Steve Gonzalez

Californa, United States

Comment êtes-vous entré dans l'industrie de la bière ? Pourquoi la bière est-elle importante pour vous ?

I’m a decent scientist with a deep love of history and my family has a culinary background, from French to Mexican cuisine. I took a break from studying in college to homebrew with some friends and saw all of those things in beer: science, heritage, anthropology, food presentation, and preparation. A natural fit, and a perfect way to step away from physics and organic chemistry for a few hours.

Pourquoi jugez-vous à la World Beer Cup ? Que signifie pour vous le fait d'être juge à la Coupe du monde de la bière ?

It keeps me current, I get to taste things I have never tried before with no preconceptions, no biases. All of that makes me a better brewer!

Chris Flaskamp

Santiago, Chili

Comment êtes-vous entré dans l'industrie de la bière ? Pourquoi la bière est-elle importante pour vous ?

I started homebrewing in Chile in 2000 and launched my own craft brewery in Santiago, Tübinger, in 2007. I’ve been a certified BJCP beer judge since 2014 and have judged at the world’s most important beer competitions, such as the World Beer Cup, Great American Beer Festival, European Beer Star in Germany, Brussels Beer Challenge in Belgium, World Beer Awards in the U.K., Blumenau Beer Cup in Brazil, and others.

I’m a co-founder and the current executive director of Chile’s Independent Craft Brewers Association, ACI Chile, since 2019, which has over 150 members from all over Chile. We’ve been organizing the yearly Great Chile Beer Festival and its beer competition, Copa ACI. During the dark years of COVID-19, I made the most of the downtime to write a book about beer history, beer culture, and beer styles. I’m proud to say that it has been quite successful, with two sold-out editions since 2021.

Beer has been part of my life since my student days in Germany, and I feel that I learn more every year about this beautiful beverage. I love opening people’s minds to the wide variety of beers, and there is still much to be done in that regard in Latin America.

Pourquoi jugez-vous à la World Beer Cup ? Que signifie pour vous le fait d'être juge à la Coupe du monde de la bière ?

Judging at the World Beer Cup is like being at the global center of beer experts, and it is always a pleasure and a great honor to share time, stories, and pints with the most accomplished brewers and beer judges in the world. This experience enables me to continue learning and improving my knowledge of beer tasting, new trends, and beer style appreciation.

It is also important for me to represent our relatively small country and emerging craft beer market at a global event and to spread the word about the increasingly vibrant Chilean beer market.

Marion Weinberger

Steinbach am Attersee, Autriche

Comment êtes-vous entré dans l'industrie de la bière ? Pourquoi la bière est-elle importante pour vous ?

Tout a commencé en 2013 lorsque j'ai rejoint Heineken Brau Union Austria en tant que responsable de marque, en charge de trois grandes marques de bière en Autriche. Un an plus tard, la brasserie m'a envoyé suivre une formation de sommelier de la bière, ce qui a déclenché ma passion pour la bière. La bière est la boisson la plus polyvalente au monde et je suis toujours curieux de la découvrir.

Pourquoi jugez-vous à la World Beer Cup ? Que signifie pour vous le fait d'être juge à la Coupe du monde de la bière ?

C'est un concours très spécial que de juger en tant que l'un des rares Européens et c'est un grand honneur d'y participer.

Qu'aimeriez-vous que le monde sache d'autre ?

Je suis la première Autrichienne à avoir été invitée à juger la Coupe du monde de la bière 🙂 .

Jesse Brown

Washington, United States

Comment êtes-vous entré dans l'industrie de la bière ? Pourquoi la bière est-elle importante pour vous ?

I was a bartender in Wyoming who wanted to understand more about the production of beer, whiskey, and all things drink. Around 2006, while studying at the University of Wyoming, my friends and I would drive down to Fort Collins for weekends to visit breweries. New Belgium had a big impact on my early craft beer journey. Fast forward to January 2009—one semester from graduating—the economy had collapsed.

I moved to Lander, Wyoming, to climb and bartend. I convinced the new head brewer at Lander Brewing Co. to give me a job washing kegs. I self-studied all the brewing books I could afford, soaking up as much knowledge as possible. Ten years later, I love making craft beer more than ever in the Seattle area.

Beer matters to me because what I create brings communities together. Anywhere in the world, beer serves as a social conduit. It always brings me joy to see people gathered in the taproom.

Pourquoi jugez-vous à la World Beer Cup ? Que signifie pour vous le fait d'être juge à la Coupe du monde de la bière ?

I deeply care about the sensory aspect of beer, and I judge at the World Beer Cup for many reasons. One reason is my love for the qualitative experience—everything that goes into judging a beer is shaped by personal history and knowledge of styles. I’m constantly challenged by other world-class judges and always return home inspired with new perspectives.

Judging at the World Beer Cup is an honor. It allows me to have deep conversations with some of the best brewers and judges in the world.