The Brewers Association (BA) honored five industry members, including Brooklyn Brewery co-founder Steve Hindy, for their contributions in mentorship, advocacy and brewing innovation during the annual Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) this week in Minneapolis.
“From inspiring and mentoring future leaders, to pushing the envelope of brewing innovation, to protecting craft brewers’ rights, this year’s award recipients have had immeasurable positive impacts on the craft beer community,” BA president and CEO Bob Pease said in a press release. “We are thankful for their contributions to advancing craft brewing and the examples they set for others to emulate.”
Hindy, who retired from Brooklyn in 2021, was honored with the Brewers Association Recognition Award, which is given to “an individual or company whose inspiration, enthusiasm, and support have contributed to the craft brewing movement.” In addition to his responsibilities at Brooklyn, Hindy served as the BA’s board chair, founded the organization’s Market Development Committee, and chaired the PR and Marketing Committee.
A former journalist for the Associated Press, Hindy also authored The Craft Beer Revolution and co-wrote Beer School with Brooklyn co-founder Tom Potter. Hindy urged craft brewers to connect with the BA and state and local guilds.
“Get involved because it’s important, and you won’t be sorry you did get involved,” he said. “I often think of something Ben Franklin said 250 years ago: ‘We must hang together or surely we shall hang separate.’ That is more true than ever for the people in this room and for the craft beer revolution.”
The Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing was given to BridgePort Brewing founding brewer Karl Ockert. He joined then-Columbia River Brewery as its first head brewer when it opened in 1984 and built it into a powerhouse during the early days of the fledgling craft beer industry.
Now running his own consulting firm, Ockert’s career also includes stints at Anheuser-Busch’s brewery in Newark, New Jersey, and Bend, Oregon-headquartered Deschutes Brewery. Okcert discussed the industry’s development since he first started homebrewing in 1972.
“Our brewing equipment was comprised mostly of repurposed old dairy tanks,” he said. “We had to be part electrician, part plumber, part carpenter, part welder. We were walking Swiss Army knives. Innovation and ingenuity were critical to our survival. And look at all the innovations that have happened in the 40 years since. We are the envy of the beer drinking planet.”
The F.X. Matt Defense of the Industry Award went to Sam Hendler, co-founder and president of Framingham, Massachusetts-based Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, for his role in achieving franchise reform in the Commonwealth as the president of the Massachusetts Brewers Guild (MBG). The law allowing brewers with annual production fewer than 250,000 barrels to terminate wholesaler contracts with 30 days’ written notice and payment of fair market value for their brand rights went into effect January 2021.
Hendler noted that the path to franchise reform started long before he became the guild president in 2020.
“It’s funny to be the guy who gets the credit at the finish line – this fight in Massachusetts started a long time ago,” he said. “To the chagrin of some of the other Mass Brewers Guild members, I remind people that the original bill for franchise law was filed my senior year of high school.”
In December 2021, Brewbound awarded Hendler, MBG executive director Katie Stinchon and Atlas Distributing owner Joe Salois the Beer Champions of the Year.
“Sam is masterful at creating and nurturing key relationships. He was a calm and steady voice during an incredibly challenging time,” Stinchon said in a press release. “He’s generous with his resources and knowledge and we are so fortunate to have him at the helm of our association. He is very deserving of all the accolades and awards he’s received during his tenure.”
The BA also named inaugural winners of its new Mentor of the Year award, Annette May and Ramon Tamayo. Both have served as mentors in the BA’s mentorship program, which recently announced its third cohort of 34 participants. The program launched slightly more than a year ago and has paired 86 mentors with 89 mentees.
“The program is meant to help those who experienced barriers to entry or to access to our industry,” BA equity and inclusion partner Dr. J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham said. “Those barriers could be being a member of a traditionally underrepresented or marginalized community, or more situational barriers like illness, socioeconomic emergencies, or being impacted by the criminal justice system.
“To date, we’ve run three cohorts of the program that serve aspiring professionals who’ve never worked in our industry, advancing professionals who are looking to develop skills or change their careers, and brewery startups,” she continued.
In addition to being the first female Certified Cicerone, May is a founding faculty member of Schoolcraft College Brewing and Distillation Technology program. She also sits on the BA’s mentorship and development subcommittee. Tamayo is the brewing manager at San Francisco-based Magnolia Brewing. He continues to mentor program participants in technical brewing and brewery safety.