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DB brewer judges beer Olympics Natasha O’Brien’s two minutes on beer…
While Kiwi athletes were pumping iron to get ready for the Olympics, female brewer Natasha O’Brien was tasting pints as a judge for the ‘Olympics of Beer’ in California, in May this year. Thirty year old Natasha, who works at DB Breweries’ Waitemata Brewery in Auckland, was the only female brewer among three New Zealanders selected to judge the most prestigious beer competition in the world; the 2012 World Beer Cup (WBC) – better known as the ‘Olympics of Beer’ – held in San Diego two months ago. “It’s a real honor to be invited to judge awards of this calibre and I’m really excited about tasting some new and interesting
THE WORLD BEER CUP… … is also known as ‘The Olympics of Beer’. Along with the Brewing Industry International Awards (BIIA) panel (dubbed the ‘Oscars of Brewing’), held in Burton on Trent, these competitions are widely known in the brewing community as the two most prestigious in the world. The WBC is the biggest and the BIIA is the oldest. The Brewers Association developed the World Beer Cup in 1996 to celebrate the art and science of brewing by recognizing outstanding achievement. The competition is held every two years and entry on to the judge’s panel is by invitation only which is extended to a select group of international brewers with acknowledged expertise in the sensory evaluation of commercial beers. Judges selected must be nominated and endorsed by three recognised World Beer Cup judges which results in a highly qualified and professional panel. www.worldbeercup.org
brews,” she said, on the eve of judging. Originally from Geraldine, Natasha has a strong background in sensory evaluation and regularly judges at international beer competitions Natasha O’Brien including BrewNZ; the Australian International Brewing Awards and most recently the 2011 Brewing Industry International Awards in the United Kingdom. It was while in the UK last year that she met a future WBC fellow judge who asked if he could put her name forward to the chair of the WBC organizing committee. “I was then fortunate enough to be selected from a pool of new judges to become a 2012 World Beer Cup judge,” she says. When did you first decide to work with beer?
the World Beer Cup there and it instantly became something to aspire to for me. You rub shoulders with the international judges at these competitions and after judging at the Australian Beer Competition (AIBA) I was fortunate to be selected for the Brewing International Industry Awards (BIIA) panel in Burton on Trent, United Kingdom. While judging there I was spotted by an American World Beer Cup judge who asked to put my name forward to the World Beer Cup selection committee. What’s next?
After finishing my Process Engineering degree. I had developed a passion for the craft of brewing during my studies. Was there an epiphany or special moment with beer when you fell for its fizzy charms?
I would like to make it to Tokyo for the Japan International Beer Competition panel at some point. I was invited last year and then the tsunami occurred. I think it would be really interesting and challenging to judge in a non English speaking country.
I fell in love with beer at a young age. I used to steal sips from my Dad’s pint while he was distracted watching the rugby.
What types of beers would you like to see more awarded around the world, in terms of style and flavour?
How did this role come about being the first from DB to judge internationally?
New Zealand beers. There are some very talented brewers in this country making innovative beers and some great kiwi takes on old world styles. New Zealand brewers are challenging the style guidelines and shaping the international brewing industry.
I got in to the beer judging scene a couple of years ago starting at Brew NZ. I heard about
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