The Brewers Association (BA) has announced that Neil Witte, formerly of Boulevard Brewing and Duvel USA, will fill the position of quality ambassador formerly held by Dick Cantwell. Witte will work to promote the vision of the BA Quality subcommittee to, “develop a membership that consistently produces beer of high quality.”

Witte said, “I couldn’t be more excited about working with the Brewers Association to help them promote all the fantastic work they do on behalf of independent brewers around the country. The materials they have produced on beer quality and quality control programs are an incredible industry resource and I’m excited to help spread the word.”

(MORE: Mary Pellettieri Named Quality Instructor at the Brewers Association)

Witte is a 20 year veteran of the craft beer business. He began his career in the Kansas City brewpub industry, moving to Boulevard Brewing Co. in 1997 as a brewer. In 2001, he took over field quality responsibilities for the brewery, acting as a quality control liaison between the brewery and its distributor and retailer network. He continued that role with the Duvel USA family of beers, including Boulevard and Brewery Ommegang, through the end of 2016. In 2017 he founded Craft Quality Solutions, which draws on his extensive field quality experience, providing field quality services to breweries, distributors and retailers. He is certified through the Beer Judge Certification Program and is currently one of 13 Master Cicerones. He is co-author of the Brewers Association Draught Beer Quality Manual, Draught Beer Quality for Retailers and a contributing author to the MBAA Beer Steward Handbook.

As quality ambassador, Witte will work to advocate the BA Quality subcommittee’s resources and messaging addressing beer quality. A particular focus will be with communicating with state brewers guilds. Guild leaders who are interested in scheduling Witte for a presentation are encouraged to contact BA State Guilds Manager Acacia Coast.

The BA Technical committee formed the Quality subcommittee in the fall of 2014 to conceptualize and facilitate the continual pursuit of beer quality for craft brewers. The Technical committee selected a diverse group of brewing professionals to take on the task of supporting and advocating for quality. The purpose of the group is to provide a framework for quality to craft brewers and to provide guidance to achieve the vision of a membership that consistently produces beer of high quality.