Celebrity Judges Hall of Fame

Celebrity Judges, comprised of Philly Beer Media, Brewmasters, and Famous Personalities within the Beer Community, are invited to serve on the illustrious Philly Beer Geek Judging Panel each year. Judges are Amicus Curiae and are not compensated for their service as Philly Beer Geek Judges. These individuals have made a significant mark in the industry and are honored as the most dedicated people in the business of beer.

Celebrity Judges Hall of Fame - Year Served

Carol Stoudt of Stoudts Brewing, Adamstown - 2008

Carol Stoudt of Stoudts Brewing Company in Adamstown, Pennsylvania is unsurpassed among the pride of brewers. In 1987, she became the first woman to found her own microbrewery and has cut an admirable path as an adventurous entrepreneur in this business genre. Adhering to the highest standards of creating award-winning beer, she has developed a tantalizing array of brews - from Scarlett Lady ESB to Fat Dog Stout - while emerging as one of the most active members in the brewing community. She received the 2005 Brewers Association Recognition Award during the Brewers Association Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia. Located in the beautiful Stoudtsburg Village in Adamstown, Stoudts Brewing Company is a gem with an air of sophistication in the artisanal world of beer.

Tom Dalldorf of Celebrator Beer News, Berkeley, California - 2008

This is Tom Dalldorf, a legend within the craft-beer industry. He is the supreme reflection of West Coast living: laid-back, progressive, energetic, high-spirited, unconventional, cosmopolitan, and fun-loving - all rolled up into one. You may call him the epitome of the beer-taster with a discerning palate, an icon in the beer industry… yet light-hearted enough to revel in an impromptu jam session as he belts out his classic Goin' to Philly City with the Rolling Boil Blues Band.
http://www.celebrator.com/rb3

The San Francisco Chronicle calls him "quick-witted and impassioned," one who has gathered a following of loyalists over twenty years as publisher, editor and columnist of Celebrator Beer News, the oldest running publication of its kind in the United States.

Suzanne Woods of Phillys In Pursuit of Ale Womens Beer Club - 2008 - 2009

Suzanne Woods is the founder of Philadelphia's women's beer club, In Pursuit of Ale (IPA Club), established to educate women about beer and to expand the beer palates of women in the best beer bars in Philly. She schedules speakers to present informative sessions to her membership, and has organized homebrew sessions with Home Sweet Homebrew of Center City.

She fits well in media events, attracting beer journalists with her enthusiasm and pride in her growing sisterhood. She has been the subject of articles in Philadelphia Weekly, BeerAdvocate.com and the Don Russell's Daily News column, "Joe Sixpack." She has also appeared on Sirius Satellite Beer Radio and Ed Hitzel's radio show from Somers Point, NJ.

Larry Horwitz of Iron Hill Brewery, North Wales - 2008 - 2009

If you were to research the term "professional brewer," you would find Larry Horwitz, Brewmaster at Iron Hill Brewery in North Wales, Pennsylvania, as the definition. Not only is he a walking, talking encyclopedia of brewing information, but he also understands the magic involved in the creation of great beer. He is well-versed in areas of water chemistry, ions in brewing, malt and adjuncts, mash biochemistry, and the alpha acids and essential oils found in humulus lupus, or hops. In addition to his duties brewing great beer at Iron Hill, he also teaches Beer Judge Certification Classes and breaks a difficult subject down into digestible morsels.

Dave Alexander of the Brickskeller, Washington, D.C. - 2008

Dave Alexander, owner of the Brickskeller and RFD in Washington, DC is a legend in his own right, the first American beer bar owner to be inducted into the Knighthood of the Brewers Mastshaff in Belgium. The Brickskeller is the ne plus ultra in the world of beer bars, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for "the most varieties of beer commercially available…[having] added 1,072 to the list since 1983." Within walking distance of Dupont Circle and Embassy Row, it is filled with a medley of variably-styled patrons - college professors and students from Georgetown, ambassador types, tourists, authors and neighborhood beer geeks. Such a reputation has attracted beer aficionados since opening in 1957.

Jack Curtin, Philly Beer Journalist - 2008

Seasoned Philadelphia beer journalist Jack Curtin, asserts that Philadelphia has developed a reputation for being the best beer city in the country, and perhaps the world. In the business for longer than William Penn has been standing on City Hall (okay, I may be exaggerating a bit), Jack has proven himself in the business of journalistic excellence. He promotes breaking news at The Beeryard website, Wayne, PA, is the "Eastern Pennsylvania" columnist for Mid-Atlantic Brewing News, and serves as the "Atlantic Ale Trail" columnist for Celebrator Beer News of Berkeley, California. In addition to keeping his blog current, daily, at Liquid Diet - The Blog, he contributes regularly to American Brewer.

Tom Kehoe of Yard's, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 2008

Yards was founded in 1994 in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia by Tom Kehoe and a buddy from his college days. Originally, Yards focused on brewing British-style Cask Conditioned Ales, but expanded its repertoire as demand grew. Tom Kehoe recently moved his brewing operation to 901 N. Delaware Ave, where he continues to brew beer that makes Philadelphia legendary in the world of the brewers' craft. The late Michael Jackson, legendary Beer Hunter and worldwide authority on beer, proclaimed Yard's ESA as a beer he "couldn't get enough of." In partnership with Philadelphia's historic colonial restaurant, The City Tavern, Yards has proudly reproduced three historically correct Ales using the authentic recipes brewed by founding fathers Ben Franklin, General Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Bruce Williams, Williams Brothers Brewing Company, Scotland - 2008

In 1986 Bruce Williams, a brewer and "homebrew" shop owner in Scotland, began making batches of Heather Ale using an old recipe. Into the boiling bree of malted barley, sweet gale and flowering heather are added, then after cooling slightly the hot ale is poured into a vat of freash heather flowers where it infuses for an hour before being fermented in copper turns. Once the formula was perfected, Bruce began selling Fraoch throughout Scotland and England and it is now available internationally.

