Brewery Award of Excellence in Community Involvement
Kona Brewing Company - Makana Series
Kona Brewing was selected as the winner for the 2016 award for their efforts within their Makana Series launched in 2015. Within this series of beers a portion of the profits are used to support a local nonprofit organization that is focused on and committed to preserving Hawaii’s natural resources. With Kona employee participation, the efforts of the brewery are recognized within this award. The award will be presented at the 2017 Master Brewers Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, October 12-14, 2017.
Runner-Up: Widmer Brothers Brewing
Portland, OR, for their efforts within the Oregon Brewshed Alliance, a project focused on responsible water usage within a coalition of brewers, craft brewing affiliates, and conservationists.
About the Award
The Master Brewers Brewery Award of Excellence recognizes outstanding achievements by a single brewery in the area of community involvement. Breweries that have a strong history of giving back to their communities dating back to 2013 are eligible to apply for the award.
The purpose of the Brewery Award of Excellence is to promote the profession of brewing and to be the source for brewers to network and improve their craft. Through this award program, Master Brewers will be able to promote the contributions that breweries make to better our industry, community, and environment.
The scope of this award program is to deliver the Brewery Award of Excellence and provide national public relations media for the breweries who best service and support their communities.
The award is open to breweries of all sizes. The community involvement award recognizes a single manufacturing site (not a group or chain of sites) and is based on a single project (not a series of projects) at an existing site. Projects submitted from past winners and honorable mentions are not eligible.
The Brewery Award of Excellence was retired in 2017.
2016 Award Criteria
Community Involvement projects will be judged on:
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Brewery Employee Involvement. This criteria relates to the depth of involvement from all brewery employees. For example, does the passion for the community involvement program involve all brewery walks of life, from seasonal employees to upper management, or is it usually organized by one group in the brewery. Breweries that have employees that demonstrate a hands-on aspect towards the project will score higher in this criteria. Example: a brewery whose employees volunteer to build a playground at the local shelter.
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Benefit to the local community. Does the community involvement benefit one group, a number of groups or individuals in the community?
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Innovative / Unique approach: The applicant is to provide a unique and resourceful approach the community involvement activity. The applicant should describe why the approach was innovative to ensure the most objectivity in scoring.
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How is the activity viewed by the community? Does the media willingly get behind it? If it is an ongoing program, does the community look forward to it every year? Include any awards or acknowledgments or testimonials that the brewery was given for the community involvement project.
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Home run stories, how about the community involvement story that knocks it out of the park.
Award
The winner will receive:
Two (2) complimentary registrations to the Master Brewers Conference
$3,000 honorarium
Plaque of recognition
Recognition at the Master Brewers Conference and announcement in The Master Brewers Communicator and website.
Winning application will be published in the Technical Quarterly journal and announced through media public relation outlets.
Previous Awardees
2015 Brewery Award of Excellence in Sustainability
Matt Phillips, Phillips Brewing Company | Victoria, Canada, for their CO2 Reclamation System Project
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1st Runner Up: Wildmer Brothers Brewing | Portland, Oregon, for their HVAC Optimization project
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2nd Runner Up: Red Hook Brewing Company | Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for their Green Energy Powered EV Station
2014 Brewery Award of Excellence in Sustainability
Brasil Kirin Indústria de Bebidas S/A | Brazil, for their Cleaning in Place (CIP) projects
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1st Runner Up: Craft Brew Alliance | Portland, Oregon, for their Microbial Fuel Cell Pilot Project
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2nd Runner Up: Steam Whistle Brewing | Toronto, Canada, for their Optimization of Brewery Waste Management Program
