President's Message

Just back from the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in San Francisco, the first one that I have had the opportunity to attend, and all I can say is "wow." What passion the attendees had for all things brewing! Attendance was up by over 600 persons from last year, hitting a high of 3,923 attendees. The exhibition filled three large rooms and seemed to be constantly wall-to-wall people all day. I learned an interesting statistic while at the meeting - while the craft brewing segment has only 5% (and growing) of the U.S. market share, that segment represents more than 100,000 jobs or about the same number of jobs required to produce the other 95% of the beer in the United States. This makes it even more essential for MBAA to embrace the craft segment, providing them with the educational opportunities they are looking for in their quest to brew better and more interesting beers. The Brewers Association (BA) and MBAA have become closer over the past few years because each organization realizes that the other organization can provide something of value to its own members. In the case of MBAA, the technical expertise, educational opportunities, and the drive to promote professionalism in brewing, regardless of brewery size, is very attractive to BA. The passion of BA members for brewing and their thirst for knowledge is attractive to MBAA. Who knows where this will lead, whether it is a co-located meeting in the future or further collaboration between the organizations in all matters brewing.

Cheers,

Rob McCaig
MBAA President
 

Brewing and Malting Science Course, October 30 – November 10, 2011, Madison, WI

Registration is now open for the 2011 MBAA Brewing and Malting Science Course. This two-week course will take you through the technical side of the brewing and malting process. More than 25 topics will be covered in depth! Attendees can also sign up to take the IBD General Certificate in Brewing exam following the course. Information will be sent out to attendees once it is available. The last offering of this course sold out two months in advance. Learn more and register today!

MBAA Annual Conference, October 13-15, 2011, Minneapolis, MN

The 2011 MBAA Annual Conference in Minneapolis will provide practical and cutting-edge technical talks; hands-on workshops; sessions and posters that cover all major aspects of brewing, packaging, and raw materials; a trade show featuring exhibits from suppliers; and a great networking environment. Registration will open in May.

MBAA Diploma Module 3: Process and Packaging Technology "Well Received"

The Master Brewers Association of the Americas has just completed its offering of the Diploma Brewer Module 3: Process and Packaging Technology. The course was held at the Anheuser-Busch Beer Academy in Chicago, IL, and was well received, with attendees gaining both knowledge to assist in their successful completion of the exam and new skills to bring back to their operations.

Attendees received top-notch instruction from Eric Candy of Inovate and Jeremy Browne of TMS Ltd. Both instructors are accredited by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and have instructed around the world. The course consisted of lecture, exam technique, past exam review, group work, and team presentations. Read more...
 

Craft Brewers Conference a Huge Success!

The Craft Brewers Conference (CBC), held in San Francisco, CA, March 23-26, was a whirlwind. The rooms of the expo were packed with participants. We handed out 600 flyers advertising the MBAA Hospitality Suite held at the Clift Hotel on March 24 and 25. On the backs of these flyers was an application for membership. We tried to make it dual purpose and had a lot of positive response from this method. I would like to thank Ruth Martin from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Lars Larson and his crew from Trumer, and Vince Jennings (my husband) for graciously volunteering to help out in the suite for the two nights. Without your help, it would not have been a successful as it was. The suite is a lot of work for all involved and the volunteers are so very much appreciated. There were more than 300 people that graced us with their presence over the two nights, pretty amazing considering all the other things going on and the suite being in a different hotel. Not to mention the rain that plagued us the whole time in California. The conversations were very positive, and it was nice to see many non-MBAA people talking to those that are members. Hopefully this sparked their interest in joining this wonderful organization. Read more...

An Update from the Technical Committee

Your Technical Committee is currently busy reviewing all the abstracts submitted for the MBAA Annual Conference this year. We had a grand total of 60 abstracts submitted for review. Thank you to all who submitted a poster or oral abstract! Though this number is lower than years past, the abstracts are all exceptional, with some stellar research being conducted here and overseas (Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, etc.) that will be part of the program. Read more...

Musings from Asia

I have been asked to give some periodic updates on what is transpiring in the brewing industry in Asia from my perspective, working in China and living in Japan. Following is the first of said musings.

The continued sluggishness in the Japanese economy has driven the now budget-minded Japanese away from traditionally highly taxed beer and toward their lesser-taxed cousins, happoshu (pronounced "hap POE shu"; under 25% malt) and the new third category of beer-like drinks that derive their alcohol from distilled spirits. In a recent interview, the president of Suntory predicted that due to the taxing structure, this third category will eventually displace happoshu altogether. These two categories amount to about 50% of the beer presently produced in Japan, even though the Japanese tax law does not consider happoshu a beer. However, being a fermented beverage made from cereal grains, by brewing standards, it clearly is. In general, people tend to drink real beer when they are out and about and reserve the poor step-children for use at home. Read more...
 

