World Class Judges

Matt Reich

Virginia, United States

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

I began homebrewing in the early 1990s, learning under the tutelage of “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” by Charlie Papazian. After several years and an ever-growing home brewery, I decided to take the plunge into the world of professional brewing. I went to Germany, where I trained under a Bavarian brewmaster for the better part of a year. Upon my return to the U.S., I signed on as head brewer of a regional craft brewery for nearly a decade. I’ve since transitioned to a support role for a large macrobrewery and have been in that position for 15 years.

Throughout all my experiences in the brewing industry, one constant has remained: the camaraderie and unity among everyone. Beer is the common bond that has held us—and all of civilization—together throughout history, and I feel honored to be part of this community.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

As one would expect, this level of respect and support is deeply embedded in the World Beer Cup judging community. Each year, we are exposed to new beers, experiences, and innovative ideas from diverse brewers who are constantly raising the bar for beer quality and styles. I’m proud to contribute to our family of beer advocates and brewers.

Carl Kins

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

My interest in beer started at an early age. In Belgium you are allowed to drink beer at 16, and I did so, visiting my first brewery at age 17. I always had an interest in all aspects of beer—the history, ingredients, production, styles, etc. My knowledge is built on reading a lot about beer and on visiting hundreds of breweries around the world. I started writing about all this a few decades ago for various international magazines. Next to that, the demise/takeover of a lot of small breweries in the 1970s and 1980s incited me to get involved in consumer action groups in order to fight for diversity, fair taxation, etc., both on national and European level.

Beer matters because it is the best social lubricant there is. It is affordable and has the largest taste universe of any alcoholic beverage.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

The World Beer Cup can be considered the Olympic Beer Games. Not only the participants but also the judges have international backgrounds, and this helps and continues to improve my knowledge of the beer world greatly, through tasting, talking and discussing.

Marek Kaminski

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

I have been working in the beer industry since early 2014, and later that year I co-founded a Polish craft beer brand, Browar Kingpin, where I have also served as brewmaster since 2018. I am a well-traveled international beer, cider, and mead judge with experience at the World Beer Cup, European Beer Star, Brussels Beer Challenge, Birra dell’Anno, International Beer Cup Japan, Concurso Brasileiro de Cervejas, and many other competitions. I have been the co-founder and president of the Polish Craft Brewers Association since 2018, and I also serve as an organizer, proctor, and grader for BJCP Beer, Cider, and Mead Judge certifications. Additionally, I am the BJCP EMEA Regional Director, a WSET Certified Educator for Award in Beer qualifications, a contributor to periodicals, and I run beer education classes and regular tasting events.

To me, beer embodies a rich blend of history, craftsmanship, and creativity. It’s a medium for exploring flavors, places, and stories, fostering communities, and celebrating cultural traditions. The art and science of brewing continually inspire me, offering endless opportunities for personal development and enjoyment.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

I judge at the World Beer Cup because it is the largest and one of the most prestigious beer competitions in the world, where I get to meet many great beer professionals and taste some of the best beers in the world. It’s a great opportunity for me to both contribute to the evaluation as well as make new friends and master my skills. To be a judge at the World Beer Cup is to be part of the judging elite and to have my competences in the field recognized.

Fal Allen

California, United States

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

I started as a homebrewer in 1985. I was working at a waterfront bar in Seattle and one day, while I was checking in a couple of cases of Redhook, I had an epiphany: I thought, “Wait a minute, someone gets paid to make Red Hook beer. Maybe I could get paid to make Redhook beer!” So I started visiting the Redhook brewery in the Fremont district and sharing my homebrew with the brewer. I would stop in a couple of times a week and ask him to try the beers with me. Finally, he hired me with the provision that I not bring him any more of my homebrew. For a few years I worked at the brewery during the days and tended bar at night. Rick the brewer was kind to me and rotated me through most of the positions in the brewery. I learned a lot about beer. In 1989, I got a job as a full time brewer at Pike Place Brewery. Then, in 1999, I moved to Anderson Valley Brewing in California, where I am today.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

I judge the World Beer Cup for a couple of reasons. One, for the opportunity to judge with other people that have a different take on beer than I do. To learn and discuss beer and brewing with these folks and make new friends and partnerships in the brewing world. Second, I like to keep up to date on what is going on in the wide wide world of beer. Being selected to judge the most prestigious beer competition in the world is a great honor. I feel very lucky to be in such esteemed company of great brewers and beer industry people.

Alejandro Ancona

Quintana Roo, Mexico

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

I was always attracted by the science behind food, drinks and flavors. My journey began when I discovered wine, but I soon found out my personality has much more in common with the beer world. Living in a place with scarce beer culture, being a homebrewer and my passion for education, eventually got me to open a beer school in 2017, where today we train beer professionals around Mexico and Latin America. (@beerschoolmx)

Beer matters to me because it’s the perfect blend of ingredients provided by the earth and the passion of the human hand, to create a beverage that has been making people happy for over 10,000 years. That’s just amazing.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

Judging beer professionally is one of the things in life I enjoy the most, and the World Beer Cup is the biggest competition in the planet. Being a part of such a global and amazing panel of brewers, judges and beer professionals is of course a great learning opportunity, but most importantly a great source of lifetime beer friends from many different countries.

