Meet the Judges

Prof. Dawn Maskell is the Director of the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt University. Dawn has a PhD from Oxford Brookes University in brewing yeast physiology and an Honours degree in Brewing and Distilling from Heriot-Watt University. Today Dawn works with many brewing and distilling companies on short and long term research projects and is particularly interested in yeast physiology, fermentation process improvement and sustainability. 

Dawn is a member of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and holds a Diploma in Brewing. Dawn is also on the Board of Examiners for the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is a member of the IBD Scottish Section Committee. Dawn is the Chair of the Technical Committee for the American Society of Brewing Chemists, where she also sits on the Board of Directors and is part of the Editorial Board for the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists.

Graduating from Heriot-Watt University in 1988 with a BSc. Brewing and Microbiology Fergus joined Grand Metropolitan Brewing holding production posts at Ruddles Brewery, Leicestershire and Stag Brewery, Mortlake.  Following a 4 year stint at Scottish and Newcastle, in 1997 Fergus opened the Inveralmond Brewery in Perth and built a successful company winning many awards over the years until exiting after a sale to Innis & Gunn in 2016.  He has extensive judging experience having been involved in SIBA, CAMRA and Institute of Brewing and Distilling competitions for many years.  Currently Fergus is Non-exec Chairman of 71 Brewing based in Dundee.

A BSc graduate from Edinburgh University, Hilary joined Scottish & Newcastle in 1981 and enjoyed a varied career within the global drinks industry including managing the then famous Tyne Brewery in Newcastle, and Theakstons Brewery in Yorkshire. Latterly – before its takeover by Heineken - she was S&N’s Group Technical & Quality Director, looking after brewing quality in seven European countries as well as the Baltika joint venture in Russia.

In 1995, she was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. In 2005 she became the first woman President of European Brewery Convention, where she led its merger with the trade association, Brewers of Europe.

In ‘retirement’ from the world of corporate brewing she invested in WEST Brewery in Glasgow, working since 2009 with its founder Petra Wetzel to develop the WEST family of German-style beer brands. She chaired Scotland Food & Drink’s Brewing Industry Leadership Group which published a report ‘Brewing Up A Storm’ in 2019, recommending a range of measures to unblock barriers to growth for the brewing industry in Scotland. She is Chair of the Board of Sikh Sanjog, the Edinburgh-based charity which supports Sikh and other ethnic minority women to integrate into mainstream Scottish society and the employment market.

In 2022 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Edinburgh, partly in recognition of promoting careers for women in science.

Johnston Carmichael are Scotland’s largest firm of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers, advising over 500 food and drink businesses. They have a wealth of food and drink industry expertise and use this knowledge to help business owners make better business decisions. 

Adam leads Johnston Carmichael’s food and drink team, regularly advises clients on strategic growth and funding options.  Adam is very well connected across brewing, the wider drinks industry and regularly makes introductions and identifies opportunities across his network of business leaders, investors and intermediaries to help clients grow. 

Adam is a judge with The Scottish Beer Awards and Chairman of The Scottish Gin Awards.

From sales and ambassadorial roles with some of Scotch whiskies biggest brands to organising independent tastings and drinks festivals, it's safe to say Aly has sampled almost everything aspect of the Scottish drinks industry. After starting out in Scotch whisky, he gradually moved more and more into the world of craft beer, managing specialist bars and restaurants. From there he moved to work with some of Scotland's best breweries including the likes of Fierce Beer and Six Degrees North. Now, as Operations Manager at Edinburgh's Barney's Beer he enjoys the constantly changing and evolving world of working in one of the citires most recognisable microbreweries.

Never more at home than at behind the bar at a beer festival, there's nothing he enjoys more than sharing good drinks with good people... Except maybe the afterparty.

Born and raised in Mumbai, India, Nix’s family immigrated to Canada in her early
20s. Moving to Scotland in 2017, she is proud to be a personal mosaic of different
cultures.
Part beer lover and part history nerd, Nix found a way to combine the two and
facilitated walking tours in Toronto that focused on the city's beer and brewing
history.
After moving to Scotland, Nix launched Craft Beer Passport UK to advocate for local,
indie bars and breweries and encourage beer drinkers to support them.
Nix is also the founder of the Glasladies Beer Society, a space for women and
non-binary people to discover, explore, and expand on their love for beer. Since its
inception, the group has grown from strength to strength, highlights being a series of
collaborations with local breweries, and organising Glasgow’s only women-run beer
festivals.
Nix has an ongoing commitment to making beer a more diverse and equitable
industry for everyone.

