William Simmons

Kent, United Kingdom

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

I have over 30 years of experience in the brewing industry and have worked with regional brewers including Samuel Smith, Batemans, Ruddles, Caledonian, and Fullers. This was mainly on the commercial side, but with good access to the production side, too.

Ten years ago I decided to set up my own consultancy to use my expertise in off-trade, free trade, national accounts, and export to support the growing craft brewery industry. Passionate about this marketplace, I have worked closely with breweries such as Beavertown, Wimbledon, Old Dairy, and Westerham, as well as supporting a mobile canning operation with routes to market.

I have ten years of judging experience after being mentored by Derek Prentice and John Keeling. I also judge food at the Quality Food Awards and World Steak Challenge. Beer matters because it’s part of everyday life, and the pub is integral to this in the UK. My passion is and always will be great cask beer. It’s the food of life itself and should never be taken for granted. I love talking over a pint about beer to my dear friends and colleagues across the globe.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

I judge at the World Beer Cup because it’s the most prestigious competition on the planet. The sheer quality and quantity of the entries is mind-boggling. Getting together with likeminded people from many different countries and sharing views and knowledge is essential for one’s education. The beer community is very diverse and the people are all knowledgeable and friendly, and willing to share their knowledge. It also makes me very proud that I am considered to be one of those chosen few to participate.

Michael König

Bavaria, Germany

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

In 2011, I started as a beer blogger out of love for this topic. At this point in time, craft beer also took off in Germany. Through my blog I had built up a large network with many breweries in a short time. In 2013, I became a beer sommelier at Doemens and in 2014 I switched full-time to an online shop for craft beer. Since 2016 I have been head beer sommelier or brand ambassador for Maisel & Friends at the Gebr. Maisel brewery, a dream job. Beer is my hobby, passion, and profession … my life. I love trying new beers, talking about beer, and discovering beer every day.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

The World Beer Cup is the best beer competition in the world. Sitting at the table as a judge and talking about beer with many well-known beer personalities is an honor and fills me with pride. As a judge at the World Beer Cup you determine the best beers in the world. How cool is that? It is the best job in the world.

Julia Herz

Colorado, United States

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

When I was little, I had a soap and perfume collection. My dad traveled for work, and he’d bring back soaps, while my mom would bring perfume samples. I would smell them, feel the texture, and consider the shapes, colors, and ingredients. I also paid attention to my dad’s imported beers in the fridge and the food my mom was cooking. Based on aroma, I’d try to guess what was for dinner while I was upstairs in my bedroom. That was all the stage I needed to become a judge.

When I moved to Colorado, I had been homebrewing and started to become interested in what judges were doing. The bottom line is that I followed my interests and worked to learn sensory techniques about hedonics and beer styles. To me, beer is the most incredible beverage to judge because it is limitless in ingredient possibilities. Judges are instruments for what we perceive, and our job is to tap into what we sense, relay that back to the entrant, and share where it meets or misses the style guidelines—kind of like a lawyer interpreting the law. 😊

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

Working to the level of being accepted and invited back to judge the World Beer Cup is a career highlight. Every time I judge, I learn and grow, and the WBC is unique because it has the most robust collection of international beer judges of any competition I can point to. Judging with peers from the same country is different from judging with judges from around the world. We help each other shed more “style bias” when judging from different cultural lenses. Hands down, the WBC is *the* judge invitation to snag. I like to tell new judges the only way to get invited is to put in the work, study, taste, brew, and apply.

Andres Quiros

San Jose, Costa Rica

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

After a long wait, I got to brew my first homebrew batch with friends in China, where I had some incredible beer mentors from Germany and the U.S. That later became an income, we would sell beers with our homebrew club at festivals, and later with our own homebrewery, I later got hired at a Chinese brewpub, which was my first pro job. Experimentation has always been my favorite thing about beer, luckily, when I started brewing professionally the breweries where always open for my experiments, which made me grow as a brewer. I later founded my brewery Experimento Cervecero in Costa Rica, which is now evolving from a small industrial brewery to a largely self-sustainable farmstead brewery.

Beer is about community and that has always inspired me, most times when you meet a brewer you kind of get a new friend, who knows what you’ve been through; and more often than not, the collaboration spirit is on. Sharing a passion and sharing a beer is always a great feeling.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

It has been a dream come true to judge at the WBC, I would dare say the pinnacle of a judging career. I judge to learn and share knowledge and the WBC is a great avenue for this. The diversity of beer, both in style and origin is incredible, and tasting beer from all over the world is always very rewarding and exciting. The judging panel is the top of the industry worldwide, so meeting the people and sharing stories was a definite treat. Judging at the world beer cup was a clear goal when I started brewing and later on judging, and getting to do it was a great feeling.