Jay Brooks
How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?
I wrote my first book on beer in 1991. After it published the following year, I treated myself to my first GABF. After that, I was the chain beer buyer for BevMo for five years, before becoming GM of the Celebrator Beer News. I have been writing about beer ever since. I got into better beer while in the Army, stationed in NYC in the late 1970s. Jazz clubs in the Village in those days served imported beers I'd never heard of, and after buying Michael Jackson's World Guide to Beer, I was hooked. Appreciating the versatility and diversity of beer brewed worldwide has made me what to share how it's enriched my own life with everyone else and so it's been my life's work for over 35 years.
Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?
World Beer Cup judging is one of the best experiences throughout the year, primarily because of the diversity of judges. My first year as a WBC judge I was on a table of German Pilsners with three brewers from Germany, which was a fascinating glimpse into the style. Since then, instances like that occur regularly, so much so that I learn a lot each year I judge, which serves to make me a better judge and better appreciate the beer I drink.
What else would you like the world to know?
Judging is probably my favorite activity, and I love traveling the globe to judge beer competitions. A few years ago, when I judged in South Africa, I was able to complete my bingo card and now have judged a beer competition on every continent (except Antarctica, where there are no commercial breweries yet).
