The Brewers Association (BA) announced the recipients of the trade group’s annual Industry Awards today, recognizing “individuals and groups that have made a significant impact on the craft beer community.”
Award recipients are nominated by their peers and voted on by BA staff and committee members, craft beer industry members and past award winners.
The awards include:
- The Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing;
- The BA Recognition Award;
- The F.X. Matt Defense of the Industry Award;
- And the BA Mentor of the Year.
“[The winners’] dedication and advocacy have strengthened the craft brewing community and paved the way for its continued success,” BA president and CEO Bart Watson said in a press release. “We celebrate their achievements and thank them for their invaluable contributions.”
The 2025 Russell Schehrer Award – presented in honor of Wynkoop Brewing founding partner Russell Schehrer, and given to an individual or company “for their innovative contributions to the brewing industry” – has been awarded posthumously to Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales founder Ron Jeffries.
Jeffries, who died in October, was known as a pillar of the Michigan craft beer scene, helping found the Michigan Brewers Guild and serving on its board of directors for three terms.
Jeffries and his wife Laurie founded Jolly Pumpkin in Dexter, Michigan, in 2004 as the country’s first “all wild, oak-aged brewery,” winning a Great American Beer Festival gold medal the same year. Four years later, the company merged with North Peak Brewing to form craft platform Northern United Brewing. In 2021, Jeffries moved with his family to Hawaii and launched Holoholo Brewing.
“His passion, dedication to excellence, and commitment to sharing knowledge left a lasting impact on the brewing community,” the BA wrote in the latest release.
The BA Recognition Award – presented to “an individual, company or group whose inspiration, enthusiasm and support have contributed to the craft brewing movement” – has been given to the North Carolina beer community, including the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild, recognizing recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene.
The September hurricane resulted in more than 100 deaths and hundreds of miles of damage in the greater Asheville area, including road closures, power outages and water treatment problems.
“Breweries statewide stepped up – taprooms became supply hubs, trucks delivered emergency aid, and impacted breweries served as relief centers,” the BA wrote.
Additionally, the North Carolina guild and its members raised $250,000 to disaster relief efforts through its Pouring for Neighbors initiative, and the NC Craft Brewers Foundation distributed $152,000 in grants to help with brewery rebuilding efforts.
The F.X. Matt Defense of the Industry Award – named for the late F.X. Matt of F.X. Matt Brewing Co. and presented to “an individual or company for their contributions and efforts in championing the small brewing industry” – has been awarded to Ted Zeller, chair of the Norris McLaughlin firm’s Liquor Law Practice Group and founding member and general counsel for the Brewers of Pennsylvania trade group.
Zeller, who also serves as general counsel for D.G. Yuengling & Son, has spent more than 15 years advocating for small brewery rights, particularly when it comes to distribution efforts.
The BA listed several of his contributions to the industry, including:
- “Opposing franchise law expansion before the Pennsylvania Senate;
- “Authoring laws streamlining brand registration, packaging, and direct sales;
- “Negotiating a reduced 1.5% beer sales tax;
- “Defending craft brewers in antitrust and licensing cases;”
- And “advocating for breweries as essential businesses” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ted has been the agent of change that turned Pennsylvania into one of the best states for breweries,” Tom Kehoe, Yards Brewing founder and president, said in the release.
The BA Mentor of the Year Award – given to a volunteer in the BA’s Mentorship Program for their efforts in championing industry members “who experience barriers to access and advancement in their professional journeys” – has been awarded to Shawn Mullen, director of national accounts, off-premise at Sapporo-Stone Brewing.
Mullen, an Advanced Cicerone and member of the BA’s market development committee, was an inaugural member of the BA’s Mentorship Program, founded in 2021 to “increase the diversity of the workforce, leadership and ownership of small and independent craft breweries.”
Mullen began his craft brewing career more than a decade ago, helping build the craft and import beer department at Chris Gasbarro’s Fine Wine and Spirits in Massachusetts, and later relocating to Washington, where he served as director of sales at Wallace Brewing Company for two years, followed by three years as national account manager at Odom Corporation, according to his LinkedIn profile. Mullen joined Stone in 2019, with his workload increasing two years later to include Sapporo and Unibroue brands following Sapporo’s acquisition of the company.
Mentee Chris Housman said in the release: “Shawn has been the professor of craft beer I always hoped for. He builds bridges and shows the path forward, empowering others to succeed.”
The BA will celebrate all four winners in a ceremony held April 30 at the Craft Brewers Conference in Indianapolis. Details on how to submit nominations for the 2026 awards, as well as lists of previous award winners, can be found here.