Speakers
Michael Altman
Proprietor/Brewmaster/Talent Buyer, Iron Springs Pub & Brewery
Michael Altman has been a professional brewer for more than 18 years, brewing in Oregon, Colorado and California. His beers have won numerous medals at both the GABF and the World Beer Cup. Before Michael got into brewing, he was a trained professional chef for 10 years, honing his skills in restaurants around the world. Michael and his wife Anne own Iron Springs Pub & Brewery in Fairfax, Calif., which is a Green Certified Business and was voted one of the top 10 Green Businesses in the Bay Area in 2008.
Arlan Arsten
Stone Brewing Co.
As the most tenured employee and VP of sales for Stone Brewing Co., Arlan Arsten has led the company´s pat of sales growth to be one of the fastest growing breweries in the country. Arlan is an active member of many trade organizations and has recently served on the board of the National Association of Catering Executives. In addition, Arlan spends his "off" time preaching about great beer at the Art Institute of Santa Ana and Long Beach State University in their Hospitality Management Programs. Along with making big, big, bold beers, Stone Brewing Co. is also a wholesaler and has been for all of its 13 years in business, but acquiring its first of many other supplier brands in 1999.
John Arsenault
Hanaford
Rick Berman
American Beverage Institute
Richard Berman is the executive director, general counsel, and founding member of the American Beverage Institute (ABI). He is also President of Berman and Company (BAC), a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm specializing in strategic research, communications and creative advertising. The firm manages all of the public education campaigns run by ABI, including Drink Responsibly. Drive Responsibly. Berman has testified on numerous occasions before committees of the various state legislatures, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives and has been named a "Star Rainmaker" on Capitol Hill by The Hill, a popular Washington, DC newspaper. He has appeared on all the major television networks on behalf of client interests and has organized national business coalitions on a variety of issues.
Peter Bouckaert
Brewmaster, New Belgium Brewing Co
Peter Bouckaert has been the brewmaster at New Belgium Brewing Co. in Fort Collins, Colo. since 1996. He started to love beer while growing up in Belgium and went on to become a brewing engineer at the University of Ghent in Belgium. The first brewery he worked in was Zulte, which was part of the Kronenbourg group. He went on to become brewmaster at Rodenbach for almost 10 years. He also worked with Brewery De Gouden Boom and started his own brewpub, De Zwingel in Harelbeke in 1994. Peter is happily married to his wife Frezi and has two young boys, Wout and Jo Wolf.
Steve Breezley
Director of Operations, Avery Brewing Company
Like most brewers, Steve Breezley spent more time homebrewing than studying during college, but still managed to obtain a BA in Geology from the University of Montana. After a short stint building six-packs at Saxer Brewing Company, Steve decided that his cuticles had had enough and attended the UC Davis Master Brewers course. (Amazingly he even passed the Institute of Brewing's Associate Membership exam.) Steve then climbed, skied, and brewed at Snake River Brewing Company for four years. Currently, Steve is the Director of Operations for Avery Brewing Company where he samples his brewers kick ass beers as much as possible.
Josh Brewer
Head Brewer, Mother Earth Brewing
Josh Brewer is the head brewer for Mother Earth Brewing Company in Kinston, N.C. Josh has 15 years of experience in the brewing arena, from unpaid keg washer to head brewer, to brewpub developer and owner. Producing top-quality beer is Josh's life-driving obsession. Josh began consulting for Mother Earth well before construction began, offering real-world advice on everything from brewery layout to eco-friendly building material to equipment selection. On the jobsite every day during construction, his passion, vision and versatility were truly essential to the creation of Mother Earth Brewing.
Michael Brophy
President and CEO, Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute (BMBRI)
Michael Brophy's tenure with the Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute (BMBRI) began in August 2008. Michael holds Masters and Bachelor of Agricultural Science degrees from University College in Dublin, Ireland. Michael's experience in the malting barley industry spans more than 25 years. He managed barley and malting barley research and product department activities at the Canadian Wheat Board from 1995 to 2008. He was the CWB's Western Europe grain market analyst and international malting barley market analyst from 1993 to 1995. Before moving to Canada from Ireland in 1992, Michael worked on research and policy issues and contract negotiations on behalf of malting barley and other grain growers within the Irish Farmers Association.
Dean Browell
Executive Vice President/Partner, Feedback
Craft beer friend and returning CBC speakerDean Browell leads Feedback's social media charge as executive vice president and resident PhD with a passion for how generations interact online. His work can be seen across many industries including consumer, business-to-business, healthcare, education, tourism, automotive, retail and more. In 2009, Dean created the perfect incubator for social and converging media development by forming Feedback, LLC with ad industry veteran Jeff Thompson to the benefit of marketing, communications and public relations firms around the country.
Matt Brynildson
Brewmaster, Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Matt Brynildson graduated from Kalamazoo College and began his brewing career with KALSEC (Kalamazoo Spice Extraction Company) as a hop chemist. After attending the Seibel Institute of Brewing Technology, he joined the Goose Island Beer Company where he was head brewer of their Chicago production facility. In 2001 Matt joined the Firestone Walker Brewing Company as brewmaster. He oversees all facets of the brewery operations including Firestone’s unique oak barrel fermentation program. Matt is on the faculty of the Siebel Institute of Brewing Technology as well as the American Brewers Guild. Matt was the 2007 recipient of the Brewers Association Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing.
David Buhler
Sales Director/Founder, ElysianBrewing Company
David Buhler is the founder and sales director of Elysian Brewing Co. in Seattle, Washington. After 10 years in the wine industry, he started the sales/consulting company Brix° Marketing and began representing Rogue Ales and Scottish & Newcastle Importers in new markets, primarily in the Northwest. He co-founded Elysian in 1995 and was their first employee. David plays rhythm guitar and vocals for the Gourdians. Check out their new CD!
Sebbie Buhler
Advocate, Rogue Ales
Sebbie Buhler has worked with Rogue Ales since 1991. Her original role with Rogue involved distributor management, retail sales support, and opening new markets on the East Coast. She was a pioneer online, talking about craft beer on wine forums, and helped launch rogue.com in 1995. Since 1998, Sebbie has focused her attention on marketing, especially pairing Rogue Ales with food. She has poured Rogue Ales at hundreds of beer dinners and tastings, national conferences, festivals and fundraisers. Her mission as Rogue Advocate in the 21st century is to elevate beer to its rightful place on wine lists, retail stores, and in the press.
Sam Calagione
President, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
When Sam Calagione opened Dogfish Head in 1995, it was the smallest commercial brewery in America, making 10 gallons of beer at a time. Today Dogfish Head is among the fastest growing breweries in the country, focusing on brewing stronger, more exotic beers since the day it opened. Dogfish Head has grown into a 110-person company with a restaurant/brewery/distillery in Rehoboth Beach and a production brewery in Milton, Del., selling beer in 30 states and three countries. Sam is the author of Brewing Up a Business and Extreme Brewing and co-author of He Said Beer, She Said Wine.