Pete has worked in the trade since the age of 18 having started with Oddbins. He move into on trade to see the business from the other side, moving back to off trade after securing a position with a local independent beer shop in Edinburgh. 

He opened The Beerhive in 2011 as a craft beer specialist and now stocks over 700 beers and 500 wines. In 2015 The Beerhive was named the Scotland’s best beer shop by Off License News.

Following Rachel’s graduation from the MSc in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot Watt University in 2002; she joined the team at the Scottish & Newcastle Technical Centre in Edinburgh. Completing roles at Fountain and John Smiths Brewery, Rachel moved to S&N’s head office in Edinburgh and following the acquisition by Heineken Rachel spent five years as UK Sensory Manager. In 2012 Rachel joined the team at Innis & Gunn and spent the next five year as Quality and Sensory Manager. Since October 2017 Rachel has worked at the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling at Heriot Watt University as an Assistant Professor – Brewing, teaching brewing and sensory classes to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Rachel has a keen interest in beer and food matching and enjoys the opportunity to judge at home and international beer competitions.

Industry veteran Chris, who joined Bass Brewers 25 years ago went on to Caledonian Brewery before growing Harviestoun Brewery as CEO into one of the UK’s leading craft beer producers prior to exiting in 2014.

Chris is chief commercial officer of JW Filshill group of companies.

JW Filshill is a fifth generation distributor of ambient goods to the retail & convenience channel.

Miller also formed a brewing venture , Clan Brewing Company back in 2014 with partner with Scott Williams, founder and brewmaster of Williams Brothers Brewing Co.

The portfolio focusses on a series of four whisky barrel-aged beers matured in regional single malt casks & exports to North US & South East Asia.

Chris has been a non-exec of BrewGooder since its launch & has judged the SBA on taste/business categories from conception.

Ady Floyd is a beer-loving Canadian living her best life in Glasgow, Scotland. A Certified Beer Specialist since 2021 (via George Brown College), she’s had the honor of judging some of the biggest beer competitions out there—including the World Beer Awards, Canadian Brewers Awards, SIBA, the Scottish National Homebrewers Competition, and several years with the Scottish Beer Awards.

When she’s not sipping, swirling, and scoring brews, Ady runs @JustBeerBanter, where she shines a spotlight on incredible beers and breweries worldwide—all while championing equity and inclusion in the industry.

By day, she’s also a keynote speaker and VP of Client & Brand Success at Trend Hunter, where she dives deep into the latest food and beverage trends. Whether she’s on stage, online, or at the judging table, one thing’s for sure: Ady’s world revolves around great beer and even better conversations. 

Originally specializing in renewable energy, Eva entered the world of professional brewing in 2020. Having been an active homebrewer for several years, she took on the IBD General Certificate in Brewing in her free time and learned the ropes with friends at Ride Brewing Co in Glasgow. In 2021 Eva joined the team WEST Brewery as a trainee, working up to Assistant Brewer. 

Keen to further her knowledge, Eva is currently working towards the IBD Diploma in Brewing and becoming a Certified Cicerrone. Eva is an active member of the Glasladies Beer Society and Edinburgh based Beers without Beards, she has participated in several of their collaborative brews with Hidden Lane Organic Brewery and Pilot Beer

Andrew Gill is the Client Services Director at Contagious – who are experts in the design and delivery of drinks brands. A seasoned professional in the global agency realm, Andrew has over a decade of experience at some of the top strategic branding and design agencies across the globe (Jones Knowles Ritchie, Bulletproof and now Contagious). 

Andrew has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands across the FMCG and Spirits industries such as M&M’s, Heinz, Beam-Suntory, Bacardi, Brown-Forman and many more. Much of his time has been focused on the beer category leading accounts with The Heineken Company (with global and local brands such as Heineken, Amstel, Sol, Strongbow, Cruzcampo, Sagres, and Dos Equis), Fuller’s (London Pride and the full ale portfolio) and Young’s Pubs (ale portfolio and managed estate).

