Author of five books* on beer, journalist and broadcaster Melissa Cole’s passion is life is getting people to learn as much, or as little, as they want about what she considers the finest social lubricant known to humankind - beer.
Respected the world over for her fine palate, Melissa is invited to judge at competitions in New Zealand, the US and Brazil, as well as closer to home in the UK and across Europe. Melissa is also a regular contributor to several different broadsheets, food and drink magazines, BBC and independent radio and television - as well as international appearances all over the world. She was also the first women to be given a Knighthood of Mash Brewer's Mash Staff by the Union of Belgian Brewers.
As the first woman beer writer in the UK, Melissa has had to overcome some sizeable hurdles, and spent years reading, studying and educating herself about how to properly assess beer, partly through achieving her Certified Cicerone© but also about the brewing process, by getting her hands dirty making collaboration beers with breweries across the globe, like Fuller's, Odell, St Austell, Thornbridge, Rooster's, Ilkley, Anspach & Hobday, New Holland and Brasserie de la Senne to name but a few.
Melissa’s other passion is food and is recognised as the UK’s leading expert in pairing, and cooking with, beer having dedicated years to figuring out which beers work in which dishes and why (which she regularly calls ‘making a whole series of disgusting mistakes, so you don’t have to’).
She’s also sought after by restaurants, like the world-famous St John, to help construct beer lists and has curated the beer offering at some of the hottest food event tickets in town like Meatopia, and is also launching a corporate beer tasting business later in the year.
*Four of which are published by Hardie Grant, a company full of people who are a joy to work with.
Respected the world over for her fine palate, Melissa is invited to judge at competitions in New Zealand, the US and Brazil, as well as closer to home in the UK and across Europe. Melissa is also a regular contributor to several different broadsheets, food and drink magazines, BBC and independent radio and television - as well as international appearances all over the world. She was also the first women to be given a Knighthood of Mash Brewer's Mash Staff by the Union of Belgian Brewers.
As the first woman beer writer in the UK, Melissa has had to overcome some sizeable hurdles, and spent years reading, studying and educating herself about how to properly assess beer, partly through achieving her Certified Cicerone© but also about the brewing process, by getting her hands dirty making collaboration beers with breweries across the globe, like Fuller's, Odell, St Austell, Thornbridge, Rooster's, Ilkley, Anspach & Hobday, New Holland and Brasserie de la Senne to name but a few.
Melissa’s other passion is food and is recognised as the UK’s leading expert in pairing, and cooking with, beer having dedicated years to figuring out which beers work in which dishes and why (which she regularly calls ‘making a whole series of disgusting mistakes, so you don’t have to’).
She’s also sought after by restaurants, like the world-famous St John, to help construct beer lists and has curated the beer offering at some of the hottest food event tickets in town like Meatopia, and is also launching a corporate beer tasting business later in the year.
*Four of which are published by Hardie Grant, a company full of people who are a joy to work with.