Samuel D’Imperio

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

I entered the world of craft beer in 2013 by opening Malta’s first craft brewery. The beauty of making craft beer is that you can experiment with many styles, and we do, using as many local ingredients as possible. In 2016, we brewed the world’s first Gose using caper flowers as dry hopping and sea salt from local cliffs. We also invite the world’s leading breweries to Malta, combining ingredients from their countries with our local ones.

The philosophy of my brewery is to use the best machinery available on the market to ensure consistency while still producing unpasteurized beers. I believe it is impossible to achieve this goal without technology.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

Being a judge at the World Beer Cup is a great thrill and a point of pride to be on the panel with the best judges from around the world. Ever since I founded the brewery, the World Beer Cup has always been a milestone. It is the most prestigious beer competition in the world, and representing Malta for the first time in this competition is a great privilege and honor for me.

Vasilios Gletsos

Vermont, United States

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

I was a puppeteer, touring around performing and started discovering classic beer styles from around the world. Also, I was really DIY oriented and fell in love with making beer at home. I got really into it after leaving Vermont and moving to Oregon, where I soon made the crossover into commercial brewing. Beer is deeply woven into the fabric of human social, cultural, scientific, and agricultural life. I love that about it and also how it stimulates my mind body and heart.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

I really love the opportunity to meet new people who care as much as I do about this profession, and to reconnect with old friends. I enjoy testing my perceptions of beer and gaining new perspectives from other judges, as well as from the beers we judge. I also love the honor of tasting the best efforts of hard-working brewers.

Lana Svitankova

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

Beer is a love story in every sense. I fell down this rabbit hole on my honeymoon in Prague, over a glass of dark Czech lager, and I’ve continued my journey ever since. It started as a hobby, but it became a job, an educational vocation, and so much more. Like any relationship, there have been highs and lows, but the beer industry, the drink itself, and the people involved never cease to amaze me.

It’s more than just a set of flavors—it’s a collection of stories, emotions, memories, and experiences. That’s what makes it so exciting. Not all stories have a happy ending, but we’re here to change that and make the industry better.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

Judging at the World Beer Cup is a roller coaster of emotions. It’s a huge responsibility to do justice to an overwhelming number of beers. It’s an uplifting feeling to represent your country with pride. It’s an immense joy to meet and learn from the best peers in the beer world, having countless meaningful conversations. It’s a lot of fun, but everyone takes it very seriously. The amount of knowledge and experience in the room is outstanding.

Winning a medal at the WBC means going through rigorous assessment and reaching the podium with flying colors. It’s a reason for every winner to be proud and to celebrate their work and team effort.

Mirella Amato

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

I have been working in the beer industry for over 15 years now. I was drawn to the industry because I wanted to raise awareness of, and appreciation for, my local craft beers. Beer is such a varied beverage and can be appreciated on many levels. There’s always more to learn about it and yet, as complex and multi-faceted as it is, it remains approachable.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

I’m honored to have been judging at the World Beer Cup since 2010. For me, it’s a place to share my knowledge and passion. It’s a place to learn from my peers and continue to hone my palate. It’s a place to taste the latest interpretations of styles and spot emerging trends. It’s a community of like-minded people from all over the world that I look forward to reconnecting with every year to hear about what is going on in the world of beer internationally.

Carolina Perez

Caba, Argentina

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

I have been working with beer since 1996. For me, it is a matter of constant research and knowledge. I enjoy beer in many aspects.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

Being a World Beer Cup judge gives me a lot of experience, sharing knowledge with judges from other countries and tasting beers from different parts of the world in a professional context.

Dana Johnson

Colorado, United States

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

Like many, I got into the industry after falling in love with home brewing. For my 30th birthday, I was given a homebrewing kit and (of course) Charlie Papazian’s “Complete Joy of Homebrewing” book. This was prior to the internet and my first batch or two had a very steep learning curve, but I was hooked. Five years later, I knew I didn’t want to start my own brewery but saw an opportunity selling cleaning, sanitizing, and process aids to the industry. I’ve been doing it ever since and couldn’t be happier.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

I’ve been judging at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) since 2015. When the opportunity to judge at the World Beer Cup presented itself a couple of years ago, I jumped at the chance. The World Beer Cup is open to breweries all over the world, not just the US. The WBC is one of the most prestigious beer competitions in the world with some of the best judges in the world. It is interesting to judge with people from across the globe and is very educational. I am extremely honored to be included as a World Beer Cup Judge and to know that we are all very committed to doing our very best, each and every round and awarding medals to the best beers in the entire world.

Bruna de Oliveira

Sao Paulo, Brazil

How did you get into the beer industry? Why does beer matter to you?

During my chemical engineering degree, I had the opportunity to intern at Grupo Petrópolis, a Brazilian company with 100% national capital. I enjoyed this experience and realized that the beverage industry fascinated me, though I hadn’t yet identified the area I connected with most. After graduating, I had the chance to return to the company, this time as a professional in the quality assurance department, focusing on beverage sensory analysis. It was then that I realized this area was the perfect fit for me, and I’ve continued my career in this sector with a great passion for what I do. Beer is important to me because it has helped me find and develop myself as a professional.

Why do you judge at the World Beer Cup? What does judging at the World Beer Cup mean to you?

Based on my experience and training in sensory analysis and beer, I naturally set some career goals. One of them was to become an international judge, and in 2024, my opportunity arrived. I had the honor of being part of the sensory panel at the World Beer Cup. I feel fulfilled to have been part of a competition recognized worldwide for its excellence and quality. I learned a great deal during the competition and returned home with immense gratitude.