A Great Opportunity for Students: Barth-Haas Grants

Hops are one of the most interesting research areas worldwide and the full extent of all the applications for hops are far from being known. Therefore, the Barth-Haas Group, the world's largest supplier of hop products and services, will again confer grants for hop research projects in 2011. Read more...

District Caribbean Hosts Its 50th Annual Convention

MBAA District Caribbean will stage its 50th Annual Convention, May 4-7, 2011, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf and Spa Resort in Rose Hall, Jamaica. This 427-room AAA five diamond resort is located on 5,000 picture-perfect acres and is conveniently located just 10 minutes from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. This year's edition will mark the inaugural Community Day Project, which will see MBAA giving back to the community. At the convention, the district will also honor its founding member.

District New England Winter Meeting "A Great Success"

First and foremost, thanks to all of our sponsors, speakers, AB Inbev, and attendees for making the winter meeting a great success! Sorry for the gap in communication since that meeting, lots going on in our ever-evolving industry!

Our next meeting is right around the corner so I wanted to send a reminder for that and for future meeting dates so you can mark your calendars accordingly.

April 29 - Spring Meeting at Sam Adams in Jamaica Plains, MA, featuring a technical presentation by Phil Leinhart on bottle conditioning at Brewery Ommegang, including how they do it there, lessons learned from Duvel, and a presentation of selected research on the topic.

July 22 - Summer Meeting at Baxter Brewing in Lewiston, ME.

October 14-15 - Fall Meeting and Brewfest at Redhook in Portsmouth, NH.
More Spring Meeting details to come in the next few weeks, including hotel information and details on Perkin Elmer setting up a hospitality suite at a hotel close to Sam Adams to offer information on lab instrumentation for your brewery.

Cheers!
Judy Nadeau
District New England Secretary

District Southeast Announces April Meeting

We are pleased to announce we will be having an MBAA District Southeast Meeting at the Yuengling Tampa Brewery on the week ending April 15, 16, and 17. John Houseman and Company will be providing timely education for the brewing industry. If you know a friend or neighbor who belongs to the industry, please forward this e-mail so they can contact our organization and get on the mailing list. The information to sign up for our meeting will be forthcoming.

Regards,

Bill Cromie
District Southeast President

District St. Louis Hears from the Newest Breweries in St. Louis

MBAA District St. Louis invited five leaders of the newest craft brewers in St. Louis to discuss the dynamic growth of the craft brewing industry in our city on Thursday, March 17. Phil Wymore, Perennial Artisan Ales; Florian Kuplent, Urban Chestnut Brewery; Steve Crider, 2nd Shift Brewing Co.; Will Johnston, Four Hands Brewing Company; and Dylan Mosley, Civil Life Brewing Co, shared their experiences, challenges, and future plans with the membership. Thanks to our March meeting sponsor, Tyco Valves & Controls, and our host for the meeting, The Stable in Soulard, another craft brewing establishment new to the scene.

We look forward to our April meeting, featuring Chris White from White Labs in San Diego to be held at the Schlafly St. Louis Brewery & Taproom on Thursday, April 21. This also promises to be a great meeting!

We want to acknowledge and give best wishes to our oldest St. Louis member, Fritz Zenthoefer, on the occasion of his 90th birthday! Fritz still dutifully attends most every district meeting, and we hope he will continue to do so for years to come!

Steve Huffman
District St. Louis Publicity Chair

District Western New York Hosts Well-Attended Meeting in March

Empire Brewing Company in Syracuse, NY, hosted the MBAA District Western New York Meeting on March 30. The meeting was very well attended. Jim McDermott presented on "Comparing and contrasting small and large breweries." Jim has worked for both. His presentation initiated discussion from the audience on differences in equipment and methods. Dinner was a multi-course feast paired with beers by our host, Tim Butler, master brewer at Empire Brewing Co. Compliments to both the chef and to Tim. The next meeting is planned for May 26 at Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY. For additional details, contact Jeff O’Neil or Kathy Russell.

Kathy Russell
District Publicity Chair

In Memoriam

John Stewart Hawley passed away on February 15, 2011. John joined MBAA in 1959 and had been a member of MBAA District Milwaukee. In addition, he proudly served as president of the association from 1987 to 1988.

John was born on February 6, 1931, in Toronto. He was much loved and will be sadly missed by his son Fraser Hawley (Sharon); daughters Susan Walczak (Ed), Diane Pitner (Jay), and Heather Bruce (Eric); his grandchildren John, Erik, and Marshall Hawley, Katherine and Michael Walczak, and Rebecca and Nicholas Pitner; and his many dear friends. Read more...

We would respectfully request that District officers or relatives notify Cheryl Kruchten as soon as possible upon the death of one of our members or retirees: Cheryl Kruchten, Member Services Representative, Master Brewers Association of the Americas, 3340 Pilot Knob Rd., St. Paul, MN 55121, U.S.A. Direct Phone: +1.651.994.3801; Main Phone: +1.651.454.7250.
 

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October 13-15, 2011

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