Sandy Hugill

Sandy is a true brewery geek, having visited nearly 400 breweries in 33 US states and on 4 continents. She judges professional and homebrew competitions and loves exploring the variety of offerings made by these talented brewers. She is always stumped when someone asks her to name a favorite beer – there are too many to choose from! But Sandy does have a soft spot for the classic British ales, as she traces her roots to that part of the world, and her late father Steve loved to home brew English Bitters. After a career in management consulting, Sandy decided to pursue her passion for craft beer. She previously worked for Great Lakes Brewing Co and Pretentious Barrel House before helping to open Thunderwing Brewing in the role of Sales & Experience Manager.

Hello, I’m Sandy Hugill, craft beer consultant and true beer geek! My path toward exploring beer and sharing with others began in 2017 when I returned to Ohio after living in the Washington DC area. I realized that I’d missed 20 years of change and growth in my home state’s craft beer scene. So I began visiting the breweries in my native Columbus, then branching out to Dayton, Cincinnati, Akron, Cleveland, and other pockets of the state where beer was brewed and loved. I added these experiences to the many previous breweries I’d toured worldwide. And so my list of breweries and brewpubs continues to grow.

For me, the stories of breweries and the people who make and serve the beer are just as important as the actual brews. Some breweries are large and industrial, others are in rustic, farmhouse settings. Many contain kitchens where they expertly pair their beers with delicious dishes. And some are simple, cozy taprooms. But each one has a story, borne from a desire to craft wonderful brews and serve them to admiring fans.

As I traveled to more breweries, I learned so much about beer, and realized that this was to become a major focus of my life. I started The Brewery Log to share about breweries and beers. And then I decided to study beer intensively. Throughout the journey I’ve had the opportunity to shadow brewers in commercial breweries and in the homebrew scene. I’ve even brewed some beer of my own. Real progress came when I began judging homebrew competitions – an amazing way to gain exposure to so many styles of beer, and meet great people who share my love of beer. All these things prepared me to attain the Certified Cicerone® and BJCP Certified Beer Judge credentials. Later, I became both a Cider Judge and a Mead Judge through the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) – because delicious fermented beverages go beyond simply beer.

And now, my true purpose is to share my beer and brewery passion with others. I offer customized beer tastings, experiences, and consulting services to individuals and groups. Tastings can be created to feature beer from a specific region of the world, or a general history of beer styles, or beers for wine lovers, and many other themes. We can focus on beer history and culture, or explore the latest industry trends. I am happy to consult with businesses to help them select beers to sell or beers to pair with foods, to create beer-related events, and to train service staff in all things beer. And I offer one-on-one tutoring and coaching for beer lovers to achieve their individual goals.

You can find me at Thunderwing Brewing in Columbus, Ohio. In my role as Sales & Experience Manager I share our brews with the local craft beer community and work with our team to provide a great time for our taproom patrons. All the while, I continue my exploration of breweries and beers from around the corner and around the world.