RUSSELL SCHEHRER AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN BREWING THE BREWERS ASSOCIATION RECOGNITION AWARD F.X. MATT DEFENSE OF THE INDUSTRY AWARD

Three members of the brewing community were honored for their dedication and service at the recent Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) opening session in Boulder, Colorado.  JENNIFER TALLEY of Squatters Pub Brewery/Salt Lake Brewing Co. won the Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing.  As the first woman to win this award, Talley was clearly honored and ecstatic to be recognized alongside the 13 other accomplished brewers who previously won the Award.  She has been brewing for over 2O years, winning numerous awards and accolades along the way.
The Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing was first given in 1997 to honor Russell Schehrer’s contributions to the brewing industry.  Schehrer died in 1996 at 38-year-old and was a founding partner and original head brewer at Colorado’s first brewpub, Wynkoop Brewing Co.  He was also one of the first brewers to produce mead, doppel alt, cream stout, and chili beer.  Brewers Association (BA) brewery members submit nominations every year for the award.  Previous winners vote for the honoree from the slate of nominees.  The Brewers Association Recognition Award went to JOHN McDONALD of Boulevard Brewing Co.  In 1989, McDonald founded the brewery and began hand-delivering Boulevard beer to local restaurants in his pick-up truck.  A longtime Brewers Association member – since the early 199Os – McDonald’s brewery now employs over 9O people and has a capacity of approximately 6OO,OOO barrels per year.  BA members nominate candidates for the Brewers Association Recognition Award, and the BA Board of Directors votes to determine the winner.  Lastly, the F.X. Matt Defense of the Industry Award went to DAN KOPMAN of St. Louis Brewery/Schlafly Beer.  His recognition at this year’s CBC has to do with his leadership within the craft brewing industry and his work to ensure that his fellow brewers, and his 2O-year-old brewery, are treated fairly by federal regulations.  Dan has devoted countless hours and significant energy to promoting legislation that would recalibrate federal excise taxes for small brewers. The F.X. Matt Award is given in honor of a champion of small brewers, F.X. Matt (1933-2OO1), President of the F.X. Matt Brewing Co. in Utica, New York from 198O to 1989 and chairman from 1989 to 2OO1.