Craft Brewers Workshop on Yeast

Sponsored by
Master Brewers Association of the Americas

April 21, 2009, Afternoon
Hyatt Harborside
Boston, MA

Workshop Description

Intended for brewers in both packaging and on-premise breweries, the Craft Brewers Workshop on Yeast will offer practical, pragmatic insights into yeast management from storage through packaging. The workshop will consist of a series of presentations on topics relevant to smaller scale brewers and will include breakout sessions where participants can gain hands-on experience in techniques such as Gram staining, cell counting and viability assessment, and yeast slant preparation. The speakers represent a broad cross-section of researchers and professional brewers who bring decades of education, expertise, and experience to the program. This course is a great compliment to the International Brewers Symposium: Yeast Flocculation, Vitality, and Viability.

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Course Director

Jamie Schier, Harpoon Brewery

Tentative Schedule

Yeast storage: Effects on viability and flavor production
William Maca, MillerCoors
Bill Maca is currently a yeast and fermentation scientist with MillerCoors based in Milwaukee, WI. He started his brewing career with Miller Brewing Company 29 years ago working in various quality control capacities in the Albany, GA, brewery. Maca teaches brewing microbiology workshops for MillerCoors microbiologists and has taught brewing microbiology courses for the Siebel Institute and the MBAA Brewing and Malting Science course. He recently copresented a yeast workshop, To Ferment or not to Ferment, at WBC 2008. Maca's interests lie in the areas of yeast propagation and yeast management, rapid methods for the detection of beer-spoilage organisms, and troubleshooting microbiological and fermentation-related issues in breweries. Maca attended the University of Georgia, where he received his M.S. degree in microbiology. He also holds an MS degree in environmental engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. He is a member of the MBAA and the Society for Industrial Microbiology.

Improving yeast vitality and performance
Peter Bouckaert, New Belgium Brewing
Peter Bouckaert, a native of Belgium, met with Kim and Jeff at the Craft Brewers Conference in Boston in 1996. He became the brewmaster at New Belgium Brewing Co. shortly after this. He left his start-up brewpub, De Zwingel, behind. Bouckaert had been working briefly in the Zulte brewery and was the brewmaster in the Rodenbach brewery for nine years.

Yeast propagation for small breweries
John Mallett, Bell’s Brewing
John Mallett is the plant manager for Bell's Brewery, Inc. He joined Bell's in 2001 and manages operations and beer production for the brewery in Comstock, MI. Mallett has served in numerous capacities over his brewing career: he was head brewer of Boston's Commonwealth Brewery, brewmaster at the Old Dominion Brewing Co. in Ashburn, VA, and founder and president of SAAZ, an equipment and service provider for breweries both large and small. Mallett serves on many technical committees, including the MBAA and the American Malting Barley Association, Inc. He has lectured and written extensively and is a widely known consulting resource. Mallett has a diploma from Siebel Institute of Technology and is a recipient of the Institute for Brewing Studies Russell Schehrer Award for brewing innovation.

Bottle conditioning for small brewers
Fred Scheer, Bosco’s Brewing
Fred Scheer started his brewing career in Germany, where he served an apprenticeship as brewer and maltster. In 1976 he received his brew- and maltmaster degree from the Technical Academy DOEMENS in Gräfelfing (Munich), Germany. His work experience has included a variety of technical, packaging, and brewing positions throughout Europe. He was also in charge of planning and operating breweries (including one soft-drink plant) in Europe and in the United States. In 2000 he joined Boscos Nashville Brewing as their brewmaster. Scheer is an active member of the MBAA and the chair for the MBAA Global Emerging Issues Committee, president and BOG member for MBAA District Mid-South, and a member of the ASBC. Scheer serves on the Environmental Committee for the Institute of Brewing in London.

Identification and enumeration of contaminant microorganisms
Urs Wellhoener, Boston Beer Co.
Urs Wellhoener has been the corporate microbiologist for the Boston Beer Company since October 2007. His focuses are microbiology and yeast management. He is a technical graduate as brewer and maltster (1991-1993) and received a Dipl.-Eng. degree from the Faculty of Brewing and Food Technology of the Technische Universität München-Weihenstephan (TUM) in 1999. After graduation in 1999 he was a cooperator on a yeast project at Veltins, Meschede-Grevenstein (1999-2000). Between 2000 and 2007 Wellhoener was a scientific assistant and doctorate at the Chair of Brewing Technology II at the Weihenstephan Center of Food and Life Sciences, Technische Universität München-Weihenstephan (TUM). Wellhoener received his Ph.D. degree for his studies on yeast physiology during fermentation and propagation. During this time he also worked for Muellerbraeu, Pfaffenhofen/GER, as QC manager.

This course is tentatively scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. Registrants will receive a confirmation letter with the official start time.

Breakout Sessions

Stations will be set up where attendees can view demonstrations on Gram staining, cell counting and viability staining, and yeast slant preparation techniques.

Cost

$129

Register Today...

Learn more about the International Brewers Symposium: Yeast Flocculation, Vitality, and Viability preceding this offering.

Hotel Information

The hotel block is sold out

Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel
606 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210
+1.617.338.4111

For more hotel options, visit the CBC website.  

Register Today...

Learn more about the International Brewers Symposium: Yeast Flocculation, Vitality, and Viability preceding this offering.

Registration and Cancellation Policy

Only registration forms accompanied with payment in full (US funds only) will be accepted. Cancellations for the Craft Brewers Workshop on Yeast received at MBAA on or before March 23, 2009, will be issued a credit equal to the registration fee less $25 processing fee, which will be good for two years toward any MBAA continuing education program. Notices of cancellation after March 23, 2009, will not be eligible for a refund or credit. MBAA reserves the right to cancel the course if a sufficient number of registrations are not received by April 7, 2009. If MBAA cancels this course, your registration fee will be refunded in full. In the event MBAA cancels this course, MBAA is not liable for nonrefundable airfares or ticket change penalties imposed by the airlines or hotels. By registering for this course, you agree to the cancellation and refund terms and conditions.

If you have any questions, contact Beth Elliott in the Continuing Education Department by phone: +1.651.454.7250 or e-mail: belliott@scisoc.org. MBAA continuing education classes are conducted in a nonsmoking environment.