Fifth Oregonian Wins Schehrer Award!
Source: Brewers Association
Just one year ago we learned that the fourth Oregonian had won the Schehrer Award (Ben Edmunds)—and today I get to congratulate Tonya Cornett for being the fifth! For those scoring at home, that’s five of 28, 18% of all Schehrers, second only to California. The Brewers Association established the award to celebrate a brewer “for their innovative contributions to the brewing industry.” In some ways I think this is a holdover from the earlier days when craft seemed young and “innovative” compared to old-school domestic lager-brewing. “Innovation” functioned as more a metaphor for “craft.” When you scan the list, though, it’s hard not to see it as more a lifetime achievement award for the best and brightest—all of whom, in different ways, pushed American brewing forward.
Tonya Cornett has definitely done that. She got her start in Colorado, spent a bit of time in Indiana, but found her brewing home in Bend. She started at Bend Brewing back when it was just the second brewery in town (after Deschutes). It has always been just a modest brewpub, and she could have made a fine career brewing respectable pub ales. Instead, she built an ambitious program there and in 2008 became the first woman to make a brewery Champion at the World Beer Cup. She was one of the first brewers to experiment with fruit and acidity, years before that became a trend. Brewpubs don’t need to become nationally-competitive to succeed, but under Tonya, that’s what Bend Brewing became.
Tonya has been a leader behind the scenes as well. Part of what Tonya has done is support and encourage younger brewers, and having such an accomplished role model has helped make Oregon a leader in welcoming women to the brewhouse. I’m very happy to see the Brewers Association begin to recognize the work of women in the industry, too—Tonya is just the third woman to win, but the second in six years. She has earned it: in all, Tonya has taken home 28 medals at the World Beer Cup/GABF in her career (and a heap from other competitions) and is truly one of the most accomplished brewers in the country.
Interestingly, fate had to intercede to make this award possible. Tonya has been the Brewmaster of R&D at 10 Barrel since 2012—that’s Anheuser-Busch-owned 10 Barrel. She took her excellence to the Bend startup two years before the owners sold it to AB, and kept on winning awards after the sale. But that made her brewer non grata with the small-brewers’ trade association. Posterity owes Tilray a big debt for freeing 10 Barrel from the Brewers Association’s nemesis by buying the company last August. Tonya’s career deserves recognition, and it’s fantastic the Brewers Association took literally their first opportunity to offer it.
Congrats to Tonya and 10 Barrel!
Here’s the full list of past Schehrer winners: