Steve Beal, Keeper of the Quaich, Master of Whisky
& Liquid Archaeologist(c)
Award Winner, Ambassador, Writer, Broadcast Personality
Steve Beal is a very familiar figure to both the consumers who enjoy them and the those in the trade who make and sell fine single malts. He has earned the respect of everyone he meets with his endless energy and passion for all things distilled and whisky in particular.
Steve is admired and well known by top-shelf bartenders, chefs, waitpersons from the San Francisco Bay Area and across the country. Although he is a fulltime official brand ambassador for the Classic Malts of Scotland & Johnnie Walker Blended Scotch Whiskies, as well as Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Crown Royal Canadian Whisky, Bulleit Bourbon and George Dickel Tennessee Whisky, many have come to consider him the unofficial brand ambassador for the category of whisky as a whole.
He is regarded as one of the top distilled spirits experts in America. His start in the whisky business was one of fate and being in the right place at the right time. He was working for a well known culinary school when he received a call from someone looking for “…a Scotsman with a kilt who knew something about whisky...” The next thing he knew, Steve was standing in front of huge crowds, extolling the virtues of the water of life. From lecturing future chefs about spirits, he was now sharing his knowledge with the world.
Steve comes to his knowledge of spirits through a very personal journey. He has trained at several distilleries, including Dalwhinnie, Caol Ila, Clynelish, Cragganmore, Oban, Talisker, Lagavulin, Glenkinchie, Cardhu and Royal Lochnagar. He has worked for major suppliers and distributors as well as The Whisky Shops of Scotland (Scotland’s largest retailer of fine malts) and helped with the launch of their San Francisco store, their first U.S. based location. He is a pioneer in internet whisky sales and consults for a large number of retailers, both on and off premise. He has presented training and sales programs to almost all the major single malt brands and done private venue tastings for the consumer in settings to numerous to list.
Stephen Beal, KOTC, MDiv, CTh (Oxon)
Steve Beal is one of the world’s fifteen Masters of Whisky and Sr. Master of Whisky for DIAGEO Spirits on the US West Coast. On 4 October 2010, he was created “Keeper of the Quaich” an honor bestowed only upon the elite of the Scotch Whisky industry. In 2010, 52 individuals from around the world were welcomed into the Keepers of the Quaich at Blair Castle in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. In 2010 the Mastersof Whisky received the Icons of Whisky Award from Whisky Magazine.
In addition to his role as Master of Whisky, Steve is also nown as a writer and chef. In 2003 he received the Spirits Ambassador to the World Award at the Whiskies of the World Exposition held in San Francisco. He has been a Judge at the annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition since its inception in the year 2000 and a presenter for Bon Appetit magazine’s “Wine & Spirits Focus”. Steve has also served as contributing editor of Patterson’s California Beverage Journal, The Tasting Panel Magazine.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the US Bartenders Guild Master Mixologist program and was one of its founders. He is a lecturer at the School of Fine Spirits & Service in Las Vegas. He produced a segment weekly on the Food Guy and Marcy Show, a nationally syndicated food, wine and entertainment radio program with Guy Fieri and Marcy Smothers. He is a frequent guest on radio and television and has been seen on the Discovery Channel, Food Network, MSNBC, and CBS Market Watch and many publications. He also writes an industry column, “The Liquid Archaeologist.”©
He makes his home in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, where he also serves in a voluntary capacity as assisting clergy of San Francisco’s nearby Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill. He is a Graduate of Oxford University and the University of Arizona. An ordained priest in the Episcopal Church, he also holds a Master of Divinity Degree from The Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, California. He volunteers his time working with the City's homeless.
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