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Ontario District
ONE DAY TECHNICAL CONFERENCE
FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2002
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HERE FOR THE PHOTO ALBUM
A near record turnout of 276 attendees gathered together on Friday January 25th at a unique technical conference.
Ontario's One-Day Technical Conference has gained a worldwide reputation as one of the leading forums for the presentation and exchange of technical information relating to the brewing industry. The conference allows delegates to listen and direct questions to a diverse group of technical people.
The conference kicked off with the Beer Stube on Thursday night, where all registrants and speakers enjoyed hospitality, and met old and new friends. The conference followed on Friday with a full day comprised of 7 presentations, a full sit-down lunch and hospitality.
This year's speakers covered a variety of industry related topics, headed by our Keynote Speaker- Lorraine Behnan. Lorraine's presentation on 'Excelling Through Change' entertained and provided insight on excelling at managing change, a subject that impacts all of us.
The technical speakers were:
- Mr. Dick Leach of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre, introduced the technical centre, located in Winnipeg and described it's activities related to the brewing and malting industries.
- Dr. Alex Speers from Dalhousie University, presented an overview of the research being conducted related to Beta-Glucan and Arabinoxylan Polymers in the malting and brewing processes.
- Dr. Galen Hatfield of Millenium Chemials Inc., spoke on Silica gel in light of new information on stabilization, and provided insight into the next generation of chill-proofing aids.
- Mr. Tom Inglis from the New Zealand Hop Marketing Board, made a presentation on New Zealand hop varieties and characteristics.
- Mr. Mark Plutshack of Centec, spoke on in-line equipment for sampling and analyzing packaged products.
- Hans Denniger of Westfalia and Seitz/Schenk, presenting a system for filtration without the use of diatomacious earth.
At the luncheon, MBAA President, Kathy Kinton, informed the audience of the commitment of the MBAA Executive to understand and meet customer expectations for the future. The first step was to review and update the Vision of the MBAA and then to devise key strategies to get there. More of this will be addressed by Kathy in her news bulletins and on the MBAA website.
During the conference breaks, the Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the Canadian Brewerianists had a display of brewery memorabilia that proved of close interest to many of the attendees.
Workshop On Beta-Glucan and Arabinoxylan Polymers in the Malting and Brewing Process
In conjunction with District Ontario's One Day Technical Conference, an informative workshop was held on Saturday Jan. 26th to review and discuss the latest findings on Beta-glucan and Arabinoxylan in relationship to malting and brewery processes.
Dr. Alex Speers of the Dept. of Food Science  and Technology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, led the workshop, comprised
of 29 attendees from the malting, brewing, and filtration industry. Five
of the attendees were from the United States.
Guest speakers were:
- Dr. Peter Freeman , Exec. Dir. Alberta Network for Proteomic Innovation discussing Beta-glucans in
Malting
- Dr. Paul Schwartz, Assoc. Prof. , Cereal and Food Sciences, North Dakota State University reviewing Arabinoxylans in
Malting
- Yulai Jin Ph.D. candidate, Dalhousie University presenting results on Beta-glucans in
Brewing
- Aleksandar Egi, M.Sc candidate, Dalhousie University (now at CMBTC, Winnipeg) - talking on Arabinoxylans in
Brewing
Malt is the primary source of beta-glucans. The formation, degradation, interaction (and subsequent contribution to brewery filtration and haze problems) of beta-glucan and arabinoxylan polymers was concluded to be strongly affected by processing conditions unique to breweries. Shearing of these gums occurs in the brew house, fermentation, beer transfers and filtration and can impact on lauter tun performance, filtration rates and clarity. More details of these presentations can be obtained from Alex Speers (Alex.Speers@Dal.Ca). Brewers are encouraged to learn where high shear rates occur in their brewery and to work closely with malt suppliers to be able to handle process problems when they arise. Maltsters are also encouraged to select low Beta-glucan and Arabinoxylan barley varieties that meet the brewer's needs.
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