Paul Davies
How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?
My career started in beer as a student pulling pints. After a long and successful career in hospitality I decided to start afresh and moved back into beer. After studying to be an accredited beer sommelier I secured a role at Fullers, moving around many departments during my three years there. I worked for the quality team, initially in the lab and then in the field, delivering, training, and troubleshooting. I also represented the brewery at events and conducted brewery tours on weekends. This prompted me to start my beer event business in 2018 and I host brewery tours, historic pub tours, Belgian trips and tutored beer tastings. I still carry out training courses—the award in beer and cellar quality for the British Institute of Innkeeping via Cask Marque. I'm a keen advocate of cask and have delivered presentations on cask at events in the UK and overseas. I also present at trade shows and host discussion panels on all manner of subjects relating to beer. I've been working with Cicerone® for a number of years and proctor their UK exams. When I have time I write articles for trade magazines in the UK and Belgium.
Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?
Its an honor to judge at the 'world's most prestigious beer competition'. One of my top five beer competitions, WBC attracts the best judges from across the world. Meeting fellow judges is a great way to network, re-establish friendships and learn more about beer appreciation. Every day is a learning day and I can't wait to be in Philadelphia again—one of my favorite cities in the US.
What else would you like the world to know?
I love to travel and many of my magazine articles relate to beer tourism. Apart from spending quality time with family travel to me means food and beer or wine. Beer judging helps feed that need to explore and visit new places. I love sport—rugby and cycling mainly—and live music. I've featured on a couple of CDs for an old London punk band, singing dreadfully of course!
