What is the one thing you'd like to tell visitors to the Guild's website?
Winner of Best Citizen Beer Communicator at the Guild Awards in 2023, Joey Leskin has a mission: to make the world of beer accessible to more diverse audiences and the everyday drinker. His project, Beer In The City, inspires people like him from outside of the industry to drink independent beer made locally, while being entertained and learning a bit about it – whether it’s their first beer or their 1000th. He creates brewery guides for cities worldwide, runs immersive beer-themed events and writes articles that tell beer like it is.
What you can offer as a writer/beer lover?
An outlook on beer, breweries and accessibility that you might not hear from inside the industry: how to increase the appeal of independent beer to a wider audience.
What do you like most about being a Guild of Beer Writers member?
The ability to interact with other communicators on a level playing field; Learning from experienced writers and editors about what publications are looking for and how to refine my beer writing.
A guide to the seemingly infinite beer style dictionary for someone who enjoys a simple tipple but thinks the word mouthfeel sounds unnecessarily suggestive.
“You wouldn’t believe the number of tourists who only stick to the bars in sight of their cruise ship. We get barely a trickle up the hill, so we started this shuttle”. Matt, of Alaskan Brewing, stroked his predictably long beard. “I love bringing people up on it, though. Means I can play tour guide a bit too. Did you know we call bald eagles ‘Alaskan Pigeons’ because there are so many of them here?”.