Julia Herz steps up to the podium at a national beer writers and influencers conference called Beer Now. The room, filled with over 150 beer writers, social media influencers and professionals, falls respectfully silent. Everyone wants to hear Julia’s conference opening address about the independent craft beer industry.

As the Craft Beer Program Director at the Brewers Association, a not-for-profit trade organization that protects and promotes small and independent U.S. brewers, Julia passionately leads promoting and protecting small and independent craft brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. In her role, Julia is one of the independent craft beer industry’s most visible and prominent representatives.

All the writers/professionals attending the Beer Now Conference know that Julia provides a high energy, fact-filled and insightful presentation about craft beer, the status of the independent craft beer industry and the industry’s future outlook. Most importantly to the success of the conference, her enthusiasm is contagious. So much so that she has opened the conference each year since its inception in 2010.

Julia Herz opens the 2017 Beer Now Conference (formerly Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference).

Despite her extensive and impressive credentials and experience, Julia writes that she will always consider herself “a beer beginner on an unending journey to learn more about craft beer”. Julia graciously took the time for an interview with me to share more about her background, ongoing activities (PART 1 in this 2 part article) and the current impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to small and independent craft brewers (PART 2 in this 2 part article).

Julia Herz Up Close

Early Influences

Julia’s parents (both living) set the foundation for her interest in food and beverage sensory exploration. Julia said, “Mom is an amazing cook. And my Dad was centric in stretching my palate horizons to try different foods and beverages.”

Her brother’s beer can collection and going with her family on outings to find him rare cans sparked her interest in beer. So it was a family affair from the start. And since she wasn’t old enough to drink beer, she developed an interest in the packaging.

In her 20’s, Julia started homebrewing and her interest in beer deepened. But she didn’t really think of beer as a possible profession. Instead, she completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Broadcast Journalism at the University of South Florida. And she started working at CNN’s Washington, DC bureau straight out of college. “That was a pretty big deal.  My parents were very happy, but I didn’t like it.”, she commented.

A Road Trip Leads to a New Career

After about 3 years working at CNN, Julia quit her job. From there, she and a friend traveled across the U.S. for a year. Julia said, “$15 a day was our budget. We would camp. We would go to National Forests and Parks. If we didn’t have good places to camp, we’d go to the city and stay with friends. And … we’d go to brewpubs. We would always meet people that were kind to us, that we could relate to, and that would open our minds in so many different ways.”

While in Denver on her trip, Julia volunteered at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). That was her first introduction to the Brewers Association. Her impressions gained by visiting brewpubs and the GABF were so impactful that Julia decided she wanted to work for a brewery. But she went back to Washington, DC and started working at CNN again. Julia remarked, “One night I started jogging in a field near my home and said to myself – ‘Why did I leave for a whole year and experience those amazing adventures to just pick up where I left off?’ So I quit CNN again. And then I went back on the road by myself.”

Landing back in Denver, CO, Julia got a job at the Brewers Association as Sales Director. She worked at the Brewers Association for 3 years and then left to start a family. After a brief hiatus, she came back to the Brewers Association and since 2007 has worked as the Craft Beer Program Director and publisher of CraftBeer.com – an on-line Brewers Association publication.

Craft Beer Program Director and CraftBeer.com Publisher

As the Brewer Association’s Craft Beer Program Director, Julia works as a beer advocate for small and independent craft brewers and craft beer. Simply put, a small brewery has an annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less. And an independent brewery is less than 25 percent owned or controlled by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. As noted by the Brewers Association website, “More than 5,600 U.S. brewery members and 46,000 members of the American Homebrewers Association are joined by members of the allied trade, beer wholesalers, retailers, individuals, other associate members and the Brewers Association staff to make up the Brewers Association.”

The Brewers Association is the voice for this member consortium, including lobbying State and Federal governments on their behalf. In addition, the Brewers Association provides invaluable information and support resources for its members. Always at the forefront, Julia Herz is the voice for U.S. craft breweries.

The Brewers Association is “an organization of brewers, for brewers and by brewers.”

What’s the impact of the industry that the Brewers Association and Julia champion? According to a Brewers Association Economic Impact Report, in 2018 small and independent craft brewers contributed $79.1 billion to the U.S. economy. Furthermore, that contribution translated into more than 550,000 jobs.

