The Brewers Association (BA) announced the recipients of this year’s Industry Awards. Since 1987, the association has recognized individuals who have positively contributed to the craft beer community. The 2024 award recipients will be honored for their dedication and service during a special ceremony on April 23, 2024, at the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Las Vegas.
Let’s take a look!
Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing
This award is presented in honor of Wynkoop Brewing Company founding partner Russell Schehrer to an individual or company for their innovative contributions to the brewing industry.
Tonya Cornett, 10 Barrel Brewing Co. (Bend, Ore.) Tonya Cornett developed an affinity for beer in the mid-1990s in Colorado, where she worked her first brewery job at H.C. Berger Brewing in Fort Collins. Following a two-year stint at Oaken Barrel Brewing Company in her home state of Indiana, Tonya committed academically to brewing. She attended the World Brewing Academy, and upon graduating, Tonya assumed the brewmaster position at Bend Brewing Company in Oregon, where she honed her craft and earned eight gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival and four gold medals at the World Beer Cup.
From there, the accolades kept coming—throughout her career, she is personally responsible for an exceptional 28 medals combined in these competitions. In 2008, Tonya became the first woman to be awarded the title of the World Beer Cup Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year. During these formative years at the brewpub level, Tonya explored traditional and experimental brewing methods and was one of the first brewers in the country to brew kettle sours, a style now embraced across the globe.
In 2012, she took her skills and passion for recipe design to 10 Barrel Brewing Company in Oregon as the senior innovation brewer. She now leads a team of exceptionally talented brewers. Tonya has been featured in two documentaries, “The Love of Beer,” chronicling her last year at Bend Brewing Co., and “Beers of Joy,” which follows her to Germany, learning about traditional Berliner Weisse beers. Tonya has been credited with helping to bring Oregon beer into the national spotlight.
Brewers Association Recognition Award
This award is presented each year to an individual or company whose inspiration, enthusiasm, and support have contributed to the craft brewing movement.
John Pinkerton, Moon River Brewing Co. (Savannah, Ga.) | John Pinkerton is the owner and brewmaster emeritus of Moon River Brewing Company. He was the Brewers Association Board of Directors’ first member representing the Southeastern states. During his tenure from 2009 through 2014, John chaired the Brewpubs Committee, served on the Government Affairs Committee, and held a position on the Technical Committee. John was the founder and first president of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild, where he has led transformational change for the craft brewing community in Georgia, including growing guild membership by over 400%.
John’s relentless advocacy and positive spirit have played a pivotal role in enacting legislation in the Peach State, notably the “Brewpub Bill” (HB472) in 2012. He was also integral in setting the foundation for the critical “Beer Jobs Bill” (SB63) in 2015 and SB85 in 2017, which allowed breweries in Georgia to sell their products for on-premise consumption, marking the completion of a 50-state initiative to recognize this right for every brewer.
Separately from his legislative achievements, John has fostered community in many ways. For the homebrewing community, he has provided a meeting place for the local group, Savannah Brewers League, for more than 22 years. He has sponsored, contributed to, and held countless competitions and small homebrewing festivals in the Savannah area. For his community of staff, Pinkerton went the extra mile during the COVID-19 pandemic when he ensured all furloughed staff members had insurance coverage by covering the total cost of each premium at significant cost to Moon River.
F.X. Matt Defense of the Industry Award
This award, named for the late F.X. Matt of F.X. Matt Brewing Co., is presented to an individual or company for their contributions and efforts in championing the small brewing industry.
Eric Orlando, The Zita Group, and the Brewers Guild of New Jersey | Eric Orlando is a tireless industry advocate with more than two decades of experience providing legislative and public affairs counsel as it relates to policy development, grassroots outreach, coalition development, direct advocacy, press relations, and research. He is the executive vice president of The Zita Group, a lobbying firm in New Jersey.
Eric’s advocacy efforts have resulted in significant legislative wins for the craft beer community. In 2012, he advocated for the passage of Public Law 2012, Chapter 47, which, for the first time in the state’s history, gave breweries the ability to sell pints of their beer for consumption on-premise and brewpubs the ability to open up to ten locations in New Jersey. Then, in 2022, Eric gained state financial support for the industry through the passage of Public Law 2021, Chapter 438, which established the ‘New Jersey Brewery, Cidery, Meadery, and Distillery Industry Advisory Council and Promotion Account’ that utilized craft beverage alcohol excise tax revenue to promote the state’s craft beverage industry and fund research activities. Most recently, in 2023, Eric led New Jersey’s government affairs and strategic communications efforts to end state-imposed license restrictions through the signing of Public Law 2023, Chapter 290.
Brewers Association Mentor of the Year Award
The Mentor of the Year Award recognizes a volunteer mentor for their outstanding mentorship to program participants and for demonstrating an extraordinary commitment to championing those who experience barriers to access and advancement in their professional journeys.
Laura Lodge, owner of Customized Craft Beer Programs, LLC | This year’s Mentor of the Year, Laura Lodge, began her craft beer journey in the late 1990s, working with a small, independent distribution company in Colorado. Today, Laura owns Customized Craft Beer Programs, a consulting business offering insight for and assistance with all things craft beer.
Lodge has experience in all three distribution tiers including consulting for breweries and distributors, creating retail programs for destination resorts, and participating in the creation and production of educational and experiential craft beer events throughout the country, such as the well-known Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival, for which she is the executive director.
During the pandemic, Laura co-founded Start A Brewery, LLC, a business designed to help dreamers, breweries-in-planning, and growing breweries by offering access to a community of savvy industry professionals and free resources broken down by business phase and category. This venture has proven beneficial both for the general public and Laura’s participation in the Brewers Association Mentorship Program.
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