JUDGING PROCESS & CRITERIA

The British Guild of Beer Writers is the world’s most prestigious set of awards for beer writing. About £20,000 of prize money is given out to writers from around the globe for their articles and broadcasts about beer, cider, and pubs.

There are multiple categories each year, with the winners taking home £1,000 and runner-ups taking home £500. From the winners, the judges choose an overall Beer Writer of the Year. The awards are presented at our annual dinner, held in late November.

Process

With so much at stake, the Guild board has made huge efforts to ensure the judging process is as independent, unbiased, and fair as possible. This starts with a diverse, experienced and knowledgeable judging panel, which is chaired by the previous year’s Beer Writer of the Year. The other nine judges are chosen by an independent company contracted to organise the awards, with limited feedback from the elected Guild board. Efforts are made to get a broad range of background, role, and seniority – with a notable focus on judges outside the beer and cider industries.

Judges are not allowed to enter the awards, or to judge a category where they might be conflicted. Once the judges are selected, entries open on the Guild website, usually around June. Entry is free to Guild members, while there is a fee for non-members, and entries close in August unless there is an extension. Entrants can enter one piece into as many categories as they like, but can only enter the same piece twice. The categories and their criteria are listed below.

There are three rounds of judging. The first is done by the chair and two experienced editors from the panel. Together they slim down entries to those with the potential to be shortlisted. At this point, every judge is given two or three categories to analyse. They are given around a month to choose a shortlist of between three and six, at which point they meet with the other judges of those categories to decide on a joint shortlist.

For the final round, all the judges read the work on each of the shortlists to find their personal winners and runner-ups. The judges then meet up to decide the definitive winners, runner-ups, and an overall prize for the Beer Writer of the Year. The shortlists are announced a few weeks before the Guild dinner, and the winners are unveiled on the night.

The Categories & Criteria

With the incredible diversity in beer, brewing, cider, and pub culture, each category and each piece entered is judged on its own merits by the panel. However, a few themes often come up in the winners:

Originality: This is relative of course – the big themes in beer and pubs are written about year after year. But the awards reward fresh perspectives. Knowledge and authority about the subject might seem essential but can be beaten by an inspiring cry from the heart from a new arrival to the world of beer.
Clarity and readability: In order to communicate well, you need to communicate clearly. It helps enormously if you are clear, engaging, and accessible to anyone who may read, watch, or listen to your content.
Insight: In an industry where many stories have been told before, finding new narratives and approaches and shedding light on something in a way that enriches or educates the reader is the key to winning entries.
Passion: If you’re not that interested in your subject, it’s doubtful you’ll persuade anyone else to be. In the best writing, the love or respect for beer and pubs is obvious – and infectious.

The categories are reviewed annually by the Guild board according to their relevancy, feedback from the Guild and judges, and the number of entries. The ultimate aim is to offer all kinds of beer communicators the chance to be awarded for their work, as well as to fulfil the key aims of the Guild, which can be read here. In 2025 the categories and entry rules are as follows:

Best Commissioned Beer Writing

Kindly sponsored by Greene King

This award is for written (not audio/video/photography) work that has been commissioned by a publication such as a newspaper, magazine, or other publication in print or online, rather than self-published. The best entries both inform and entertain the reader about the chosen topic, while also being perfect for the publication and target audience.

Best Short-Form Beer Writing

Kindly sponsored by Shepherd Neame

This award is open to self-published and commissioned work that is around, or less than, 1,000 words. It could be published in a newspaper, magazine, blog, newsletter, or on a social platform such as Instagram. The best entries in this category will show an ability to entertain and educate in a concise manner, making the most of the platform used.

Best Technical Communication about Beer

This award is for communication that digs into the process of brewing, serving, or drinking beer. This could include anything from in-depth beer reviews, to homebrew podcasts and videos – as well as detailed pieces about ingredients and technique. Academic articles are also welcomed. The best entries will inform and interest the reader by making more technical topics digestible, while also being perfect for the publication and target audience.

