David Jesudason has been named Beer Writer of the Year at the British Guild of Beer Writers’ annual awards
- Guild Secretary
- 16 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Taking place last night at Big Penny Social in London, The British Guild of Beer Writers celebrated the best work from beer, pub and cider journalists, bloggers, broadcasters and all-around communicators.
Work was entered into 14 separate categories for a chance to win an esteemed award and prize money, with judges reviewing 214 pieces of work. All entries were judged by the Guild’s independent panel, composed of Ruvani de Silva , Beer Writer of the Year and Chair of Judges; award-winning journalist and Certified Cicerone®, Melissa Cole, celebrated wine writer, television presenter and broadcaster, Oz Clarke OBE, Queena Wong, recently named No. 5 in the Drinks Retailing Top 100 Most Influential People in Drinks for 2025 and founder of Curious Vines, a community supporting women in the wine industry; Vinny Rosario, co-founder of Moonwake Beer Co.; Dominic Driscoll, production manager at Thornbridge Brewery; Sian Meades-Williams, travel and food writer and award-winning author; Phil Douglas, joint managing director at Brewlab; Hannah Guinness, drinks writer and senior multimedia sub-editor at Olive and Good Food magazines; and Lucy Do, owner of The Dodo Micropub.
David won the Gold award in the Best Communication about Diversity in Beer as well as Best Self-published Beer Writing. He also won a Silver award for best communication about sustainability in beer and pubs.
It’s the second time David Jesudason is awarded the prestigious accolade as he was named Beer Writer of the Year 2023.
Discussing this year’s awards, Chair of judges and former Beer Writer of the Year Ruvani de Silva said,
‘David's work demonstrates beer writing at its very best. His stories are compelling and impactful and his writing engaging and accessible. David's exemplary skills as an investigative journalist and the care he takes in his storytelling set an incredibly high standard of what beer writing can be, and the judging panel were deeply impressed with his exceptional output over the last year covering a broad range of topics and outlets. Congratulations David, 2025 Michael Jackson Beer Writer of the Year!’
The ceremony started with a Lifetime Achievement Award for the late Martyn Cornell, received by his brother, Dave. This was followed by the Brewer of the Year, sponsored by SIBA, and presented to Andy Parker from Elusive Brewing. Elusive was also awarded the new Beer of the Year award for Oregon Trail.
The full list of 2025 Awards winners (with credits in italics) are:
Best Audio or Video Beer Communication - Sponsored by Fuller, Smith & Turner
Gold: Breandán Kearney - How Westvleteren 12 Accidentally Became “The Best Beer In The World” (Ep52 of the Belgian Smaak Podcast) (photo credit: Jonny Garrett)
Silver: Matthew Curtis - The Pellicle Podcast Ep59 — The State of Independence
Highly Commended: Marverine Cole - Beer Expert Marverine Cole Visits 175-year-old Hook Norton (ITV Love Your Weekend-Alan Titchmarsh)
Best Beer News & Business Communicator - Sponsored by St Austell
Gold: Matthew Curtis - Short Measure — Are Suggestions To Scrap The British Pint Rooted In Classism?
Silver: Andy Crouch - Why Craft Beer Needs a New Generation of Beer Bars
Highly Commended: James Beeson - Why Black beer is back in fashion
Best Beer Publisher
Gold: Pellicle Magazine
Best Book about Beer or Pubs - Sponsored by Heineken
Gold: Christina Wade - Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland
Silver: Andy Parker & Jamil Zainasheff - The Modern Homebrewer (credit: CAMRA Books)
Best Commissioned Beer Writing - Sponsored by Green King
Gold: Lucy Corne - Endangered Flavors
Silver: Katie Mather - These Wooden Ideas — The Incomparable Theakstons’ Old Peculier
Highly Commended: Rachel Hendry - Timothy Taylor’s Landlord — A Polyptych of a Pint
Best Communication about Beer and Travel - Sponsored by Visit Flanders
Gold: Joey Leskin - Down To The River We Ride — The Emergence of Independent Beer in Thailand
Silver: Fred Garratt-Stanley - Cinque Ports — How Medieval Law Shaped the Pubs of Rye, East Sussex
Highly Commended: Claire Bullen - Fill All Fruit With Ripeness — Jitka Ilčíková’s Wild Creatures in Moravia, Czech Republic
Best Communication about Cider - Sponsored by the National Association of Cider Makers
Gold: Laura Hadland - Cider Review: How do you fingerprint an apple
Silver: Gabe Cook - World of Cider: Asturias (credit: CAMRA Learn & Discover)
Highly Commended: Rachel Hendry & Anaïs Lecoq - Cidre Breton — One Iconic Cider From Both Sides Of The Channel
Best Communication about Diversity in Beer - Sponsored by The British Guild of Beer Writers
Gold: David Jesudason - The Rise of The Micropub
Silver: Rachel Hendry - Cask: A social perception, by Rachel Hendry (credit: CAMRA Learn & Discover)
Best Communication about No and Low Alcohol Beer - Sponsored by Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I
Gold: Rob Fink - A Direction of Travel
Silver: Martin Dixon - AF Valhalla - Has Sweden Got It Right With Alcohol Free Beer?
Highly Commended: Laura Hadland - Alcohol free: situation normal?
Best Communication about Sustainability in Beer and Pubs - Sponsored by Carlsberg Britvic
Gold: Breandán Kearney - From grain to green: the sustainable shift in Belgian brewing
Silver: David Jesudason - Pint pioneers: is this the future of sustainable beer? - Wicked Leeks
Best New or Citizen Beer Communicator - Sponsored by Harvey’s Tom Payne
Gold: Tori Powell - Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland (episode 228) (credits: A Woman's Brew Podcast (Tori Powell & Joanne Love) and Dr Christina Wade (author of Filthy Queens))
Best Self-Published Beer Writing
Gold: David Jesudason - The Black Boy pub, Tottenham - ‘It was disempowering and shaming’
Silver: Em Sauter - Pairing Beer With Everything (Book)
Best Short-Form Beer Writing
Gold: Cliff Lucas - Oud Arsenaal - Café Society
Silver: Laura Hadland - What's Brewing - Trigger warning: sexual violence and rape
Highly Commended: Katie Mather - My Favourite Pub is a Petrol Station
Best Technical Communication about Beer - Sponsored by WSET
Gold: Pete Brown - Tasting Notes (credit: CAMRA)
Silver: David Nilsen - Pulp Nonfiction: The True Story of Brewing with Cacao Fruit
Highly Commended: Tim O'Rourke - The role & evolution of yeast in brewing: Presentation + Associated Slides
Brewer of the Year - Sponsored by SIBA
Winner: Andy Parker - Elusive Brewing
Beer of the Year
Winner: Oregon Trail - Elusive Brewing
The Michael Jackson Award for Beer Writer of the Year - Sponsored by The British Guild of Beer Writers
Winner: David Jesudason
The British Guild of Beer Writers is grateful to the following sponsors, whose support makes possible our annual awards and dinner: Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I, Carlsberg Britvic, Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC, Greene King, Harvey’s, HEINEKEN UK, Shepherd Neame, St Austell Brewery, SIBA, VISITFLANDERS, WSET, Tūn Brewing, Business France, National Association of Cider Makers, Simpsons Malt and Barney’s Beer
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Notes to Editors
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About the British Guild of Beer Writers
The British Guild of Beer Writers was formed in 1988 to help spread the word about beers, brewing and pubs. With close to 300 individual members and 60+ corporate members, its mission is “to improve the standards of beer writing and improve the public knowledge of beer and pubs.” Its members include the cream of the country’s beer communicators – be they journalists, authors, bloggers, producers, photographers, broadcasters, illustrators, or PR consultants. Corporate members of the Guild include brewers, brand owners, distributors, pub companies, and many suppliers associated with the brewing trade.