Awards & Achievements

This page is where we take a moment to recognise the people and achievements that help make the club what it is. From life members and award winners to standout beers and big competition results, it’s a snapshot of the effort, creativity, and generosity that goes on behind the scenes.

Whether it’s brewing great beer, pitching in to help run events, or flying the flag for the club in competitions, these are the moments — and people — worth celebrating.

Brewer of the Year

Each year there are six competitions where points count towards Brewer of the Year: the Melbourne Brewers Beerfest, the Mashers IPA Comp, the Yarra Valley Brewers Belgian Beerfest, the Westgate Brewers Stout Extravaganza, VicBrew, and the Bayside Brewers Oktoberfest.

Any Masher who takes out a first place in a category scores 3 points, 2 points are awarded for second place, and 1 point for third. At the Christmas party each year, the Masher with the highest total is crowned Brewer of the Year and has their name forever engraved on the coveted Mash Paddle of Glory.

Winning Brewer of the Year is a huge achievement — and never comes easy.

Volunteer of the Year

Mashers are a helpful bunch. While the committee does a lot of the organising, our meetings and events wouldn’t be half as good without the time and effort members voluntarily put in. Sometimes that means running an event, sometimes it’s barbecuing the main protein for Winter Feast, and sometimes it’s sticking around after the Christmas party to help clean up.

Each month, the committee keeps track of the people who’ve gone out of their way to contribute to the club. Then, at the Christmas party each year, we announce that year’s winner.

Best Beer Winter Feast and Christmas Party

In recent years we’ve started running a Best Beer vote at both the Christmas Party and Winter Feast. This isn’t a BJCP-style judging process — it’s a straight-up popular vote, decided by the people drinking the beer on the day.

It’s a great way to recognise standout brews that really hit the mark at club events, whether that’s because they’re perfectly suited to the occasion, dangerously drinkable, or just something a bit special. The beers below are the ones that rose to the top when it mattered most.

Brewer of Show, Beer of Show and Best Novice

These are the three big awards at most competitions. Brewer of Show is awarded to the brewer who accumulates the most points overall. Best Beer goes to the highest-scoring individual beer on the day, regardless of category, and Best Novice recognises the best-performing brewer who’s entering a competition for the first time.

Club of Show

Club of Show is awarded to the club that accumulates the most placing points across a competition. It’s very much a team effort, the result of lots of brewers putting in the work, supporting each other, and consistently turning up with great beer.

These awards reflect not just individual talent, but the strength of the club as a whole. They’re something we should be genuinely proud of, as they show what’s possible when a group of brewers share knowledge, lift each other up, and brew at a high standard together.