The American Craft Beer Hall of Fame Announces First-Ever Inductees

There’s the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and even the Vintners Hall of Fame. Now, the American craft beer industry finally has one of its own, and it just announced its first inductees.

On February 15, the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame (ACBHOF) live-streamed its first-ever induction ceremony from five breweries across the country. During the ceremony, the non-profit organization announced the first 12 beer industry pros to earn a spot in the Hall.

The organization dates back to late 2023 when Chicago-based beer writer Marty Nachel, author of “Beer for Dummies” and “Homebrewing for Dummies,” conjured up the idea. He recruited nearly 50 industry pros to form a board, secure donations, and establish guidelines and standards for the ACBHOF and its nominees. By August 2024, the organization was officially incorporated as a not-for-profit charitable corporation.

“The American Craft Beer Hall of Fame has been established to honor, celebrate, and commit to history those people who are responsible for initiating, sustaining, and promoting the American craft beer industry,” the website reads. “This Hall is to ensure that the memories of their contributions and achievements will not fade with time.”

In order to determine the inaugural class of inductees, each board member nominated three potential candidates. Then, the top 20 most-nominated people were put on a ballot, and both the organization’s advisory board and board of electors voted on who would make the cut. In the coming years, the ballot will be limited to just 10 nominees, according to the non-profit’s website.

For the February inauguration ceremony representatives at Dogfish Head Brewery, New Realm Brewing Co., Dovetail Brewery, Bierstadt Lagerhaus, and Deschutes Brewery all chimed in on a live-stream to announce the first round of inductees. Here are the lucky 12 who got ushered in.

Michael Jackson: English beer writer and journalist
Fred Eckhardt: Craft beer advocate and writer
Charlie Papazian: American brewer, author, founder of the Great American Beer Festival, and former president of the Brewers Association
Charles Finkel: Co-founder of Merchant du Vin, a wine and beer importing company
Rose Ann Finkel: Co-founder of Merchant du Vin
Bert Grant: Founder of Yakima Brewing & Malting Co.
Ken Grossman: Founder of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Jim Koch: Founder of Boston Beer Company
Fritz Maytag: Longtime owner of Anchor Brewing
Jack McAuliffe: Co-founder of New Albion Brewing
Suzy Stern: Co-founder of New Albion Brewing
Jane Zimmerman: Co-founder of New Albion Brewing

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