Another BC Beer Awards is in the books and my thanks to the whole team who worked so hard on this wonderful celebration and my congratulations to all the winners. The fact that there was so much diversity amongst the winners with no brewery dominating and so many brand new breweries placing, shows that the craft beer revolution is still in progress and it bodes very well for the future of BC craft beer.
There is one winner in particular I would like to single out, that is the winner of the Harvest Beer Homebrew Competition, Matt Anderson. Matt is a former CAMRA Vancouver Executive member and is currently on the board of VanBrewers, but more than that he is a legend in the craft beer community and has been for many years. He works tirelessly behind the scenes organising competitions, running around doing all the logistics that make so many of the great Vancouver beer events happen, often in his trademark pink hat.
Matt, along with his “hetero-life-partner” Danny Seeton (our Education Liaison) host the VanBrewers Summer party fundraiser and is one of the most talented homebrewers in Vancouver. His winning beer was a fresh hop ale cheekily named “Anderson Estate IPA” as the hops had been collected from his parents’ yard (Rod & Lynell – also long time CAMRA members beaming with pride at the awards) and the brew was a family collaboration.
One of Matt’s most enviable traits is his ability to recall names and faces, I do my best but he really has a knack for remembering who you are and when you met. So if you’re struggling with someone’s name, just ask Matt.
If you already know Matt then you’ll know just how much fun he is to drink with and how knowledgeable he is about beer and brewing. If you don’t, you really should do yourself a favour, say hello and buy him a beer and you’ll have a new friend right away.
Congratulations again Manderson! I’m glad you got the recognition for your beer and thank you for all you’ve done for CAMRA, Vanbrewers and the craft beer community in general.
Adam Chatburn
President, CAMRA BC – Vancouver Branch
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