Maxwell H. Finnance, Ledyard, CT
Charlie Olchowski, Greenfield, MA
Michelle Pagano, Manhasset, NY
Damin Sawyer, Gouverneur, NY
Michael S. Wilson, Harahan, LA

Maxwell H. Finnance is a craft beer industry education and training leader with extensive experience developing sales, onboarding, and sensory education programs for large-scale brewing organizations. He served as Senior Manager of Education & Training at Artisanal Brewing Ventures, where he built company-wide training systems for sales teams, brewing staff, and cross-functional departments, and helped lead innovation efforts that brought 25+ beers from concept to production. He also developed and facilitated comprehensive sensory panels for Sixpoint Brewery, strengthening product evaluation and interdepartmental collaboration across multiple facilities.

In addition, he is a longtime Brewers Association mentor, supporting professional development for emerging industry professionals in beer, cider, and brewing careers. He holds top-tier credentials including Master Cicerone®, Master Beer Judge (BJCP) with cider and mead endorsements, and Certified Pommelier, and has served as a judge at major international competitions such as the Great American Beer Festival, World Beer Cup, and GLINTCAP.

Charlie Olchowski has been a judge of alcoholic beverages since the inception of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) in 1985. He is the ninth judge to be certified in this international program that has over seven thousand active judges. In organizing one of the competitions for the New England Homebrewer of the Year Award, he and others included ciders and meads in the judging. It was the first real forum for judging ciders in the U.S. Charlie has judged ciders at many local, regional, and national events. He actively works in cider education and his cider writings have appeared in many periodicals. He is a panelist in several forums at Cider Days held in Franklin County, Massachusetts each November, which he co-founded with Paul Correnty in 1994. He was a judge in the 2018 and 2022 competition at The Big E.

Damin has been involved with the cider industry in one way or another since 2012. Starting with a casual drinker, and increasingly engrossing himself within the industry ever since. Through his online profile as "Bone & Bottle Reviews" , Damin travels throughout the US & Canada to showcase and sample cider. These days he also has a role in Sales & Distribution with Original Sin Cider.

He has previously judged cider events in New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.