I arrived in San Francisco thinking I knew something about food. I used a French press, ate smelly cheese, and owned a few dusty cookbooks. Six years later I think about who made it, how it was killed, and choose quality over quantity.

How did this happen? San Franciscans are simply obsessed with every facet of food, its various styles, production, and appreciation. It’s contagious and places to eat are everywhere. In 2012 there were 39.3 restaurants per 10,000 households in the city, ten more than anywhere else in the country.

With such a focus on food, it makes sense that the Good Food Awards were born in 2010. Here’s the gist from their website:

“The Good Food Awards celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic and responsibly produced. We grant awards to outstanding American food producers and the farmers who provide their ingredients. We host an annual Awards Ceremony and Marketplace at the iconic Ferry Building in San Francisco to honor the Good Food Award recipients who push their industries towards craftsmanship and sustainability while enhancing our agricultural landscape and building strong communities.”

I was honored to be on the Good Food Awards beer committee, which is one of the ten different categories, alongside charcuterie, chocolate and more. Yes, many people consider beer to be food, and it’s nutritious, but that’s beside the point. Here are the criteria for beer, once again, in the words of the organizers:

“Breweries making Good Beer are pioneers of local manufacturing, using traditional and creative brewing methods to redefine consumer expectations for craftsmanship with their beer. These brewers aim to reshape supply chains and promote responsibility by sourcing ingredients locally and grown without synthetic inputs when possible, practicing resource conservation and supporting local communities.”