Dan Carey
Brewmaster, New Glarus Brewing Company
Daniel Carey owns and operates the New Glarus Brewing Co. in Wisconsin along with his business partner and wife, Deb, as well as two daughters and a granddaughter. He survived over 30 years in the food processing industry including his share of midnight shifts. He shoveled out his first mash tun in 1979 at the age of 18 while earning a Bachelor's Degree in Food Science at UC Davis. Dan was valedictorian of the Siebel Institute Course in Brewing Science. He served his apprenticeship at the Ayinger Brewery near Munich then passed the Institute of Brewing Diploma Examination followed by the Master Brewer Exam. He also was a production supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. Dan won the Association of Brewers 2003 "Small Brewer of the Year" award, the 2005 and 2006 "Mid Size Brewer of the Year" awards as well as the 2006 Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing.
Vinnie Cilurzo
Brewer/Owner, Russian River Brewing Company 2008
In 1999 Vinnie Cilurzo started barrel aging beer for the first time. He started with a humble two wine barrels, now at his Russian River Brewing Company he has over 500 wine barrels in which he ages several different beers totally over 1,000 barrels of beer production each year. His focus is on used wine barrels from local wineries from Sonoma County where he and his wife operate Russian River Brewing Company.
Bob Collins
President, Windy City Distribution
Bob Collins brings more than 22 years of experience in the specialty/craft beer industry to the 2010 Craft Brewers Conference. His resume includes three years at Boston Beer Co. and six years as vice president of sales for the Goose Island Beer Co. The balance of his career has been spent at the distribution level including the last three years as president of Windy City Distribution. Bob's well-balanced career on both the supplier and distributor side of the business as well as his extensive experience at managing and developing sales organizations make him a great addition to the CBC lineup
Camille Conley
Senior Associate, The Futures Company
Camille Conley is a senior associate with the Futures Co., formerly Yankelovich. She supports client accounts and provides clients with consultation and analysis of consumer lifestyle trends. Her clients include several leading financial services, media and advertising, consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, and retail companies. Over the last several years, Camille has also been heavily involved with the development and implementation of the annual Yankelovich Multicultural Marketing Study and consults with clients, offering actionable marketing insights for the African American and Hispanic markets. Camille earned her B.S. in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Patrick Conway
Co-Owner, Great Lakes Brewing Company
Patrick Conway's love affair with beer began while he was bartending to get through graduate school at the University of Chicago and continued when he left for Europe and enjoyed his own informal tour of the small breweries throughout Europe. Returning to the United States to teach in Chicago, he became convinced that Americans were gravitating toward the European style beers that he so admired. A native Clevelander with a passion for the city that equals his passion for beer, he came back to his hometown to pursue his dream of opening the first craft brewery in Ohio. With the help of his brother Daniel, he chose Ohio City, the urban neighborhood that is also home to the historic West Side Market.
Peter Crowley
Senior Brewer, Rock Bottom Brewery Chicago
Peter Crowley, senior brewer at Rock Bottom Brewery in Chicago, has been creating award-winning brews for 16 years, is president of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild and co-founder of the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer, now in its eighth year. While brewing at four different brewpubs, and producing 3,000 barrels annually on a 10-barrel system, Crowley has met many of the challenges small brewers face in a fast-paced, high expectation brewpub environment, including all aspects of production, staff training, cost of goods management, promotions and special events.
Peter Crowley
Michael Davis
President, American Malting Barley Association
Dr. Mike Davis is president of the American Malting Barley Association, Inc. (AMBA), a nonprofit trade association comprised of major U.S. brewing and malting companies. Mike earned a Ph.D. in agronomy with a minor in biochemistry at the University of Nebraska and began his career with AMBA in 1983. He is chairman of the AMBA Technical Committee; executive secretary of the National Barley Improvement Committee and U.S. Barley Genome Project; a member of the U.S. Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative Executive and Steering Committees; a member of the Barley Coordinated Agricultural Project Executive and Scientific Advisory Committees; and co-chair of ARS Fargo Research Partners.
Yvan de Baets
Brewer & Owner, Brasserie de la Senne
Yvan De Baets is masterbrewer and co-owner of De la Senne brewery in Brussels. He studied brewing at the Meurice Institute in Brussels and has three passions: brewing uncompromising beers, collecting brewing books, and studying brewing history—especially the ancient Belgian styles. He wrote the chapter on the history of saison for Phil Markowski's Farmhouse Ales. Recently he contributed the foreword to Brewing With Wheat, by Stan Hieronymus, as well as information about nineteenth century white ales never before published in English.
Christian DeBenedetti
Freelance Journalist
Portland, Ore.-based freelance food, drink, and travel writer Christian DeBenedetti has had his work published in The New York Times, Food & Wine, Esquire, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Saveur, Men's Journal, Wine Spectator, and many others. In 1996 he earned a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which funded his dream project, a year-long post-graduate independent study of ancient brewing techniques through 60 breweries in 14 European and West African countries. Before launching his magazine career, he worked briefly in a series of wineries, breweries, and a cooperage in Oregon.
Peter Defazio
U.S. House of Representatives
Representative DeFazio co-founded the House Small Brewers Caucus in 2007. He has been an advocate for small brewers and is a homebrewer himself. He sees small businesses such as breweries as a key to the success in America’s economy and job creation.
Robert Jim Dobson
Founder, RJ Dobson Consulting Co
Jim Dobson, founder of RJ Dobson Consulting Co., has been involved in the glass industry for more than 34 years. During his career, he served as the quality manager in three different locations, statistical process control trainer, ISO management rep, and was considered a corrugated quality specialist for all suppliers. He has an extensive knowledge of the glass and corrugated container manufacturing processes and is the author of the Glass Container Defect Manual recommended by MBAA. RJ Dobson Consulting was formed to provide insight for the users and manufacturers of glass containers and corrugated packaging, with a focus on evaluating quality control of the manufacturing processes.
Lisa Donoughe
Director, Watershed Comm
Lisa Donoughe is a culinary storyteller and strategic communications resource for food and beverage businesses. She founded her boutique practice, Watershed Communications, in 1999 with the intention of bringing high-level media relations solutions to a range of sustainable organizations and companies. She currently works bi-coastally, maintaining an office in Portland, Ore. and New York City. Donoughe specializes in promoting beverages from the world's top spirits, wine, beer and soft drinks companies including Bacardi, Seagram's, Diageo, House Spirits, Pernod Ricard, and Nestlé Waters. She currently represents the Oregon Brewers Guild among other leaders in the Northwest. Prior to starting her own consultancy, Donoughe held various agency and corporate positions in New York City. She has an undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology from Barnard College, Columbia University.
Steve Dressler
Brewmaster, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Steve Dresler graduated from CSU Chico in 1981 with degrees in Biology and Chemistry. He was an active homebrewer at that time, and after working in a fabrication position for two years, he was hired in January 1983 at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Starting on the bottling line, Steve soon became involved in all aspects of brewing, cellaring, and lab work, and by 1987 was managing all three departments. He moved from lab management in 1996 and is now brewmaster in charge of Brewing, Fermentation, Raw Materials Procurement and Filtration and has formulated many new products to add to the Sierra Nevada portfolio of fine ales and lagers. In the interim, he has studied at U.C. Davis and the Siebel Institute of Brewing Science in Chicago. Steve is a member of the Brewers Association, the Master Brewers Association of America, and the American Society of Brewing Chemists.
Jennifer Faulk
Director of Marketing, Louis Glunz Beer, Inc.
As part of the fourth generation of the Glunz family, Jennifer Faulk joined Louis Glunz Beer Inc. (LGBI) as the director of marketing in 2007. Her responsibilities include marketing strategies, communications and public relations activities. Faulk supports both consumer and trade education through tastings and beer dinners conducted with the LGBI Culinary Council members: chefs, retailers, restaurateurs, food writers, and beer experts. Faulk is a graduate of St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Ind. and her career includes work in the Mayor's Office of Special Events for the city of Chicago.
Benjamin Findley
Intellectual Property Attorney, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
Ben Findley is an associate with Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione in its Chicago office. Ben's practice includes all aspects of intellectual property law, including patent prosecution and litigation. He is licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ben earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Tufts University, a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. During law school, Ben served as a malt & barley editor for the Wisconsin Law Review. Ben's outside interests include homebrewing and running.
Tracy Finklang
Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants
Tracy Finklang has been with Old Chicago/Rock Bottom since 1992, helping grow the company from 7 to over 140 restaurants. She created the Beverage Dept, which serves all corporate and franchise Old Chicago’s, Rock Bottom Breweries, Chophouses, and Sing Sing nightclubs. Her 37 years in the hospitality industry have spanned the country, working behind, and in support of, bars from the Monterey Peninsula, to the Florida Gulf Coast to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. As a prolific essayist on beverage humor and as a beverage pundit, Finklang posts under 'Beverage Goddess' on Wordpress and Twitter.
Darren Gamache
Virgil Gamache Farms
Darren Gamache of Virgil Gamache Farms Inc. graduated Washington State University in 1997 with a degree in International Business and Marketing. Darren is a 5th generation hop grower and he has completed the Washington Agricultural and Forestry Leadership program, which focused on the creation and management of public policies. In 2000, he helped create the American Hop Producers Alliance, which was a tool to help growers navigate through the last Hop over-supply situation. He did the ground work for both the plant-patent and distribution of the Amarillo™ brand VGXP01. Additionally, he has supervised the last 7 years of sustained growth in aroma hop production at Virgil Gamache Farms.
Paul Gatza
Director, Brewers Association
Paul Gatza is the director of the Brewers Association. Paul's daily responsibilities include serving as a spokesman with the media for the national perspective on craft brewing and the enjoyment of craft beer, maintaining industry statistics, helping Brewers Association members get information for their businesses, publishing the BA Forum and The New Brewer, serving on the BA's staff government affairs and management teams, serving as BA staff liaison for the CBC seminar, market development, pipeline and technical committees, communicating with allied trade associations, serving on the annual beer style guidelines working group, and sampling wonderful craft brewed beers in the evening. Previous beery occupations for Paul included serving as American Homebrewers Association (AHA) director, judge director for the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup, owner of homebrew supply shops, bottler at Boulder Beer, and collector of beer cans.
Gayle Goschie
Goschie Farms, Inc.
Gayle Goschie is a third generation Oregon hop farmer who operates a diverse farming operation of sweet corn, specialty seeds, wheat, winegrapes, and hops. 2010 will be the 106th year of the Goschie family growing hops as a farm family. Gayle manages the hops and wine grapes at the farm and both crops are grown under sustainable Salmon-Safe certification. She has served as Oregon grower representative to the Hop Research Council from 1999-2009 and was recognized by fellow growers in 2009 for innovations and cooperation in hop production on an international scale with the awarding of the International Order of the Hop.
Ken Grossman
Owner/President, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Ken Grossman founded Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in 1980, making it one of the first and most successful craft breweries in existence. Sierra Nevada quickly developed a reputation for consistently producing first-rate ales and lagers and seeking innovative methods to improve quality. This uncompromising approach continvues to yield outstanding beers as well as environmental, social, and economic results. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. offers an exciting story of a sustainable and economically successful business. Sierra Nevada's pragmatic, creative approach to problem solving focuses on finding environmentally and socially responsible answers to challenges, while earning a position among the leaders in the brewing industry in terms of both quality and profitability.
John Harris
Brewmaster, Full Sail Brewing
John Harris, brewmaster at Full Sail, has 23 years of experience in the brewing industry, including two years with McMenamin´s breweries, four years with Deschutes Brewery, and 17 years with Full Sail. He manages the Riverplace Brewery in Portland, which produces the Brewmaster Reserve line of beers, and travels throughout the country teaching Full Sail distributors and retailers about Full Sail beers. John has been a member of the CBC Technical committee since 1999. John received the Brewers Association Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in 2001.
Anastasia Heffner
Intellectual Property Attorney, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
Stacy Heffner is a shareholder with Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione in Chicago, Ill., where she focuses on all aspects of intellectual property law. Stacy has prepared, prosecuted, and litigated numerous patents, and counseled clients regarding the evaluation, protection, procurement, and transfer of intellectual property portfolios and rights. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois and her Juris Doctorate from DePaul University. She is licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Her hobbies include swimming and refinishing furniture, as well as homebrewing.
Julia Herz
Tom Hennessy
President, Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery
Tom Hennessy has been brewing professionally since 1993 with his first brewpub, IL Vicino in Albuquerque, N.M. Since then, he has built and owned five additional breweries including Palisade Brewery in Colorado, a packaging microbrewery, and currently Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery in Ridgway, Colo. He is the author and creator of Frankenbrew, a DVD he produced in 1995 showing how to put an inexpensive brewery together for under $20,000. He is also the author of The Fabjob Guide to Become a Coffee House Owner, and The Fabjob Guide to Become a Restaurant Owner. He is passionate about teaching how to open inexpensive small breweries and currently teaches a one-week immersion course in his small Colorado brewery.
Julia Herz
Craft Beer Program Director, Brewers Association
Julia Herz is director of the Craft Beer Program for the Brewers Association. She has been featured by the Food Network "Unwrapped" Series, interviewed on Public Radio, Sirius Radio "Lime Channel", CNBC Squawk Box and numerous other mainstream media. She is a recognized beer judge in the BJCP program, an award winning homebrewer, and a student of the Cicerone Beer Program.
Stan Hieronymus
Stan Hieronymus is author of Brewing With Wheat and Brew Like a Monk from Brewers Publications. A lifetime journalist, he began writing about beer in 1993, including articles and books for both the brewing trade and consumers. His travels have taken him to breweries in every state in the country as well as the regions where all the world's classic wheat styles began.
Stephen Hill
Chairman, Mother Earth Brewing
Stephen Hill is the chairman of Mother Earth Brewing, president of Hillco, Ltd., and CEO of Discovery Insurance Company. He is on the North Carolina Arts Council board and is the former president of the Kinston Community Council for the Arts. Stephen has been a homebrewer since 1983 when he worked for Congress in Washington, D.C. Stephen's love for beer, art, and the revitalization of his hometown was his inspiration for starting Mother Earth Brewing. Stephen lives in Kinston, N.C. with his wife Holly, and is in the process of the revitalization of his third building in the downtown historical district.
Pete Johnson
Programs Manager, Brewers Association
Pete Johnson serves as Programs Manager for the Brewers Association with primary responsibilities in the areas of government affairs and membership development. He joined the BA at its inception in 2005, having previously worked as Programs Director for the Brewers Association of America. Before coming to the small brewing industry in 2001, Pete worked for 14 years with both state and federal elected officials in Pennsylvania and Washington, DC.
Marty Jones
Cheersleader/Idea Man, Wynkoop Brewing Company
Marty Jones is cheersleader/idea man for Denver, Colo.'s Wynkoop Brewing Co., the state's first brewpub. A beer journalist turned beer evangelist, he believes clever ideas and thoughtful, passionate communication with the press and consumers are crucial for brewery success. The words "brand" and "end customers" are not in his vocabulary and he believes craft brewers are cultural counterparts of Johnny Cash and the Ramones. A working musician and songwriter, his most recent composition is entitled "The Power of Positive Drinking."
Michael Kallenberger
Manager – Industry/Trends Insights, MillerCoors
Mike Kallenberger is first and foremost a beer lover, but he's also spent three decades in Marketing Research and Insights at Miller Brewing Co. (now MillerCoors). Though he was trained as an economist, over the years he has increasingly relied on qualitative methods to better understand consumer psychology and consumer culture. From 2002 until 2010, he managed the company's trends program. In this role he developed a deep appreciation for the differences between generations and how these influence culture, product categories, and brands. Mike also occasionally teaches Consumer Behavior at the University of Wisconsin.
David Kapral
Owner, Brewing Consulting Services
David Kapral retired from his 35-year career at Anheuser-Busch in 2003. He immediately began pursuing ways to contribute to the industry and formed Brewing Consulting Services. David's career at AB provided unusual opportunities for growth, and he made a career of tackling these opportunities. Through Brewing Consulting Services, he has worked on a variety of projects in the craft brewing industry. David has a goal to "give back" to the brewing industry. He developed a group of lectures referred to as the "Practical Brewing Series" that include brewhouse operations, stratified fermentations, and project management. David has presented at four national MBAA conventions and regularly lectures at MBAA's Madison course on practical brewhouse operations. He has been the keynote speaker at District Northwest and at District Philadelphia Technical Conferences.
Mark Kenny
Sam's Club
David Kesmodel
Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
David Kesmodel is a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal, where he covers the beer, wine, spirits and tobacco industries. David began covering the beer business in 2007 and has written on such varied topics as the boom in craft brewing, the cultural changes at Anheuser-Busch under InBev, and the fading hobby of beer-can collecting. David, who is based in Chicago, has been a reporter for more than 15 years, including a treasured stint at the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News. He has won a number of reporting awards and is also the author of The Domain Game: How People Get Rich from Internet Domain Names, which was published in 2008.
Brad Kintzer
Senior Product Developer, Tcho Chocolates
Brad Kintzer's passion for chocolate began when he encountered his first cacao tree on a field trip to the Montreal Botanical Garden while studying botany at the University of Vermont. Determined to learn all aspects of the chocolate making process, Kintzer spent months working on cacao plantations throughout Latin America. Continuing his quest for chocolate knowledge, Kintzer began product development work with pioneer artisan chocolate producer Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker. Following the 2005 acquisition of Scharffen Berger by Hershey's, Kintzer's product development responsibilities expanded to include Joseph Schmidt Confections and Dagoba Organic Chocolate. As part of the dynamic team at TCHO, Brad continues to focus on making world-class, delicious chocolates that showcase the diversity and complexity of cacao.
Greg Koch
CEO & Co-Founder, Stone Brewing Co.
Greg Koch is co-founder and CEO of Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, Calif. Since Greg started the company with his partner Steve Wagner in 1996, Stone has become one of the fastest growing and highest rated breweries in the world. Brewing nearly 100,000 barrels in 2009, Stone is the 18th largest craft brewery in the United States, a position it achieved without ever advertising, discounting, giving away freebies or harming puppies. Greg passionately believes that environmental and social sustainability goes hand-in-hand with brewing mind-blowing beer, a principle he espoused in the video "I Am A Craft Brewer," presented as part of his keynote address at the 2009 Craft Brewers Conference.
Adam Lambert
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Adam Lambert is currently the vice president of sales for Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, managing the day to day operations and long term vision of the sales department. Working with his group of six regional managers, one indie guru and a national accounts manager, Adam manages to get as much Dogfish Head beer as possible to 31 states. Prior to working for Dogfish Head, Adam spent 6 years as National Sales and Marketing for Rogue Ales. Past experiences include owning a Wine Wholesale Company, Beverage Brokerage, Calif. regional brand manager and a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
John Lane
Winking Lizard Taverns
John Lane, a graduate of John Carroll University, is a partner and VP Operations for the 13, soon to be 14, Winking Lizard Taverns with over 1,000 employees. He opened the second Winking Lizard location in 1989 and has learned by trial and error how to pour great draft beer. Every year since 1998, the Winking Lizard Tavern has won a Silver Spoon for Best Beer List in Cleveland, Ohio and in 2002 won the Cheers Award for best independent beer program in the nation. John lives in Cleveland with his wife of 27 years and has three children.
Lars Larson
Master Brewer, Trumer Brauerei
Lars Larson began his brewing career with the Hillsdale Brewpub in Portland, Ore., then moved to Berlin, Germany to study brewing technology at the Technical University of Berlin (VLB). After obtaining his Diplom-Braumeister degree, he worked for the Isenbeck Brewery in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Stroh Brewery in Longview, Texas and BridgePort Brewery in Portland, Ore.. In 2004 he joined Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, Calif.
Dr. Michael Lewis
Professor, University of California, Davis 2009
Professor Michael J. Lewis conducted the program in Brewing Science at the University of California, Davis for 40 years and is now Emeritus Professor of Brewing Science. He is a Fellow of the IBD (London) and a Life Member of the ASBC; he received the Award-of-Merit of MBAA in 1986 and the Brewers Recognition Award in 2008. In 1990, he won the Distinguished Teaching Award of the University of California. As Academic Director, Dr. Lewis teaches the accredited four-month Master Brewers Program leading to the Diploma of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Dr. Lewis earned his Ph.D. degree in microbiology and biochemistry at the University of Birmingham (England) and the British School of Malting and Brewing.
Barry C. Lynn
Author, Cornered: The New Monopoly Capitalism and the Economics of Destruction (Wiley 2010)
Barry C. Lynn is an expert in the political and economic dangers posed by monopolization. His new book is Cornered: The New Monopoly Capitalism and the Economics of Destruction (Wiley 2010). Lynn directs the Markets, Enterprise, and Resiliency Project at the New America Foundation, a non-partisan think tank in Washington. Lynn's writings on extreme consolidation in the U.S. and U.K. economies have influenced the thinking of policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic and in Asia. He has written for Harper's, the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, and has appeared on CNN, CBS, the BBC, National Public Radio, and MSNBC.
John C Maier
Brewmaster, Rogue Ales
John Maier attended the Devry Institute of Technology (Phoenix, Ariz.) and graduated in 1975. John was employed by Hughes Aircraft Co. in El Segundo, Calif. from 1975 to 1986 as a Senior Electronic Technician and worked on the F-14 Tomcat Radar System. In 1986, John attended the Siebel Institute of Technology and graduated from their 50th course in Brewing Technology. That same year he brewed a barleywine that won the American Homebrewer Association's Homebrewer of the Year Award. Alaskan Brewing Co. hired John as an assistant brewmaster in March 1987. John was there for the very first brew at the Rogue Ales Brewery in Newport, Ore. His ales, porters, stouts, and lagers have won more than 450 awards for excellence and taste.
Jeremy Marshall
Head Brewer, Lagunitas Brewing Co.
Jeremy Marshall was born and raised in Memphis, Tenn. While obtaining a psychology degree at the University of Memphis, a professor introduced him to the fundamentals of homebrewing. Nine years later, the decision was made to turn this passion into a career, and he enrolled in the Davis brewing education program. Upon completing the program in 2003, employment was secured at the Lagunitas Brewing Co. beginning in packaging. Cellar work and filtration followed with a transition to shift brewing in 2004. He has been head brewer since 2006 and a member of the IGB, BA and MBAA since 2003.
Battle Martin
Malt Beverage Labeling Specialist, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Kent "Battle" Martin is a label specialist for the TTB's Advertising, Labeling and Formulation Division. He reviews applications and associated documentation for the issuance of Certificates of Label Approval and Certificates of Exemption for all domestic and imported malt beverage products. Martin provides assistance and guidance to industry members in response to requests for informal review of proposed malt beverage product labels in an effort to ensure regulatory compliance. He has been with TTB for five years.
Nick Matt
Chairman & CEO, Matt Brewing Co.
Nick Matt is chairman and CEO of the Matt Brewing Co., brewers of the Saranac line of beers. The brewery is a four-generation family business founded by Nick's grandfather, F. X. Matt, in 1888. The company is one of America's few remaining historic regional breweries, and has the distinction of being the only heritage brewery that has transitioned itself to be a craft brewer. Nick joined the brewery in 1989 after having worked for 15 years with Richardson-Vick's and Procter & Gamble. Nick is a member of the board of the Brewers Association and currently serves as chairman.
John McClear
Citizens Bank
John McClear holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Central Michigan University as well as a Masters of Science in Finance from Walsh College. Currently, John is a vice president of business banking in Southeast Michigan for Citizens Republic Bank, a community-based bank headquartered in Flint, Mich. Prior to Citizens, he spent 10 years at Charter One Bank in Detroit, Mich. He has held management and sales positions in mortgage lending, consumer lending, and small business lending. In his position at Citizens Republic Bank, John works with small to medium sized businesses in a variety of industries, often times utilizing various SBA loan programs to provide funds for business expansion opportunities.
Timothy McMurray
Managing Partner, Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery, Southern Sun Pub and Brewery, Vine Street Pub
Tim McMurray was hired as a line cook at the Mountain Sun in 1996. Over the next several years, he held every position in the company from server to kitchen manager to general manager. In 2001, Tim took the talent buying reins and has been booking the musical acts for the entire company ever since. Seven years later, as the real estate for the Vine Street Pub was secured, Tim was named managing partner. In 2001, he was appointed to the City of Boulder Beverage Licensing Authority. He is currently the chair of the BLA.
Robert Merryman
Craft Beer Imports and Sales Manager, Grup Gálvez S.L.
After relocating to the Barcelona area in 1995, Robert Merryman began working for a large beer distributor. After several years building the Belgian import business, he left to form his own import and distribution company. After attracting the attention of other local distributors through such notable achievements as introducing Sierra Nevada to Spain, Robert's company, Cerveses El Contrabaix, was absorbed by the prestigious Grup Gálvez, a specialty food and beverage distributor. Robert now works as craft beer imports and sales manager directing the rapid growth of the imported beer division, ensuring that the company's clients are always supplied with interesting beers.
Scott Metzger
Founder & CEO, Freetail Brewing Co. 2009
Sitting in a slightly uncomfortable bar stool in a New Mexico brewpub on New Year's Eve 2005, Scott Metzger decided his hometown of San Antonio needed a place that specialized in off-the-wall brews, artisan pizza and an independent spirit. It took almost three years, but Freetail Brewing Co. finally opened in November 2008. Armed with a fiercely wacky staff and a brewing team willing to follow Scott's "brewers must have beards" rule, Freetail is pushing the beer boundaries in South Texas right out of the gate. When no one is looking, Scott also teaches economics at a local university.
Scott Metzger
Bill Michael
British Columbia Liquor Distribution Board
Bill Michael has over 31 years experience in the liquor industry including being a part of the retail and marketing team at the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch. For the past seven years, he has been in the purchasing department as a portfolio manager specializing in beer. He is responsible for determining the beer selection at the B.C. Liquor Store retail chain of 197 government stores. Throughout the stores, the beer portfolio consists of 450 SKUS that are available at any one time. Along with retail store selection, Bill also oversees the beer registration and regulatory approvals for the wholesale market, including 650 private stores.
Trent Mooring
President, Mother Earth Brewing
Trent Mooring is the president and co-founder of Mother Earth Brewing in Kinston, N.C. Prior to the brewery launch, Trent worked in the banking industry as vice president of commercial lending. While busy climbing the corporate ladder, he dreamed of operating a craft brewery with roots in his hometown. Trent has experienced the brewery adventure: washing kegs, working the bottling line, making deliveries, crunching numbers, and overseeing construction. Mother Earth Brewing is a member of the Brewers Association and Trent lives in Kinston, N.C. with his wife Caroline and soon-to-be daughter.
Bob Morehouse
CEO, Vermilion
Bob Morehouse is founder and CEO of Vermilion, a 20-person design and interactive agency in Boulder, Colo. The firm provides marketing and creative services to a wide range of organizations, including branding, advertising, web design and social media programs. Vermilion recently launched three websites for the Brewers Association, including www.craftbeer.com. Other projects include a "green" site for Fiji Water, a Facebook Connect site for IZZE, and numerous sites for the University of Colorado. A graduate of Yale University, Bob is an AIGA Fellow and recipient of the Boulder Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year award in 2009. www.vermilion.com
Randy Mosher
Principal, Randy Mosher Design
Randy Mosher is an author, lecturer and consultant on beer styles and brewing. He is an instructor for the Siebel Institute in Chicago and the author of two books on brewing, The Brewers Companion (Alephenalia, 1991), and Radical Brewing (Brewers Publications, 2004). Mosher currently serves as one of the American Homebrewers Association representatives to the Brewers Association Board of Directors. Additionally, Mosher is a brand identity and package design consultant for an international range of clients in the brewing, food and beverage business.
Erik Myers
Founder/Brewmaster, Mystery Brewing Co.
Erik Myers is the author of the beer blog Top Fermented (topfermented.com), a staff writer for Intrepid Media (intrepidmedia.com), an online pop culture magazine, manager of web content and social media for the North Carolina Brewers Guild (ncbeer.org) and founder of his own artisanal brewery, Mystery Brewing Co. (in planning). He has grown online communities from bulletin boards, through listservs, to web-based discussion boards, and into the dynamic world of Web 2.0.
Paul Nashak
Managing Partner, Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery, Southern Sun Pub and Brewery, Vine Street Pub
Upon graduating from Georgetown University in 1995, Paul Nashak continued working briefly in Washington as assistant to the finance director of the Democratic National Committee during the Clinton administration. After riding out the turmoil of campaign finance reform, he decided to move to Boulder, Colo. and was hired as a cook at the Mountain Sun. In 2002, Paul helped open the Southern Sun Pub and Brewery and was named general manager. Along with Tim McMurray in 2008, Paul was named a managing partner of the company as preparations were made to open the Vine Street Pub.
Scott Newman-Bale
CFO – Partner, Shorts Brewing Co.
After moving from England in 1999 after a successful spell working for EA Sports, Scott Newman-Bale enrolled at Lansing Community College, later transferring to Michigan State to complete his BA in Business Management. Scott joined Shorts during the initial construction phase as a silent partner. During the following years, Scott established multiple real estate companies in the Detroit area, adding support to Shorts when needed. In 2007, when Shorts needed more attention to facilitate an expansion, Scott started helping more on a daily basis, eventually coming aboard as the CFO. Scott is responsible for financial planning on behalf of the company.
Gary Nicholas
Director of Quality Control, Bell's Brewery, Inc.
Gary Nicholas has served as director of quality control at Bell's Brewery, Inc. since 2001 and added the role of health & safety coordinator in 2003. In the latter capacity, his responsibilities include developing, monitoring and revising the brewery's safety programs, as well as conducting training sessions for staff. Gary also serves as the brewery liaison with various governmental regulators and private contractors on safety issues. He earned a B.A. degree in Chemistry from Carleton College and started his brewing career after completing the preparatory program at the Siebel Institute.
Garrett Oliver
Brewmaster, The Brooklyn Brewery
Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of the award-winning book, The Brewmaster's Table. Garrett is a veteran of more than 500 beer dinners and tastings in 10 countries, and frequently appears in the media as an authority on craft beer and food pairing. He was a founding board member of Slow Food USA. He is currently working as the editor-in-chief for the upcoming book, The Oxford Companion to Beer for Oxford University Press (2011). He is currently vice president of MBAA District New York.
Jenn Orgolini
Sustainability Director, New Belgium Brewing Co.
Jenn Orgolini started on the bottling line at New Belgium more than 17 years ago. Subsequently, she became NBB's first CFO and, later, COO. As sustainability director, her initiatives include creating a Sustainability Management System, writing the company's first corporate sustainability report, completing a life cycle assessment of the carbon footprint of a six-pack of Fat Tire Amber Ale, and securing over $1 million in funding from the Department of Energy for peak electrical load reduction. Jenn received a B.A. in Humanities from Washington College in Maryland. She has an MBA in Finance from Regis University and completed the course work for a Masters in Applied Ethics from Colorado State University.
James Ottolini
The Saint Louis Brewer, Inc.
James "Otto" Ottolini is the head of Brewing Operations for Schlafly Brand Beers in Saint Louis, Missouri. In his 17 plus years at Schlafly, he has helped expand the capacity from a brewpub to the current level of 30,000 plus barrels and is concurrently pursuing his Executive MBA from Washington University.
Charlie Papazian
President, Brewers Association
Charlie Papazian is one of the most prominent and recognized names in the world of beer and brewing. His published commentaries provide insights into the industry, advice to homebrewers, and beer perspectives for beer thinkers and drinkers. Since founding the American Homebrewers Association and Association of Brewers in 1978, he continues to help guide the development and activities of the association. He is currently the president of the Brewers Association. He also offers personal presence and perspective on Facebook, Twitter and two years of ongoing commentary as National Beer Examiner on Examiner.com.
Bruce Paton
Executive Chef, The Beer Chef
Chef Bruce Paton is nationally renowned as an expert on pairing food with beer after creating and hosting more than 80 beer and food pairing dinners (including six beer and chocolate events) with some of the top brewers in the nation. He has written a beer and food pairing column in The Culinarian for the past several years and contributed to Draft magazine as well. Chef Bruce has been featured in books and several magazine articles such as Hotel F&B, Plate, The Celebrator Beer News and Beer Advocate as well as creating the menu for the 2008 World Cup Awards Dinner.
Steven Pauwels
Brewmaster, Boulevard Brewing Co.
During his decade at Boulevard Brewing Co., Steven Pauwels has overseen all aspects of brewing and quality control as the regional craft brewer's sales have more than tripled, to more than 140,000 barrels in 2009. Pauwels grew up steeped in the brewing industry. His first stint in the business came with summer work at his hometown brewery, Eeklo's Brouwerij Krüger, where his father held a job. After receiving degrees in Biochemical Engineering from KaHo Sint-Lieven and in Business Administration from Mercator, both in Ghent, Belgium, he held positions at the Domus brewpub in Louvain and at RIVA brewery in Dentergem.
Dr. Val Peacock
President, Hop Solutions Inc (HSI)
Dr. Val Peacock received his B.S. in Chemistry from Iowa State University and went on to earn a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. He was a research associate at Oregon State University from 1978 to 1981, working on hop flavor in beer. He worked as a research scientist with Philip Morris Beverage Research Lab and Seven-Up Company and at Redd Citrus Flavors as a research chemist. Dr. Peacock worked from 1989 to 2008 as Manager of Hop Technology for Anheuser-Busch. Since 2001, he has been a member of the Technical Board of Directors for the German Society of Hop Research. He currently serves as sole proprietor of Hop Solutions Inc., a consulting firm serving the brewing and ethanol industries.
Alastair Pringle
Principal, Pringle-Scott LLC
Alastair Pringle began his career in the brewing industry in England when he started working in a pub at the age of 18. His interest in brewing motivated him to obtain undergraduate and graduate degrees in microbiology. Alastair joined Anheuser-Busch Inc. in 1984 following five years of postdoctoral experience in the U.S. and two years as a visiting professor at UCLA. At Anheuser Busch, he held a number of technical management positions, including director of brewing research, in both Corporate R&D, and Brewing Technical Services. He has worked on all aspects of brewing including malting, mashing, fermentation, finishing, and new product development. He is currently principal at Pringle-Scott LLC, a science-based consulting company that serves alcohol-based industries. Alastair is also a visiting professor at DeVry University.
Thomas Raiser
Executive Sales Director, Joh. Barth & Son GmbH&Co. Kg
Thomas Raiser's family has been involved in hop trading for 200 years and he entered the family business in 1990 after completing his university studies. He has worked in various areas of the business but his focus has been on sales. After the merger of Hopunion and Joh. Barth & Son in 2000, Thomas became executive sales director at Joh. Barth & Son, a position he holds to the present. The Barth-Haas Group is the world's leading hop merchant and processor serving the international brewing industry with hops, hop products and their applications in the brewing process.
Mike Roper
Hopleaf
Michael Roper is the owner/operator of the Hopleaf Bar in Chicago. Michael got his start in his native Detroit over 35 years ago where he owned and managed several music venues. Coming to Chicago in 1982, Michael worked at a variety of bars and other trades until he purchased the former Clark-Foster Liquors in December of 1991 with the idea of creating a mecca for fans of better beer. His focus on Belgian beer and food led to his induction into the prestigious Chevalerie du Fourquet des Brasseurs, the ancient brewers' guild in Brussels in 2007. Michael and his wife Louise live just a few blocks from Hopleaf along the lakefront and are avid travelers who own a second home in Lucca, Italy.
Patrick Rue
CEO/Founder, The Bruery
Patrick Rue is the CEO/founder of The Bruery, located in Orange County, Calif. As a recent law school graduate, Patrick had to choose between his passion of beer and getting a real job. Luckily, beer won. The Bruery was founded in May 2008 and specializes in Belgian-style beers as well as unusual or "experimental" beer styles. The Bruery's goal is to create beers with character and depth using the simplest and purest of means. A significant portion of The Bruery's releases are limited in quantity and have gained national attention, despite only being available for purchase at the tasting room. The Bruery is distributed in 21 states and focuses on selling at establishments that embrace high-end craft beers.
Lucy Saunders
Editor, Beercook.com
Lucy Saunders is the author of three cookbooks: Cooking with Beer, Grilling with Beer, and The Best of American Beer and Food. Saunders is also the editor of beercook.com. She thinks of beer as food and has championed the presence of craft beer at the American table for more than 20 years. Saunders conducts beer tasting and appreciation classes at cooking schools, retailers and non-profit groups. She is one of the original founding members of the Louis Glunz Beer Inc. Culinary Council.
Jim Schembre
Manager, World Class Beverages
Being a beer wholesaler is the only job Jim has ever had. His great uncle started in the beer wholesale business right after prohibition and then his grandfather took it over, followed by his dad and eventually Jim. In 2000, after reviewing the category for Monarch Beverage and not seeing returns that were comparable to the national average, he was asked to specifically improve the craft and specialty import sales in the state of Indiana. After five years, he has seen the category grow significantly and developed a warehousing and selling system for that category that fits with all size wholesalers. Jim is active in real estate development, banking, and has responsibilities as a director of Rogue Brewery. Jim loves the beer business and thinks it fits his creed in life: "Life is too short. You must like what you do. And the only thing you have in this world is family, health and friends." Jim is married to his wife of 34 years and has two grown children.
Tim Scully, Jr.
MillerCoors Brewing Co.
Tim Scully is Vice President of Government Affairs and directs and manages the federal, state and international government affairs of MillerCoors llc, a joint venture of SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company. Tim is the chairman of the Management Committee of the Beer Institute. Tim began his career in Washington in 1978 and has served in a number of legislative staff positions for the US House of Representatives. He has worked on beer regulatory and legislative issues in various positions since 1993.
Mindy Segal
Owner, HotChocolate Restaurant
Pastry creator Mindy Segal specializes in contemporary American cuisine, placing a modern twist on traditional classics. Chef Segal's early professional positions stationed her in some of the most reputable kitchens in the country, refining her craft as pastry chef at such prestigious venues as Spago, Gordon, Charlie Trotter's, Ambria, and MK. Among her many accomplishments, Segal won the Jean Banchet award for Best Celebrity Pastry Chef in Chicago, Chicago Magazine's Pastry Chef of the Year and the James Beard Foundation nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef in the Country in 2007, 2008 and 2009. She was named Share Our Strength's 2009 Chef of the Year for her dedication to Taste of the Nation.
Joe Short
Owner, Short's Brewing Co.
Since opening Short's Brewing Co. in 2004 at the age of 25, Joe Short has built a reputation as a creative and experimental brewer who insists on the exploration of fermentation. A humble man who refuses to take life or himself too seriously, Joe is also uncompromising in his attention to every detail of both his brewing and his business. Short's brews range from the entry level classics to intense, unusual and downright weird. Joe takes tremendous pride in the infusion of energy that his brewery has brought to Michigan, as well as to Bellaire, a small town that has revitalized due to the presence of his brewpub.
Stephanie Skinner
Publisher & Founder, Culture Magazine
Stephanie Skinner is the publisher and co-founder of Culture: the word on cheese, the first national consumer magazine about cheese. Culture tells the stories of cheesemakers, of farms and creameries around the world, chefs and mongers who love cheese. Culture presents personalities and recipes, regional traditions and new local interpretations to explore cheese, one of the most basic foods that is both familiar and exotic, and can be found everywhere.
Bill Slusser
Bill Slusser has been with American Glass Research since 1998 following 8 years as a Research Engineer with Harbison-Walker Refractories. His expertise lies in the areas of fracture diagnosis, container qualification testing and consulting services for the glass industry. He has presented seminars on fracture diagnosis in more than a dozen countries around the world. Bill holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University.
Kip Snider
Beverage Director, Yard House
You could say that Kip Snider is a true success story of the restaurant industry. At 17, Kip began his career path as a food server with Applebee's corporation and then moved to Champp's as a bartender where he then spent six years learning about bar operations and beverage techniques. In 1998 Kip was introduced to the Flagship Yard House in Long Beach, California. He immediately knew that Yard House was a concept that he had been seeking out and that he could showcase his talents with this innovative start up venture. Kip was immediately identified as a go to member of the team and took part in design, menu and procedural decisions relating to bar operations. Kip's contributions to the company landed him the role of Beverage Director as it became available and over the last 11 years of his tenure, Kip continues to be instrumental in shaping the direction of the beverage plan for the company. Kip currently oversees $80,000,000 in beverage sales from 26 restaurants in 10 states along with his beverage team.
James Soares
Director of Environmental & Social Responsibility, Salt Lake Brewing Co., L.C.
James Soares is director of environmental and social responsibility (ESR) for Salt Lake Brewing Co., which operates three pubs—Salt Lake's original brewpub Squatters, as well as locations in Park City and the Salt Lake International Airport. James has integrated ESR into all company operations while reducing costs and increasing net profits. Squatters is a member of Salt Lake's Green e2 Business program and in 2009 was awarded Best Green Effort dining award by Salt Lake magazine. In 2004, Salt Lake Brewing was named Environmental Company of the year by the Recycling Coalition of Utah and in 2005 received the P2 Pollution Prevention Award from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Recently, Squatters helped launch the first glass recycling program in Utah with the Downtown Alliance.
Marc Sorini
Attorney, McDermott Will & Emery LLP
Marc E. Sorini is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, based in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. He is the leader of the Firm's Alcohol Regulatory & Distribution Group, where his practice focuses on regulatory, distribution and litigation issues facing the alcohol beverage industry.
Mark Spagnola
Wegmans Food Markets
Mark Spagnola is the Category Merchant for Beer at Wegmans Food Markets, headquartered in Rochester, NY. A graduate of Villanova University’s School of Business, Mark began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers advising clients across a number of industries as a Certified Public Accountant. Mark joined Wegmans in 1998 in Accounting and moved into Grocery Merchandising in 2006. He has managed a number of businesses including Salty Snacks, Cookies, Crackers, and Beer. Recently, his focus has been on new markets and expansion of specialty beer, including initiatives to better educate customers and help position beer as a compliment to the meal.
Rick Steckler
President & COO, Click Wholesale Distributing, Inc.
Rick Steckler is president and co-owner of Click Wholesale Distributing, Inc. in Kent, Wash. and Click Distributing East, Inc. in Spokane, Wash. He's been in beer and wine distribution in Seattle for more than 23 years. Click Wholesale distributes both beer and wine directly in six counties in the Puget Sound region and indirectly through a network of sub-distributors and affiliated distributors throughout Washington and other Northwest states. In November 2008 Click opened a second operation, Click Distributing East, Inc., which services parts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. Eight years ago Click Wholesale started with six people and now has 68 employees and three warehouses. Click Wholesale was named the 2008 Craft Beer Distributor of the Year by the Brewers Association and the National Beer Wholesalers Association.
Mitch Steele
Head Brewer/Production Manager, Stone Brewing Co.
