Beer consumption per capita in the US has declined steadily since 1980; meanwhile, consumption of wine, cider, and spirits has increased. Keith Armstrong joins us to talk about why, as well as what brewers should be doing about it.

Special Guest: Keith Armstrong.

Sponsored By:

• Hopsteiner:
• ABS:
• Proximity Malt:
• BSG:
• Gusmer:
• Fermentis:

Links:

• WBC Connect 2020
• MBAA TQ 2020: Barley and Beer: A New Beginning?​
• 2019 Master Brewers Conference Closing Session — Barley and Beer: A New Beginning? (slides)
• 2019 Master Brewers Conference Proceedings — New member benefit!
• Webinars on Tap
• Upcoming Events - Master Brewers Calendar
• COVID-19

Kerry Caldwell suffered severe injuries from an accident in the brewhouse. She was airlifted and overcame the 34% chance of survival calculated by the hospital. This episode is both the story of her accident and a description of a simple, inexpensive device that should be installed in your brewery to prevent similar accidents. 

Special Guest: Kerry Caldwell.

Sponsored By:

• Hopsteiner:
• ABS:
• Proximity Malt:
• BSG:
• Gusmer:
• Fermentis:

Links:

• Boil-Over Protection
• Brewery Safety — Master Brewers Brewery Safety Website
• WBC Connect 2020
• Webinars on Tap
• Upcoming Events - Master Brewers Calendar
• COVID-19

The Inspiring History and Legacy of American Lager Beer is envisioned to be a nine-volume series of books covering the history of the American lager brewing industry from the 1840s to the 1940s and the evolution of adjunct lager beer as America’s “national beverage.” The “surprising” aspect of this history is that it ever happened at all, given the half-century-long assault on the industry between the 1870s and 1910s to impose an “American Reinheitsgebot.” Unified in this objective were a plethora of the nation’s political, cultural, and agricultural institutions—all seeking to ban to use of rice and corn-based products in the brewing of American ales and lagers. Equally united in opposition to this effort were the brewers and brewing scientists of America. In battles that were passionate, highly public, and intense in nature, these brewing industry advocates successfully defended the right of American brewers to brew with the ingredients of their choice. It is a powerful legacy not only for America’s first revolution in beer (the adjunct lager brewing industry) but also for the nation’s second revolution in beer (the American craft brewing industry).

Special Guest: Greg Casey.

Sponsored By:

• Hopsteiner:
• ABS:
• Proximity Malt:
• BSG:
• Gusmer:
• Fermentis:

Links:

• MBAA TQ 2020: The Inspiring and Surprising History and Legacy of American Lager Beer
• Brewing Chemistry & Technology in the Americas — (With 120 Cause-and-Effect Fishbone Diagrams by Greg Casey)
• WBC Connect 2020
• Webinars on Tap
• Upcoming Events - Master Brewers Calendar
• COVID-19
• Master Brewers Book Store

Biotransformation has become a buzzword in the brewing community, with many brewers even performing dry hopping at certain specific times to hit what is considered to be the “biotransformation sweet spot.” Academic literature does not support these claims. With the aid of enzymes developed for the wine industry, two experimental IPA beers were brewed: one with an enzyme preparation aimed at hydrolyzing glycosides and the other with a β-lyase preparation aimed at releasing bound thiols. Triangle tests for each treatment were carried out by a panel of over 25 participants, composed of brewers and judges, and showed that both beers were significantly different from the control, yet preference was overwhelmingly toward the no-enzyme IPA control beer. Furthermore, the descriptive analysis carried out by the same panel showed a clear trend toward both enzyme beers being less tropical/fruity and more herbal and/or citrusy, the exact opposite of the purported benefit of biotransformation.

Special Guests: Leandro Meiners and Mati Cavanna.

Sponsored By:

• Fermentis:

Links:

• MBAA TQ 2020: Using Exogenous Enzymes to Boost Biotransformation

There are lots of different approaches to producing NA beer. Justin McKellar walks us through the tradeoffs of each method.