Dr. Joel Armato of New Holland Brewing Company, New Holland, Michigan, USA - 2009

Dr. Joel Armato is a Regional Beer Ambassador for New Holland Brewing Company. He shakes his tail across state lines from South Street to South Carolina in an effort to raise awareness about his brewery's Art In Fermented Form. He is the creator and gatekeeper of The Grain Bill Beer Blog, which covers the wide range of beer happenings in his life. He homebrews when he is home long enough for a brew session and absolutely loves Saisons. Good beer and food pairings give him goose bumps. His idea of romance involves hydrometers, muslin bags, and tulip glasses. He is as much a Doctor as you are an Astronaut, but the name has stuck with him for years and he doesn't intend on giving it up anytime soon.

Lew Bryson As Seen Through a Glass, Drinks Writer - 2009

Lew Bryson comes to us as the award-winning, beer-drinking, whiskey-sipping, brewery-visiting, cask-tapping, thirst-creating drinks writer. With his sassy wit and infectious laugh, Lew seizes the stage with readers and audiences alike. His books include a series of brewery guidebooks: New Jersey Breweries; Pennsylvania Breweries; Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Breweries; and New York Breweries. Lew rambles on at As Seen through a Glass, where he presents his audacious perspective on whiskey, beer tasting, bar openings and the laws that govern drink. Abolish the PLCB? Ask Lew!

Scoats - Owner, Grey Lodge Pub, Philadelphia - 2009

Scoats is a sagacious genius, esprit savant, and intuitive talent all wrapped up in one - perhaps, the "finest Publican in all of Philadelphia." With 13 as his lucky number, The Grey Lodge Pub will celebrate 13 years in August, 2009. Friday the Firkinteenth is, perhaps, this Lodgemaster's most brilliant invention. Now a registered trademark of The Grey Lodge Pub, Friday the Firkinteenth is a special one-night event celebrating cask-conditioned ales, exclusively held on each Friday the 13th, giving this event "limited-edition" status. Groundhog Day Hawaiian Shirt Beer Breakfast also stands as one of his most popular creations, one in which beer lovers gather at 7am to watch Punxatawney Phil's prognostication and to drink great rare beer. Events in which people stick things into Flying Fish Head Brewer Casey Hughes also seem to be popular.

Steve Robson, Philly Beer Geek 2008, sponsored by Iron Hill
Brewery & Restaurant, North Wales, PA - 2009

Steve Robson, Philly Beer Geek 2008 can't believe the year has passed so quickly. His attendance at festivals, beer dinners, homebrew competitions, and milling about the Philly Beer Scene will serve him well in his new role as Illustrious Philly Beer Geek Judge.

Read about Philly Beer Geek 2008 Steve Robson here.

Don Russell - aka Joe Sixpack - Award-winning Philly Beer Journalist, Author & Co Founder of Philly Beer Week - 2009

Joe Sixpack is Don Russell, winner of the 2006 Brewers Association Beer Journalism Award in Consumer Print, and roving brewsman for over ten years at the Philadelphia Daily News. He is the author of "Joe Sixpack's Philly Beer Guide: A Reporter's Notes on the Best Beer-Drinking City in America", where his caricature stands, inked throughout the book in a dozen humorous settings by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Signe Wilkinson. His newest book, "Christmas Beer: The Cheeriest, Tastiest, and Most Unusual Holiday Brews," is a must for those who seek out the best in Seasonal Beers. As co-founder of Philly Beer Week, Don proves his status as a major-league player in the Philly beer scene.

Whitney Thompson - Brewer, Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, PA - 2009

Whitney Thompson is currently a professional brewer with Victory Brewing Company Downingtown, Pennsylvania. She has had the pleasure of discharging her craft at Troegs Brewing Company, Appalachian Brewing Company, Harrisburg Pa, Ernst August Brauhaus Hannover Germany and as a Lab Technician for Star Hill Crozet Virgina. She is currently Technical Director Master Brewer's Association of the Americas District Philadelphia, and a member of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, London England. Whitney has a B.S. In Biology with a focus in Microbiology from Bridgewater College and is a proud member of the Pink Boots Society. She likes travel, playing in the outdoors, and drinking beer with friends in Philadelphia where she resides currently with her husband and two cats.

Chris Firey - Brewmaster, Manayunk Brewing Company - 2009

Chris Firey began his brewing career in a college dorm room 15 years ago. Notwithstanding some lackluster results, he began managing a successful homebrew supply shop in The Mall of America in Minneapolis, and ultimately opened his own shop, Southern Maryland Homebrew, in Benedict, Maryland. Upon successful sale of SMH, Chris graduated at the top of his class, from the last Residential Class at the American Brewers Guild, in Woodland, California . He took an apprenticeship under Bill Madden at Capitol City Brewing Company in Baltimore and gained several years experience as an assistant brewer. Chris then moved to Pennsylvania to work for Victory Brewing Company where he participated in a vast expansion from 8,000 to almost 40,000 barrels/yr over a four year period. He now resides with Manayunk Brewing Company where he has implemented many upgrades and manages production of over 2,000-bbls/year, sold both in-house and to off-site accounts.