The James Beard Award is a competition that celebrates the very best of the culinary arts. For chefs and restaurants, it’s the very pinnacle of success, and as it has grown over the years, the organization has extended beyond the kitchen into other areas where food is celebrated and cuisine is pushed to new boundaries. This includes beer, and in announcing its 2019 semifinalist list in the Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Producer category, the organization singled out five member of the beer community.
This list, which includes some previous nominees as well as new entrants, signals the increasingly important role beer and its ingredients are playing in shaping America’s fine dining scene.
The semifinalists from the beer space are: