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2026 Program & Schedule

Join us in Virginia Beach for four days of world-class technical sessions, industry-leading keynotes, and exclusive brewery tours.

Program Status: Preliminary Draft

Note: This schedule is currently under development and is subject to change. Please check back regularly for updates regarding technical session titles and speaker confirmations.

Schedule at a Glance

Wednesday, Oct 21
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Registration Open
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Welcome Happy Hour & Collaboration Beer Launch (Offsite at Aslin Brewing)
Thursday, Oct 22
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM Registration Open
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM MBAA Annual Conference Breakfast
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM Master Brewers Annual Business Meeting
8:15 AM - 9:45 AM Opening Keynote with Jason Perkins, Allagash Brewing Co.
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Sponsored Presentation: Chinova Bioworks Campfire Session: Safety Queries & Quandaries: Ask the Brewery & Food Safety Committee 
(Roberto Bellavia, Nelcy Latorre, Dirk Loeffler, Andrew Maust, Jennifer Pesavento)
11:15 AM - 12:30 PM
Brewtech:
  • Precision Yeast Nutrition: Improving Fermentation Performance with MicroElements Brew Powder
    (Tom Mondor)
  • Capacity Modeling as a Master-Planning Tool for Integrated Beverage Facilities
    (Rod Waite, Tim Wolf)
  • Rebuilding Beer: Mouthfeel Modulation Strategies for Non-Alcoholic Brewing
    (Meagen Coester)
  • Ecolab
 
 
Draught Beer the Challenges and solutions to devlivering the perfect pint presented by the Brewers Association:
  • Protecting Your Art: Developing and Scaling a Post-Brewery Quality Program
    (Matt  Meadows) 
  • Draught Beer - Microbiology and Food Safety
    (Alastair Pringle)
12:00 PM - 7:00 PM Exhibit Hall Open: Trade Show & Posters
12:15 PM - 1:45 PM Lunch inside Exhibit Hall
1:15 PM - 4:15 PM  Workshop 1: Sensory-Led Shelf Life: Translating Technical Data into Customer Acceptance
(Liz Pratt)
(additional cost to attend - $30)
Workshop 2: Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Data Analytics Application in Brewing for Process Improvement
(Travis Audet, Reid Laking, Adrianus "Arno" Thijssen) 
(additional cost to attend - $30)
 
3:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Poster Sessions inside Exhibit Hall:
Even Poster #s 3:00 - 4:30 PM
2 - 
ATHP Detective Work in Action (Molly Browning)
4 - 
Simplifying Brewery Microbiology: Validation of a Portable On-Site qPCR Platform for Beer Spoilage Bacteria and Wild Yeast Detection (Max Derbyshire)
6 - 
Investigating the Inhibition of Industrial Saccharomyces Strains Caused by Monoterpenes (Tomas Fischer)
8 - 
Corn in the Brewhouse: Raw Material Selection, Process Methods, and Sensory Outcomes (Nicolai Hansen)
10 - Impact of Hop Treatment Conditions during Dry Hopping on Ester Levels in Beer (Yuta Katayama)
12 - 
Contract Production vs. In-House Brewing: Strategic Options and Operational Insights (Forian Kuplent)
14 - 
Optimizing Flow Cytometry for Microbial Monitoring in Beer Fermentation (Tom Mondor, Daniel Gusmer)
16 - 
Enhancing Draft Beer Foam Quality Using an Improved Slide Valve (Hirotaka Nishina)
20 - The Mysterious Mr. Moyashi (Lucas Smolic)
22 - 
Use Structured Frameworks to Level Up Your Data-based Decision-making Skills (Sam Thompson)
24 - 
From Mushrooms and Corn to Bright Beer: A Novel Vegan Fining Agent (Alan Windhausen)
26 - 
Biotransformation in Hop-Forward Beer: Theory and Practical tips for brewers (Alex Titov)

Odd Poster #s 5:00 - 6:30 PM
1 - 
Novel tunnel pasteurizer treatment technology dramatically improves results in a double deck 4-regenerative zone, 12 compartment high speed can line at a major U. S. brewery (Jack Bland, Jr, David Marten)
3 - T
he Great Dank Debate (Jeff Dailey)
5 - 
Scaling Recipes and Working With Production Partners (Bryan Donaldson)
7 - 
Food Safety and Regulatory Implications of Producing Nonalcoholic and Low-Alcohol Beer (Maddy Frierson, Samantha Humphrey)
9 - Biotransformation of KalHop' Grandissimo Geraniol Extract to Beta Citronellol via Lallemand Pomona Yeast (
Connor Heckler)
11 - 
Common Design and Integration Failures in Craft Brewery Projects (Florian Kuplent and Dwight Garrels)
13 - 
From Detection to Decision: Applying Metagenomics to Understand and Manage Microbial Risk in Brewing and Beverage Production (Jermaine Lindsey)
15 - 
Counting the Clusters: Evaluating Accuracy and Throughput of Snowflake Yeast Quantification Techniques for Quality Control (Luisa Muhleisen)
17 - 
Hold My Beer: Why PFAS in Water Matters for Brewing Quality and What the Industry Can Do About It (Jennifer Redmon)
19 - 
Brewing With Historical Herbs and Timeless Teas (Devin Smith)
21 - 
Bacterial Contamination and Surface Hygiene in the Microbrewery Environment (Alex Thompson)
23 - 
Understanding Lager Aroma Defects: From Sensory Recognition to Process Control  (Alex Titov)
25 - Integrated Water Reuse and Energy Recovery System - Large-scale brewery in Phoenix, Arizona (Jeff Van Voorhis)

