THE 2018 BREWDOG BEER GEEK AWARDS WINNERS

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Last Tuesday we hosted the mother of all geek-based celebrations at BrewDog Shoreditch, as invited beer fanatics from across the UK and Europe gathered in our East London bar to duke it out one last time (in some categories) or sit back and accept their rewards (in others). It was an amazing night filled with great beer, natty speeches and high drama.

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

First up was Social Media Geek, the category that produced last year’s overall champion Lena Olaussen (who was on the judging panel this time around). This award went to a geek that brilliantly blends photography and illustration in his Instagram feed @thecraftdiaries.

WINNER: DAVID HILL

The next category went to the most avid Beer Blogger we discovered in this year’s awards. The victor is a brilliant writer uncovering stories in one of the most brilliant cities in the world for beer. If you haven’t read the Brussels Beer City blog you should bookmark it immediately.

WINNER: EOGHAN WALSH

The third award to be determined was the Beer Reviewer Geek. Similar to the blogger award but one that rewards concise, critical thinking, our panel were unanimous that this reviewer is bringing down walls by writing without jargon on the epic Craft & Slice blog. (Yes, slice as in pizza…)

WINNER: MICHAEL WILSON

We then moved on to crowning the Brewery Hopper Geek! This award went to the ultimate brewery hopper, he visited more breweries than any other entrant; a staggering 90 different breweries!

WINNER: STEFFAN BRAUNER

Taking great pictures requires a great eye, steady hand, patience and above all, the ability to tell a story with imagery. The victor of the new Beer Photographer Geek Award is a master at that with a natural way of using light and perspective in his stunning blog Matt the List.

WINNER: MATT HICKMAN

Things then got even more interesting with the live final to determine the Beer Tasting Geek champion. With participants selected from the highest-scoring entrants from our bar rounds, the heat was seriously on with a final flight of five different styles to describe and identify. It was a close contest with a worthy winner!

WINNER: BRETT SHERET

The final award given out was the second live final – the Beer Scholar quiz to end all quizzes. In a head to head contest to answer as many beer-related questions correctly as possible in ten minutes, we had our winner – and the first back-to-back champion in Beer Geek Awards history!

WINNER: DAREN FEARON

All of the above are packing their bags and heading off to the awesome MASH festival in Barcelona later this year, but the night culminated in an even bigger award. We had to decide which of the winners above was deserving of the title of EUROPE’S BIGGEST BEER GEEK. That person would win an additional beery vacation to the epicentre of IPA – San Diego.

Our judges reconvened to deliberate and came to the conclusion that there could only be one winner. This geek’s enthusiasm is such that they elevate beer into an art form – both their blog on beer-related travels and their Instagram feed are packed with amazing content and stories that really draw you in. Of all our incredible finalists, he is a worthy champion.

EUROPE’S BIGGEST BEER GEEK: MATT HICKMAN

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 Matt’s work against the winner of the sister competition that took place on the same night in Columbus, Ohio. America’s Biggest Beer Geek was announced as beer blogger Bill Vanderburgh. 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!

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