Best Book about Beer or Pubs

Kindly sponsored by HEINEKEN

This category recognises the vibrant beer and pub books sector and gives them their own platform. Submissions are welcome from authors, photographers, and illustrators, and publishers can nominate one of their books. The best entries are iconic, utterly original works that add to the wealth of beer books already on the shelf.

Best Audio or Video Beer Communication

Kindly sponsored by Fuller, Smith & Turner

This award seeks to recognise and reward the individual making the best use of audio or video media to communicate about beer and pubs. Open to podcasts, audio documentaries, radio programmes and other audio, YouTube videos, TV programmes, films, and other videos. The best entries combine technical delivery with entertainment, education and editorial that makes the most of the medium. On top of that they show excellent recording, editing and broadcasting skills to show the content in the best light.

Best Communication about No and Low Alcohol Beer

Kindly sponsored by Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I

This award rewards the best written, audio, video, or photography work about low and no alcohol beer, including press articles in trade or consumer-facing publications, blogs, radio or TV broadcasts, podcasts or any other communication that reports on this topic. The best entries take a fresh approach to this important and fast-growing area of brewing and drinking.

Best Communication about Sustainability in Beer and Pubs

Kindly sponsored by Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company

This award rewards the best written, audio, video, or photography work about sustainability in the beer and pubs sector. Submissions can be press articles in trade or consumer-facing publications, blogs, radio or TV broadcasts, podcasts or any other communication that reports on this topic. The best entries go beyond championing those who take sustainability seriously and put their achievements (or lack thereof) in the context of the wider industry and world.

Best Communication about Beer and Travel

Kindly sponsored by VISITFLANDERS

We’re looking for written, audio, video, or photography work about beers and or/pubs and bars you’ve experienced while travelling, either abroad or in the UK. The best entries will have a strong sense of place and create a thirst for the beers enjoyed there.

Best Beer News & Business Communicator

Kindly sponsored by St Austell

To win this award, we’re looking for written, audio, video or photography work about the business of pubs or beer, whether in feature or news form. Previously the Beer Business Communication award, this award looks to champion the best communication with a specific topic and journalistic outlook, with a strong focus on topical news or a recent change in the industry.

Best Self-Published Beer Writing

This award is for written (not audio/video/photography) work that has been self-published rather than commissioned, including books, blogs, social media posts, website pieces, etc. Blogs and websites will be judged on both the quality of the writing and the design – as both are important in enthusing readers. Please DON’T simply send us the url to your blogsite – if you want to win, you should select the post you’re most proud of.

Best New or Citizen Beer Communicator

This award is open to anyone who has never communicated (writing, audio, video, photography, PR, social media, training, marketing, etc.) about beer in a professional capacity, or has been doing so for less than two years. Entries for this category can be written, audio, photography or video. The best entries show a writer with fresh ideas, beautiful forms of communication and a passion for the topic that competes with the best communication from the other awards.

No fee is required to enter this category.

The Susanna Forbes Award for Best Communication about Cider

Kindly sponsored by National Association of Cider Makers

This award is open to written, audio, video, or photography work about cider and cider making. Print or online articles, radio or TV broadcasts, and podcasts can all be submitted. The best entries both inform and entertain the reader about the chosen topic, while also being perfect for the publication and target audience.

Best Communication about Diversity in Beer

Kindly sponsored by The British Guild of Beer Writers

This award is open to written, audio, video, or photography work dealing with issues of diversity in the world of beer and pubs (e.g. age, gender, gender identity, sexuality, race, religion, ability, and other aspects of diversity). The best entries go beyond championing those who take diversity seriously and put their achievements (or lack thereof) in the context of the wider industry and world, as well as telling stories previously untold by other writers or broadcasters.

No fee is required to enter this category.

Best Beer Publisher

This category is open to newspapers, magazines and websites that commission work from communicators, as well as businesses who have created content for the specific purpose of promoting a business or product. Entries can in any medium, and be aimed at internal, trade, or consumer audiences, and entrants should demonstrate how their work has achieved the organisation’s communications objectives.

NB: the winner of this award receives a trophy but no prize money.