Mitch Steele is the head brewer and production manager for Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, Calif. He has brewed at some of the largest and smallest breweries in the world since graduating from UC Davis in 1984 with a Fermentation Science degree. He started on a 14-barrel system at the San Andreas Brewing Co. and spent 14 years at several Anheuser-Busch breweries. Mitch joined Stone Brewing Co. in 2006 and has managed the brewing and packaging operation at Stone as it has grown from a 48,000- barrel operation to 100,000 barrels. He is thrilled to be back in craft brewing, and is enjoying the challenges of making amazing beers and helping the company manage its growth. Mitch is a past president of the MBAA District New England, and regularly participates on professional beer judging panels.
Shawn Steele
Quality Control Manager, Karl Strauss Brewing Co.
Shawn Steele has been in the brewing industry for more than 12 years. He attended Siebel Institute of Technology in 1998 and began his brewing career at Atwater Block Brewery in Detroit, Mich. before transitioning to a lab technician for AAC Trinity Environmental Laboratories. Desperate for a break from the harsh Detroit winters, Shawn set out for a quick visit to San Diego. While on vacation seven years ago, Shawn landed a job at Karl Strauss Brewing Co. After brewing for five years, he became the quality control manager in 2007, overseeing all beer specs on 35,000 barrels per year.
Benj Steinman
President, Beer Marketer's Insights
Benj Steinman is the president of Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS, Inc, which has published the leading trade publication for the United States brewing industry since 1970. Benj joined the family business in 1980. Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS currently has six publications and two conferences, all about beer and/or beverages. Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS is often quoted in leading newspapers, magazines and other media. Benj graduated from Brown University in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts and from Columbia University in 1991 with a Masters of Business Administration. Benj and his family currently live in Montebello, N.Y.
Fred Strachan
Supervisor, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Fred Strachan attended and completed the UC Davis Master Brewer's program and Institute of Brewing exam in 1995. Upon completion of the program, Fred began his brewing career in the Filtration Department at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. He has held various positions within the department, and most recently has taken on the position of supervisor in the chemical and water process and systems area. Fred currently is the treasurer of the American Society of Brewing Chemists as well as serving on the Finance, Program, and Craft Brewers Committees, as well as an active member of the MBAA.
Steven Thornberry
The Nielsen Co.
Steve Thornberry focuses on understanding beer consumers' purchase behavior through the retail lens. Steve leads Nielsen's relationship with MillerCoors and contributes thought leadership for the Bev Al area. Prior to joining Nielsen in 1996, Steve spent three years as senior vice president of Partners in Loyalty Marketing, a consultancy serving consumer packaged goods and retailer clients. He has 24 years of experience in consumer packaged goods and retail marketing services with leading companies Catalina Marketing, ADVO, and Donnelley Marketing. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Dr. Ann Thrupp
Manager of Sustainability and Organic Development, Fetzer/Bonterra Vineyards
Ann Thrupp is manager of sustainability and organic development at Fetzer Vineyards. She also serves as a consultant (and was formerly managing director) for the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, a non-profit organization promoting sustainable practices in the wine industry. Ann has more than 20 years of experience in ecological agriculture, natural resource management, and sustainable business in the U.S. and abroad. She previously worked with the Environmental Protection Agency's Agriculture Initiative. From 1990 to1998, she was director of sustainable agriculture at the World Resources Institute, where she coordinated projects in Latin America and other regions. She has a Ph.D and M.A. from Sussex University and a B.A. from Stanford University. She has contributed to more than 70 publications, and is an avid runner.
Scott Vaccaro
Owner/Head Brewer, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.
Scott Vaccaro has been standing over the brew kettle since the young age of 17 and has been on a quest to create the perfect pint ever since. After earning a BS in Fermentation Science from UC Davis in 2001, and living in California for nearly six years, Scott moved back to his home state of New York, and Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. was opened in early 2006. With a slant toward barrel-aged beers and sour ales, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. has been fermenting and experimenting with whatever barrels it can find since opening almost five years ago.
Jeff Van Voorhis
Project Manager, Symbiont Science, Engineering, and Construction
Jeff Van Voorhis has more than 15 years of experience in wastewater treatment for the food and beverage industries. He has served as the project manager for a variety of large and small-scale projects. He is extremely knowledgeable with all phases of wastewater treatment projects beginning with wastewater characterization and permitting through design, construction, and start-up. Van Voorhis also incorporates renewable energy utilization into his projects whenever feasible. He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering (Environmental Emphasis) from Purdue University and his M.B.A. from Marquette University.
Tyler Webb
Intellectual Property Attorney, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
Tyler Webb is an associate with Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione in Chicago, Ill. Tyler's practice includes all areas of intellectual property law, including patent prosecution and litigation. Before joining Brinks, Tyler earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas, and a Juris Doctorate from DePaul University. Tyler became a beer enthusiast after being introduced to English pale ale during an undergraduate study abroad program. In addition to enjoying homebrewing, Tyler's other outside interests include traveling and baseball.
William W. Westman
American Meat Institute
William W. (Bill) Westman is the vice president of international trade at the American Meat Institute in Washington, D.C. He has served in China, Germany, Brazil, Venezuela, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. Bill received a Masters of Science degree in Forestry from Virginia Tech and a Natural Resource Management degree from Cook College, Rutgers University. He is married to Meri-Maaria Westman of Finland. Bill is proud to be a homebrewer of Irish red ales and stouts.
Bump Williams
President/CEO, Bump Williams Consulting Co.
Bump Williams has accumulated more than 30 years of experience in the consumer products industry working with a variety of Fortune 500 companies. Bump graduated from business school and began his career at The Procter & Gamble Distributing Co.. In 1994, he moved into consulting at Information Resources Inc., where he served as the Executive VP of Global Consulting and the Alcohol-Beverage Global Director. While at IRI, Bump worked closely with beverage alcohol manufacturers, distributors and retailers providing consumer insights, retail strategies and analytics. In 2008, Williams left IRI and founded the Bump Williams Consulting Co., and is currently the CEO. The firm provides its clients with consumer insights, price and promotion analytics, wholesaler market assessments, retail strategies, new product assessment, M&A, and market level analytics for distributors.
Sean Wilson
Chief Executive Optimist, Fullsteam Brewery
Sean Lilly Wilson is quickly moving from head of a "brewery-in-planning" to "brewery." Scheduled to open in the spring, Durham, N.C.-based Fullsteam specializes in Southern "plow-to-pint" beer brewed with local farmed ingredients, heirloom grains, and seasonal botanicals. In the year-long build-out, Sean has told the Fullsteam story through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and features in traditional media. Prior to Fullsteam, Sean led two successful craft beer lobbying endeavors (Pop the Cap and Permit Beer). He holds an MBA/MPP from Duke University and an undergraduate degree from Wheaton College, where drinking alcohol was a violation of the school's pledge.
John Wyzkiewicz
Brewer, Goose Island Beer Co.
John Wyzkiewicz started his brewing career in 2005 after graduating from the American Brewers Guild Craft Brewers Apprenticeship program. Growing up in Chicago, John had the pleasure of watching Goose Island Beer Co. grow into the respected artisans they are today. He considers it an honor to accept an internship and later full-time position with Goose Island. He has furthered his education by attending the Siebel Institute Master of Beer Styles and Evaluation Program and passing the Certified Cicerone exam in 2009. He lives in suburban Chicago with his wife Barb and two-year-old twins, Mila and Bodhi.