Tony is one of only eight Advanced Cicerones in the UK, and has over a decade of industry experience working in Hospitality before moving to Supply Chain and related areas within Craft Beer. He has judged at multiple World Beer Cups and is a BJCP Recognised Judge. Currently he can be found working as Supply Chain Productivity Manager within BrewDog.

Christie moved into food & drink consultancy last year following a 10 year tenure with Aldi Scotland.  As a Buying Director with Aldi, Christie gave Scottish breweries a platform to grow market reach both locally and nationally whilst elevating the retailers craft range.  Christie is now freelance working with Scottish food and drink producers aiding strategy development to grow sales and profit whilst consulting on branding, range and market insights.

Lucy Stevens is the founder and brewer behind Closet Brewing; Scotland's only explicitly queer brewery. Starting out when she moved to Scotland in 2018, she holds a passion and interest in creative beers that led to Closet Brewing's launch in 2022. Since then she's wasted no time in brewing a wide variety of styles from German Doppelbocks, to fruited modern sours, and delicate Belgian Witbiers, drawing inspiration from a host of unusual sources; including botanical gardens and baked goods.

She is always on the lookout for new techniques, developing and learning with every beer she designs. Some of the highlights of Lucy's brewing career so far include being featured in Dr Christina Wade's book, "The Devil's in the Draught Lines", collaborating with incredible independent breweries and being selected as a mentee for the UK-wide Women in Beer mentorship program.

With half a decade spent selling craft beer and half a decade brewing it, Kerr is currently taking his knowledge and moving into brewing consultancy and other work within the food and beverage sector.

Initially learning the ropes with Six Degrees North and the intricacies of Belgian beer, he has spent years reading and researching all things beer and brewing. 

A move to New Zealand where he was meant to be taking a year off ended up with him becoming a brewer and on his return to Scotland he has spent the last 4 years honing his skills in a craft brewery, winning a few awards for his own beers along the way too. Let's see what happens next!

Ruth Evans MBE has been with BFBi (Brewing, Food & Beverage Industry Suppliers’ Association, formed in 1907) for 24 years, the past 21 as CEO.   Representing the value chain supplying the brewing & beverage industry, Ruth supports and lobbies on behalf of her membership.

Ruth is also Director of the International Brewing & Cider Awards, the oldest international brewing & cider awards in the world, judged only by commercially practicing brewers and cider makers.

Ruth gained her MBE in 2012 for services to export and beer.

Amelie Tassin is the Founder and Director of Tipple Marketing, a beer specialist marketing and strategy agency based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With over 15 years’ experience, Amelie has worked across several European sectors from retail banking and property development to cosmetics and food and drink. Her agency's work is truly 'the Swiss Army knife of marketing' and offers tailored services for all needs.

In 2018 she founded Women In Beer, a 'women who beer' group in Edinburgh -  the following year she launched the successful Women In Beer Festival (WIB Fest), a celebration of women in the industry with an impressive roster of events including tap takeovers, talks, and tastings.

In 2023 she launched the Women in Beer Mentorship Programme. Aimed at women who work in the beer and brewing sector, the programme allows them to be paired with experienced women of the industry who will share advice, skills, and access to a wider network.

Amelie has been a judge for many beer competitions in Scotland and the UK and is a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers.

Mike is the Brewing Sales Team Manager for Crisp Malt, overseeing malt sales to brewers across the UK and Western Europe. With a brewing career spanning over two decades, Mike's passion for the craft is rooted in his hands-on experience and deep understanding of the brewing process.

His journey began in 2002 when he joined Thomas Hardy Burtonwood as a lab technician.  Mike fell in love with the science and the process, spending the following years learning the brewing ropes in each department before becoming brewing manager in 2013.  In 2017, Mike joined Love Lane Brewery in Liverpool, overseeing the installation and commissioning of the brewery.  Mike joined Crisp Malt in 2019 as Technical Sales Manager for Scotland, Wales and the West of England.

David is Head of Distilling Malt Sales for Muntons Malt, responsible for all malt sales within the brewing/distilling sectors in Scotland and distilling sector in overseas markets. Throughout the last 9 years with Muntons Malt, David has managed sales and business development across a wide spectrum of customers including craft, regional, national and international brewing and distilling accounts. David is an active member of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling, serving on the committee of the Scottish Section since 2018 and was elected Chair of the section in 2023.