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM Afternoon Snack Break inside Exhibit Hall
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM MBAA Annual Conference Bierstub
Friday, Oct 23
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM Registration Open
7:00 AM - 8:30 AM MBAA Annual Conference Breakfast
7:00 AM - 7:45 AM Novonesis Sunrise BrewRun: The Brewing Industry's Own Wellness Moment, Powered By Fermentation (Sign Up - a 5K funrun from DoubleTree to Ocean & Back)
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Sustainability / Utilities / Maintenance Orals:
  • Beyond the Bubbles: Safeguarding Quality and Brand Integrity Through CO2 Purity
    (Mark Taylor)
  • Brewing Sustainability into Each Batch: Energy and Water Conservation Strategies in the Brewhouse and Cellars
    (Darrin Kinsey)
focus session:

Beyond Pellets: Liquid Hopping For Yield, Speed, and Efficiency
(Meagen Coester, Steve Gonzalez, Christine Hess)

9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Focus Session:

The Evolution of West Coast IPA: What’s Changed, What Matters, and How You Can Leverage Data To Create Modern West Coast IPA’s
(CJ Penzone)

Brewing Operations: Wort Production TO Cellar Orals:
  • Getting More From Less: The Benefits of Downstream Bittering Extracts
    (Sam Thompson)
  • Weak Wort Recovery - Are You Leveraging Your Extract to Its Full Potential?
    (Nick Okada, Jens Klein)
  • Mitigating Risk & Loss - Preoperational Inspections in the Brewery
    (Jennifer Pesavento)
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Brewing Operations: Wort Production TO Cellar Orals:
  • High Temperature Mashing As a Process Tool For No And Low Alcohol Brewing
    (Nicolai Hansen)
  • Impact of Oxygenation And Fill Time On Key Fermentation Parameters In Multi-Fill Brewing Practices
    (Barret Foster)
  • ALDC - Are You Down With Me?
    (Travis Audet)
Campfire Session:

Cleaning, Conveying, and Storage of Malt: Impacts of Malt Handling on Performance and Yield
(Ashton Lewis)

12:00 PM - 1:15 PM Lunch & State of the Industry with Bart Watson, Brewers Association
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM
Focus Session:
Modern Tools, Missed Fundamentals: Why Basic Brewing Checks Still Mater
(Mike Gerhart, Kayla Johnson)
Raw Materials Orals:
  • Investigation of the Shelf Stability of Different Rice Formats and Its Effect on Lager Quality
    (Maddie Shults)
  • Investigation of Yield and Quality Impacts of Virus-Free Hop Propagation
    (Ryan Christian)
  • Beyond HSI: Understanding Aroma Hop Aging from Storage to Beer
    (Tom Shellhammer)
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
focus session:
Yeast Propagation - A Timeless Fundamental To Achieve Optimal Fermentation Performance
(Justin Kingsford)
NABLAB / Beyond Beer orals:
  • Use of the Transglucosidase Enzyme for Reduced Fermentability in Low Alcohol Beers
    (Andrew Fratianni)
  • Exploring Glucosidase Activity and Sulfur Production in Maltose-Negative Yeast for Improved Non-Alcoholic Beer Flavor
    (Andrew Maust)
  • Rational, Style-Driven NABLAB Formulation via Controlled Mashing and Limited Fermentation
    (Laura Burns)
4:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Afternoon snack Break
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM
novel Microbiology Research Orals:
  • Carbonation as a Control Mechanism of Salmonella Growth in Non-Alcoholic Beer
    (Roxana Navarro)
  • Generating Novel Lager Yeasts with a Regional Identity
    (George van der Merwe)
Campfire Session:
Can't Pass Up a Deal: Successfully Integrating Used Equipment Into a Production Facility
(Mike Gerhart, Kayla Johnson, Garrett Meier, Campbell Morrissy, Kane Willie)
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM

Closing Keynote with Barbara Stone, Abstrax Hops: Raising the Bar: Innovation That Builds Stronger Breweries

7:30 PM - 9:45 PM

MBAA Annual Conference Bierstub

Saturday, Oct 24
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM Travel to Offsite Locations: Explore the technical side of Virginia Beach's vibrant brewing scene with hands-on learning experiences.
9:30 AM - 12:00 PM Workshop 3: Visualizing Brewery Data to Drive Smarter Decisions at New Realm 
(Brian Faivre, Ashley Howard, Justin Kingsford, Jason Weihbrecht)
(additional cost to attend - $30)
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM Goat Yoga at New Realm
9:30 AM - 12:45 PM Workshop 4: Brewery Tour Field Trip (additional cost to attend - $30)
  • 9:30 AM - 10:10 AM: Sojourn Fermentory
  • 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM: Afterglow Brewing
  • 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM: To Be Announced
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Conference Farewell Lunch at New Realm

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