Dominic Charbonneau

Quebec, Canada

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

Like most brewers, I started as a homebrewer, and decided to offer more flavor to the people by starting my brewery. To do this, I needed to understand and know beer styles and taste them, so I studied and traveled to taste every style of beer. This led to earning Beer Judge Certification Program and Cicerone credentials, which now help me every day in the brewery.

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

Judging the World Beer cup is like judging at the Olympics. It is a huge competition where the best of the best are represented. The challenge of finding the appropriate beer for the style in every flight is incredible and a great training for developing my tasting skill, and of course to help brewers understand their product.

Tetsuya Kojima

Tokyo, Japan

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

Beer has completely changed my life. About 25 years ago, I was just a craft beer fan. One day, I attended a beer festival in Tokyo sponsored by the Craft Beer Association and saw a flyer for a Beer Judge Seminar. I became interested in the beer judge qualification program in Japan, and a few years later, I took the seminar and got certified as a beer judge.

About 10 years ago, I received a phone call from Ryouji Oda, former president of the Craft Beer Association, asking me to serve as a lecturer at the beer tasting program and beer judge qualification program sponsored by the association. Now, I’m a lecturer for the association, teaching beer tasting and judging methods at seminars. I’m also a competition director at Japanese beer competitions, such as the International Beer Cup and the Japan Great Beer Awards.

In fact, I don’t work in the beer industry. My actual job is as a computer science professor at a college in Tokyo. However, beer occupies a significant part of my life. I am, and always will be, very happy to spend my life in the world of craft beer.

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

My first judging experience at the World Beer Cup was in Nashville in 2018. As a certified beer judge, I wanted to contribute to events like this to help raise the quality of craft beer. This was the primary reason I joined the World Beer Cup. Another reason was my desire to stay updated on global trends in craft beer, which remains a crucial part of my experience at the WBC. I hope to judge new beer styles at every World Beer Cup. It’s an excellent learning opportunity for me, and I can share my experiences from the competition with my students and fellow beer judges in Japan.

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!

Emily Vegas

Thüringen, Germany

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

For me, beer is everything; it’s both my profession and my hobby. When I’m not working at the brewery, I’m judging competitions, reading books about beer, taking courses, or simply enjoying some beers. My life has meaning, thanks to beer.

I started working at Polar Brewery in Venezuela in 2015 after graduating as a biologist. I began as a brewer apprentice and then moved to Germany, where I worked at Doemens Academy in the laboratory and pilot plant. There, I took a course to become a brewmaster and graduated in 2019. After becoming a brewmaster, I started working at the Institut Romeis, performing chemical and analytical controls for breweries in Germany and around the world.

In 2021, I began working for Oettinger Brewery as a quality assurance specialist (microbiology and chemistry), and since January 2023, I’ve been working for Paulaner, also in quality assurance. During my first two years in Germany, I served as a steward for the European Beer Star Competition, and in 2021, I started judging various beer competitions, including the Austrian Beer Challenge, Concours de Lyon, African Beer Cup, World Beer Cup, and Women’s Trophy.

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

I had already judged in several competitions in Europe, and I dreamed of participating as a juror in the largest competitions in the world and in other countries outside Europe. That’s why I applied for the World Beer Cup—it’s one of the most important competitions globally. I also wanted the opportunity to meet amazing professionals from around the world and learn more about beer. It’s truly wonderful, and I’m very proud of it.