THE 2018 BREWDOG BEER GEEK AWARDS USA WINNERS

As so often is the case, our epic taproom in Columbus was the epicentre of a gathering of geeks this past Tuesday, as we hosted the live final of the US BrewDog Beer Geek Awards. Held the same evening as our sister event in London, our Ohioan tilt was an amazing night punctuated by many, many craft beers.

In case you weren’t there – here are the winners of the 2018 BrewDog Beer Geek Awards…

Social Media Geek hit the front first and the champ in this category demonstrated an awesome eye for capturing beer on their @grassowhat Instagram feed, and also portraying behind the scenes looks at breweries and mega road trips on their amazing YouTube channel.

WINNER: ALISON GRASSO

The next category looked at the ultimate Beer Blogging Geek, and this award went to a writer who has visited and reviewed every brewery and taproom in San Diego. Just let that sink in for a while. With their easy style and open and honest discussion, check out CraftBeerinSanDiego.com.

WINNER: BILL VANDERBURGH

Next up, Beer Reviewer Geek and although this was a tough category to call, our judges loved one of the entrants above all others – a married couple’s adventures through beer, documented three times a week on their epic YouTube channel Til Beer Do Us Part!

WINNER: DAN AND LIZZIE SCHNELL

We then moved on to crowning the Brewery Hopper Geek. This award went to the ultimate brewery hopper, they visited more breweries than any other entrant; a staggering 249 different breweries!

WINNER: DANIELLE HAUPERS

The next award is the only new category for 2018 but it generated a huge number of incredible entries. The Beer Photographer Geek Award was won by an entrant who displayed a perfect eye for capturing something special in the everyday, particularly with their wonderful homebrew portfolio.

WINNER: DANIELLE COCKERELL

Two awards to go and the penultimate given out was the Beer Tasting Geek award. We pooled all of the scores from our bar-based flight challenge and the person who came out on top for accuracy and epic descriptions deservedly went home with the prize.

WINNER: SHANE KING

Finally we checked the numbers for the toughest two minutes in beer – the online quick fire quiz to determine the Beer Scholar Geek. With over thirty questions to answer in 120 seconds, there’s no time to think. The person with the best beery knowledge won out in the end!

WINNER: SHINYOUNG KWON

All of the above are packing their bags and heading off to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in September, but the night culminated in an even bigger award. We had to decide which of the winners above was deserving of the title of AMERICA’S BIGGEST BEER GEEK. That person would win an additional beery vacation to the best beer destination on earth – Belgium.

Our judges put their heads together one last time and checked each of the category winners against the other. Taking a second look at the worthy winners made a single entrant really stand out. For their dedication, deliberation and sheer stamina, the overall US champ is deservedly the man putting in the miles in California – congratulations Bill. Enjoy those Belgian taprooms!

AMERICA’S BIGGEST BEER GEEK: BILL VANDERBURGH

The last item of contention took place away from the bright lights and commotion of the ceremony. We asked our judges for a final, near-impossible, act of judgement. They pitted Bill’s work against the winner of the sister competition that took place on the same night in London. Europe’s Biggest Beer Geek was announced as beer photographer Matt Hickman. Our panel put their work side by side to select a supreme champion.

WORLD’S BIGGEST BEER GEEK: MATT HICKMAN

Matt blew away our judging panel (and us!) with his amazing photographs, capturing beer in all its glory in a way that made you want to be there in the pictures themselves!

Congratulations to Matt and all of the winners of the 2018 BrewDog Beer Geek Awards. Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter, and if you have what it takes to take home the bacon next year then look out in 2019 when the Beer Geek Awards returns!