One of Julia Herz’s recent initiatives includes creating the trade-marked Independent Craft Brewers Seal in 2018. When large beer companies like AB InBev started buying small breweries and usurping the term “craft beer” to confuse consumers, Julia led the creation of the Independent Craft Brewers Seal Retailer Program. The seal allows independent craft breweries to uniquely label and promote their products. Julia commented, “We have 5000 breweries that have signed up for that seal.”

The Independent Craft Brewer Seal helps differentiate independent craft brewers from larger beer companies seeking to blur the lines and confuse beer consumers.

Julia added, “I am also publisher of CraftBeer.com. I do a lot of writing. And I field a lot of media requests. I also get educational resources out to the public, including through the CraftBeer.com website. This includes a Beer 101 introductory course.“

Julia has also been featured by The Splendid Table; The Food Network’s Unwrapped; CNBC’s Closing Bell; as well as Good Morning America Live. And she regularly writes beer articles for The New Brewer Magazine (the journal of the Brewers Association) and the HuffPost Taste.

Moreover, somehow during her tenure as the Brewers Association Craft Beer Program Director, Julia Herz managed to complete training to become a Certified Cicerone® (2009), a BJCP Certified Beer Judge (2013), and a Siebel Institute Master of Beer Styles/Beer and Food (2013). In keeping with her role as educator, she has taught others BJCP-related courses and Cicerone-related courses.

Judging at the Great American Beer Festival

Every year the GABF celebrates United States breweries.The Denver-based event normally hosts about 62,000 people. 

The GABF is not only about celebrating and sampling quality beer but is also a beer competition. Breweries enter their beers to be judged by the festival’s Professional Judge Panel. The GABF invites a select, highly-qualified body of industry professionals from around the world to sit together in small groups and, without knowing the brand name, taste beers in specified style categories. The goal of the Great American Beer Festival Judge Panel is to identify the three beers that best represent each beer-style category.

With her beer resume filled with industry experience, homebrewing awards and beer competition participation, Julia Herz has served as a GABF judge. She once wrote, “Being a beer judge is a position of responsibility—to the entries themselves and to the breweries who work tirelessly to create them. I kid you not, it takes work and commitment to become a judge…..Personally, it took me more than 10 years of beery exercise before I became a confident beer judge…..Judging beer has not only provided me with a greater awareness and understanding of flavors, it’s helped advance my beer career…”

In our conversation Julia added, “While at another beer festival (Smaller Colorado Beer Festival in Beaver Creek) I was tracking who had the badges and would try to peek into the judging room. And from that moment on, I said to myself I want to learn this. I want to figure this out…..I’m self-made, just like any other judge…..Every time is incredible…..The experience is all immersive.”

Book Author on Pairing Beer and Food

There aren’t many in-depth references to guide beer lovers in how to pair beer with food. To remedy this lack of information, Julia Herz co-authored a book with Gwen Conley called “Beer Pairing: The Essential Guide from the Pairing Pros” (Voyageur Press, 2015). In my opinion, any beer lover should read this book. And if you do read this book, you’ll never look at beer or food the same way again.

Julia remarked, “It was a two year process and maybe even more than that. I’m very proud of how we have laid out the book. The middle of the book is kind of a spreadsheet of pairing concepts that provide an amazing reference with twenty-five of the most common beer styles purchased.”

She added, “What we perceive, I call it the ‘mind to palate connection’. But we can’t necessarily get the mind to describe what the palate is perceiving and then when it does it’s a little bit off base because it might not have the right lexicon. So providing a good lexicon is important. And that book…is everything I’d want anyone educating others on beer (whether they’re table-side, at a brewery, or a beer writer and lover like you and me) to know about pairing.”

 

 

A Champion of Small and Independent Craft Beer

Julia Herz passionately leads promoting and protecting small and independent craft brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. She is one of the independent craft beer industry’s most visible and prominent representatives. If you love craft beer, you’ll want to hear or read what she says or writes. And if you ever meet her, you’ll also find she’s genuine and inclusive.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to businesses and personal lives, including the small and independent craft beer industry. So be certain to read Part 2 of this article by clicking here. Julia discusses the impact to the independent craft brewing industry of the COVID-19 pandemic, what the Brewers Association has done to help and the way forward for industry recovery.