Conference offers variety of talks focused on technical brewing, business, and front-of-house topics
Helena, MT – Brewers and beer industry representatives alike will have the opportunity to elevate their craft through a variety of talks and panel discussions at the 2018 Montana Brewers Conference and Trade Show happening September 27-28, 2018 at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel Missoula-Edgewater in Missoula, MT.
Presented in partnership by the Montana Brewers Association and Fermentana, the conference will feature plenary talks, as well as breakout sessions covering three topic-focused tracks – technical brewing, business, and front-of-house operations – over the course of the two days. Several networking activities for attendees will also be held during the event. Over 150 attendees are expected at the seventh annual event, including over 15 businesses exhibiting in the trade show.
The keynote speaker for the event is John Holl, Author and Editor of Craft Beer & Brewing (speaking on Thursday at 10:10am). Additionally, Dr. J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham, Ph.D., Diversity Ambassador for the Brewers Association, will give a plenary session talk (Friday at 10am) on the second day of the conference about strategies and tactics for being inclusive and building diversity in craft beer.
Kara Taylor, Senior Laboratory Manager of White Labs, will share steps on setting up a brewery lab to test for the essentials in
beer quality. In addition, Ian Hughes, Sustainability Ambassador from the Brewers Association will present on sustainability resources for brewers, as well as moderate a group discussion on current Montana examples of brewery sustainability in-practice.
A panel discussion focused on understanding the use of distilled hop oils in brewing will feature Tom Britz, CEO of Glacier Hops Ranch; Tim Schnarrs II, Chief Brewing Officer and Director of Brewery Operations at Meadowlark Brewing; and Marcus Duffey, General Manager and Managing Partner of Great Northern Brewing; moderated by Niki Bates, Marketing Director of Great Northern Brewing.
Other speakers and panelists include Acacia Coast, State Brewers Guild Manager from the Brewers Association; Kori Christianson, Marketing Manager for Draught Works Brewery; Nicko Lannan, Creative Manager for Draught Works Brewery; Jon Graber, Sales Manager at Micro Matic; Isaac Taylor, General Manager at Neptune’s Brewery; Loy Maierhauser, Marketing Manager at Map Brewing; and Leif Miltenberger, Hired Guns Creative.
The conference will end on Friday with a final breakout session featuring talks in each track including a panel discussion exploring the ins-and-outs of barrel-aging beers with speakers Ryan Beal, Brewer at Bozeman Brewing; David Brendgard, Director of Brewery Operations for Flathead Lake Brewing Company; and Mike Elliott, Head Brewer for Philipsburg Brewing Company.
The complete conference schedule can be found on the event website.
About the Montana Brewers Conference:
The Montana Brewers Conference provides brewery owners and staff, as well as those working in related partner industries, with a high-quality educational experience and opportunity to network with individuals throughout the local, regional, and national beer industries. In addition, the conference includes a trade show featuring services and products offered by participating sponsors.
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