New award launched for best beer broadcast
£1,000 prize for winner
The search is on for the nation’s best beer broadcaster after the British Guild of Beer Writers added a new broadcast category to its annual awards, in conjunction with There’s a Beer For That, the campaign that aims to reignite the nation’s love of beer.
The new There’s A Beer For That Beer Broadcast Award seeks to recognise and reward the individual making the best use of broadcast media to champion the quality, diversity and versatility of beer to new drinkers. The award comes with a £1,000 prize for the winner and entries can be radio, TV or online broadcasts.
Judging this year’s awards are: Sarah Bridge, leisure correspondent at the Mail on Sunday; Sheila Dillon, presenter of BBC’s The Food Programme; Toby Heasman, head brewer at Hall & Woodhouse; Nick Hewer, Countdown presenter and lately of The Apprentice and Larry Nelson, publisher of Brewers’ Guardian. Robert Humphreys MBE, a long-serving Guild committee member, chairs the panel.
Guild chairman Tim Hampson said, “We’re delighted to be working with There’s A Beer For That, whose aims are so closely aligned to the Guild’s ambitions. By creating this new award, they are enabling us to recognise the sterling work carried out by one more individual to raise the profile of our national drink.”
David Cunningham, Programme Director of There’s A Beer For That commented, “We’re very excited to announce our new award with the British Guild of Beer Writers. With a real renaissance in beer and increased media interest, the beer industry needs more broadcast savvy beer experts to ensure the positive story of beer reaches a wide audience. We hope to find and reward the person who is leading the way in this area, with our best beer broadcast award.”
The new award is included in the 2015 competition, which has a deadline of Friday 18 September. Entrants may submit up to six examples of their work which demonstrate their talent for communicating about beer. Nominations are also accepted, from colleagues, friends or admirers.
The Broadcast Award joins eight other categories, which aim to reward the best communication about beer and pubs in national, regional, trade and on-line media as well as writing about beer-related travel and food. The Young Beer Writer award, introduced last year, invites entries from writers up to the age of 35, while the corporate communications category recognises the work by many brewers and others to raise the profile of our national drink.
The winner and runner up in each category and the overall Beer Writer of the Year 2015 will be announced at the Guild’s annual Awards dinner, which is being held on Thursday 3 December at London’s Park Lane Hotel.
Entries must have been published between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2015 to be eligible. Full details of how to enter the Awards, including a list of the categories, criteria and downloadable entry and nomination forms, can be found on the British Guild of Beer Writers website http://www2.beerguild.co.uk/?page_id=2162