He also served on the organising committee of the Worldwide Distilled Spirits Conference 2023 in Edinburgh. David completed the General Certificate in Malting through the Institute of Brewing & Distilling and Maltsters Association of Great Britain, whilst experiencing hands on training at various distilleries in Scotland. He has conducted whisky tastings at various trade events for Muntons Malt, demonstrating the importance of raw material in the final products.

With a true passion for all things malt, beer and whisky, David can often be found sampling Scotland’s finest in bars across his hometown of Glasgow.

I have several years served within beer in the Scottish on-trade spread across the likes of Innis & Gunn, Beavertown and now Lucky Saint, frontiering the Alcohol Free movement across the country. This will be my third time judging for the Awards, and I can’t wait to see what the industry puts forward for 2025.

Joe has been working in the industry for a number of years; moving from Stonehaven for university and starting his career off in the Edinburgh Craft Beer bar scene in 2016. Working his way up over the years and eventually opening bars for some of Scotland's best breweries; he decided to make the change from hospitality in 2023 and found himself back up in Aberdeenshire with Brew Toon. 

Aidy Fenwick is a craft beer marketing specialist with 13 years of industry experience, currently Head of Marketing at Fyne Ales. She leads the award-winning FyneFest, showcasing her talent for delivering standout beer events. With Cicerone training and experience judging beers at national competitions, Aidy brings both technical knowledge and a deep appreciation for beer to every project—blending creative vision with industry expertise to elevate brewery brands across the UK.

Grant is Business Development Manager for the North East, a role cofounded by Scotland Food & Drink and Opportunity North East. This role allows him to engage with businesses from across all sectors of food and drink, helping them access new markets and maximise opportunities to grow.

Having spent 14 years working with Six Degrees North, Grant spent most of his career learning about the depth of styles originating from Belgium. The first half of his tenure was spent managing bars across Scotland. Grant then spent a further 7 years with the brewery team in a sales and strategic development role.

Grant maintains a love for great, Scottish beers and continues to volunteer his time to help organise the Midsummer Beer Happening, a charitable beer festival in Stonehaven.

“Son of a Brother” Chris was raised in a brewery helping label bottles, packing boxes & digging out mashtuns from an early age, it was pretty inevitable he would step into the family business. Now Director at Williams Bros Brewing Co his day to day is still as varied as ever from NPD & Recipe development through events, tech services and working with production & quality to ensure the best beer they can produce.  

Bella Perez is the head brewer at 71 Brewing Company in Dundee. After completing her BS in brewing science at UC Davis, Bella worked for nearly ten years in craft and macro beer production in the USA. After receiving funding from the Machael James Jackson Foundation, she relocated to Scotland to pursue an MSc at Heriot Watt and has been here ever since. Her mission, besides continuous beer quality improvement and innovation, is to help make craft brewing a more inclusive and diverse space. 

I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the best breweries over my 13 year career in the UK on trade. I started my career at Innis & Gunn where my love for craft beer grew and led me onto BrewDog doing just under 6 years between them, working with some of the best MRG’s and independent customers – some where my original taps still remain to this date! I made a swift move over to Asahi UK in 2017 and have been developing our presence within the RTM channel across Scotland the North of England with some award winning beers within our portfolio.

After graduating with a MSc in Brewing and Distilling in 1998 from Heriot Watt University, Ian joined The Caledonian Brewing Company where he spent 24 years working in various roles including Brewing & Packaging Manager and Quality Assurance Manager. During his time there the brewery changed from an independent company to being part of Heineken and Ian played an integral role in this transition. He also had a key role in overseeing the brewing of iconic beers including Deuchars IPA, Caledonian 80/-, McEwan’s Ales and Murphy’s Irish Stout. After leaving Caledonian he joined Cold Town beer as Head of Production and Quality Control in 2022 where he continues to head up brewing operations in the production of award-winning beers such as Cold Town Lager and Baltic IPA

Sarah Sinclair is a dynamic and impactful marketer with a decade of experience in the drinks and hospitality industry. Based in Edinburgh, she serves as a marketing professional at Sellar, a B2B platform designed to connect producers with their customers. Sarah is also a Certified Cicerone® Beer Server, reflecting her deep knowledge and passion for beer and the beverage sector.

Beyond her professional endeavours, Sarah is known for her engaging presence on social media, where she shares insights into her marketing work, personal interests, and life in Edinburgh. Her commitment to the industry and vibrant personality make her a notable figure in the marketing and hospitality community.