Brewers Association Technical Committee Plans for the Future

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The 2017 Technical Summit was held May 24-25 in Boulder, Colo. Twenty-one Technical committee and subcommittee members attended, along with eight Brewers Association (BA) staff members (see participant list below). The purpose of the summit is to align Technical committee priorities with BA strategic objectives and develop technical projects ideas for 2018 and future annual plans.

Technical Summit attendees reached out to local brewers beforehand, to get direct feedback on small brewery needs in the technical realm. This feedback directly informed the development of project priorities, and will be utilized to produce relevant resources. The BA will also work to more effectively promote and communicate the work of the technical committee and subcommittees to membership and the larger craft brewing community.

Attendees also reviewed the technical committee vision and mission, and examined priorities to ensure alignment with BA strategic objectives and current industry conditions. An evaluation of strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats within the industry formed the lens through which project ideas were evaluated. Individual project ideas were then rated in regards to feasibility and impact, then importance and urgency.

The prioritized projects will go into the BA Professional Division Technical Department 2018 Plan proposal, which is reviewed by the BA management team and the Board of Directors. A list of lower priority projects will be maintained for future consideration or inclusion in subsequent annual plan proposals.

Brewers Association Technical Committee

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Technical Committee and subcommittee member participants:

Name Company Committee
Justin Ainsworth Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Technical Committee; Beer Industry Electronic Commerce Coalition (BIECC) Liaison
Travis Burge New Belgium Brewing Co Technical Committee
Cheri Chastain Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Sustainability Subcommittee Co-Chair
Tom Flores Brewers Alley Technical Committee
Jamie Floyd Ninkasi Brewing Co. Technical Committee
Reva Golden University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Safety Subcommittee Co-Chair
Larry Horwitz Four String Brewing Co. Technical Committee
Geoff Larson Alaskan Brewing Co. Technical Committee
John Mallet Bell’s Brewery, Inc. Technical Committee Chair
Matt Meadows New Belgium Brewing Co Draught Beer Quality Subcommittee Chair
Matt Moberly Bell’s Brewery, Inc. Technical Committee; BIECC Liaison
James “Otto” Ottolini BrewHub Technical Committee
Jason Perkins Allagash Brewing Co. Quality Subcommittee Chair
Brandon Smith Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Engineering Subcommittee Chair
Ken Smith Boston Beer Company Draught Beer Quality Subcommittee
Kris Spaulding Brewery Vivant Sustainability Subcommittee Member
Matt Stinchfield Ploughshare Brewing Co. Safety Subcommittee Co-Chair
Kent Taylor Blackstone Brewing Co. Engineering Subcommittee Vice-Chair
Katie Wallace New Belgium Brewing Co Sustainability Subcommittee Co-Chair
Dave Wilson Alaskan Brewing Co. Technical Committee
Chad Yakobson Crooked Stave Brewing Co. Technical Committee

Brewers Association staff participants:

Name Title
Ryan Farrell Technical Summit Facilitator; HR Manager
Paul Gatza Director
Bob Pease President & CEO
Damon Scott Technical Brewing Projects Coordinator
Chuck Skypeck Technical Brewing Projects Manager
Chris Swersey Supply Chain Specialist
Kristi Switzer Brewers Publications Publisher
Bart Watson Chief Economist

For a full list of committees and members, visit the Committees section of BrewersAssociation.org