute it.
Q: What if the nominee has a girlfriend?
A: This is the complicated part of the entire competition, and one that either offends or flatters the girlfriends. The best bet is to ask the nominee or even the girlfriend of the nominee if they are cool with being nominated. Heck, I’ve had several girls even nominate their own boyfriends.
Q: What if I work in craft beer, but not for a brewery?
A: Opening up the search to include bartender, writers, distributors and bloggers would be overwhelming and extremely time consuming. This is why we are strictly focused on employees of breweries.
Q: Does age matter?
A: Of course not! Although younger men might be perceived as cuter, the older gents usually score higher on the talent portion, as a result of experience. We love featuring men from all different age brackets!
Q: Does sexual orientation matter?
A: Of course not! We don’t care if he is gay or straight, if he is single, we want him!
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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:
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:
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.
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Brewer, AC Golden Brewing Company
Golden, CO
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Brewmaster, Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon
Cleveland, OH
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Director of Sales & Marketing, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
San Francisco, CA
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Media & Communications Linchpin, Stone Brewing Co.
Escondido, CA
Personal Twitter: @RandyClemensESQ
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Brewer, Widmer Brothers Brewing
Portland, OR
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Head Brewer, Goose Island Brewpubs‘
Chicago, IL
Personal Twitter: @jbrew312
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Brewmaster, TAPS Fish House & Brewery
Brea, California
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Co-founder & brewer, Jester King Brewery
Ceres Park, TX
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Brewmaster, Hollister Brewing Co.
Hollister, CA
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Colorado and Oklahoma Sales Manager / Craft Beer Evangelist at Tallgrass Brewing Company
Manhattan, KS
Personal Twitter: @mkdauff
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Manager of the Pilot Brewhouse & Barrel-aging Program, Odell Brewing
Fort Collins, CO
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President & Brewmaster, Trinity Brewing Company
Colorado Springs, CO
Personal Twitter: @SaisonMan
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Brewmaster, Breakside Brewery
Portland, OR
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Brewmaster, Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
Personal Twitter: @GarrettOliver
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Brewmaster, The Bruery
Placentia, CA
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Co-founder & Brewmaster, 21st Amendment
San Francisco, CA
Personal Twitter: @ShaunOSullivan
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Co-founder & Brewmaster, Ninkasi Brewing Co.
Eugene, OR
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Head Brewer, Firestone Walker
Paso Robles, CA
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Founder & Brewmaster, Avery Brewing Co.
Boulder, CO
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And this year’s Most Eligible Bachelor of Craft Beer crown goes to….
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.
(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.
]]>After weeks of nominations and eliminations, the 20 Most Eligible Bachelors of Craft Beer (2011) have been determined.
The basic qualifications were as such:
Many men were evaluated, and only 20 made the final cut.
The judging criteria were as follows:
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….
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!
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