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.
2025 – Brian Murray – 22 points
2024 – Brian Murray – 16 points
2023 – Brian Murray – 15 points
2022 – Michael Horn – 8 points
2021 – Julian Robinson – 19 points
2020 – Not awarded due to Covid
2019 – Shannon Brooks – 13 points
2018 – Rowan Lowe – 15 points
2017 – Julian Robinson – 12 points
2016 – Julian Robinson – 15 points
2015 – Mattias Isaksson – 17 points
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.
2025 – Nykolai McHerron
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.
The current winners are:
Christmas Party 2025 – Cam Eldridge – Russian Imperial Stout
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 (using the same scoring system as Brewer of the Year). 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.
Current holders of these awards include:
Vicbrew 2025
Brewer of Show – Brian Murray – 9 points
Beer of Show – Eric Beck – Altbier – 130 points
Merri Mashers IPA Comp 2025
Champion Brewer – Matt Zuerrer
Champion Beer – Jack & Ellie Maccauley
Westgate Brewers Stout Extravaganza 2025
Best Novice – Amanda Schwinghamer
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.
Below are the Club of Show awards the Mashers currently hold:
Vicbrew – “The Barney”
Merri Mashers IPA Comp
Yarra Valley Brewers Belgian Beerfest
We also hold The Scott Vernon Perpetual Trophy from Vicbrew for best exhibited club