Special Guest: Justin McKellar.

Sponsored By:

• Hopsteiner:
• ABS:
• Proximity Malt:
• BSG:
• Gusmer:
• Fermentis:

Links:

• What’s the buzz? – Non-alcoholic beer production — District Ontario Presentation
• District Presentation Archives
• 2020 World Brewing Congress
• Upcoming Events - Master Brewers Calendar
• COVID-19

Does increasing the whirlpool trub carryover by 20% significantly affect beer quality? That's what Hayley & Tom set out to determine at Stone's Richmond, VA brewery.

Special Guests: Hayley Goodwin and Tom Boudreau.

Sponsored By:

• Fermentis:

Links:

• District Mid Atlantic Presentation - Whirlpool Trub Carryover Effects on Beer Sensory Quality & Clarity (slides)

Does your brewery can or bottle? Do you pay close attention to your rinser or just assume it does what it's supposed to? This week on the show, we take a deep dive into water rinsers with a team of Master Brewers who collaborated to publish a Best Practices document you can use to get bottle and can rinsing done right.

Special Guests: Ben Bailey, Dave Duff, Eric Samp, Heather Muzzy Caron, and Tim Lozen.

Sponsored By:

• Hopsteiner:
• ABS:
• Proximity Malt:
• BSG:
• Gusmer:
• Fermentis:

Links:

• MBAA TQ 2019: Best Practices - Container Rinsing with Water
• Communities of Practice - Master Brewers Association of the Americas
• CoP: Container Quality - Master Brewers Association of the Americas
• 2020 World Brewing Congress
• Upcoming Events - Master Brewers Calendar
• COVID-19

This is what happens when someone reaches out to suggest a great podcast topic. Becky Rudolf had questions about centrifuge operation so we mobilized a small army of Master Brewers members to provide answers.

Special Guests: Andrew Conlon, Becky Rudolf, Christopher Clausen, Louwrens Wildschut, Marco Garcia, Morgan Harry, Steven Lyerly, and Zach Kelly.

Sponsored By:

• Hopsteiner:
• ABS:
• Proximity Malt:
• BSG:
• Gusmer:
• Fermentis:

Links:

• 2020 World Brewing Congress
• Upcoming Events - Master Brewers Calendar — check for cancellations due to COVID-19 before heading to your next district meeting!
• COVID-19
• In-line carbonation and centrifuge integration | Ask The Brewmasters
• Centrifuge and fruit | Ask The Brewmasters
• Post centrifuge filtration | Ask The Brewmasters
• Hot side centrifuging | Ask The Brewmasters
• Inlet Turbidity vs. Centrifuge Flowrate and Outlet Turbidity | Ask The Brewmasters
• Centrifuge Twice | Ask The Brewmasters
• High gravity beer centrifuge problem. | Ask The Brewmasters
• Loss percents through centrifuge | Ask The Brewmasters

We take a deep dive into oak barrels. You'll hear about the properties of oak, the different types, and all about the complexities of seasoning and toast.

Special Guests: Amy LaHue, Andrew Wiehebrink, and Noah Steingraeber.

Sponsored By:

• Hopsteiner:
• ABS:
• Proximity Malt:
• BSG:
• Gusmer:
• Fermentis:

Links:

• District Michigan Presentation - Oak 101: Understanding Oak
• District Presentation Archives
• 2020 World Brewing Congress
• Upcoming Events - Master Brewers Calendar — check for cancellations due to COVID-19 before heading to your next district meeting!
• COVID-19

Our friends from OSU join us to talk about a peer-reviewed paper comparing hop pellets, CO2 extracts, and spent hop material in kettle hop additions.

Special Guests: Daniel Sharp, Karl Vanevenhoven, and Tom Shellhammer.

Sponsored By:

• Fermentis:

Links:

• MBAA TQ 2017 - Comparison of the Contributions of Hop Pellets, Supercritical Fluid Hop Extracts, and Extracted Hop Material to the Hop Aroma and Terpenoid Content of Kettle-Hopped Lager Beers