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Sensory

Consistently producing beer that is free of off flavors and true-to-brand is of paramount importance to the success of any brewery. A trained human palate is a powerful tool and a sensory panel is an essential, fundamental element of any beer quality program. The resources in this section will empower breweries of all sizes to build sensory programs to help them produce the highest quality beers.

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mobile playlist icon Off Flavor Management Glass of beer with off flavor icons around it

Off Flavor Management

The fact sheets in this series describe common beer off flavors and how they can be prevented through proactive measures.Read More

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Brewers Association

The Quality Subcommittee envisions a membership that consistently produces beer of high quality. Quality for this purpose has been defined as: a beer that is responsibly produced using wholesome ingredients, consistent brewing techniques and good manufacturing practices, which exhibits flavor characteristics that are consistently aligned with both the brewer’s and the beer drinker’s expectations.

See Quality Subcommittee's Articles

How To Manage Off Flavors in Beer: Lactic Acid lactic acid icon with pilsner glass

How To Manage Off Flavors in Beer: Lactic Acid

Download this cheat sheet on detecting and managing lactic acid, by the Brewers Association Quality Subcommittee.Read More

Link to author biography
Brewers Association

The Quality Subcommittee envisions a membership that consistently produces beer of high quality. Quality for this purpose has been defined as: a beer that is responsibly produced using wholesome ingredients, consistent brewing techniques and good manufacturing practices, which exhibits flavor characteristics that are consistently aligned with both the brewer’s and the beer drinker’s expectations.

See Quality Subcommittee's Articles
ingredients
  1. Seminar

Researcher Presentation

Craft Brewers Conference 2024Las Vegas, Nevada

Researchers will present findings relevant to the craft beer industry, followed by a poster session for deeper discussions. Topics include hop variety impact on hop creep, efficient detection of glycosidic nitrile genes in malting barley, methods for hop lot matching, assessing hop aging using Hop Storage Index, and mitigating fermentation issues caused by microflora.Read More

ingredients
  1. Seminar

The Next Great Hop: What’s New in Public Hop Breeding and How You Can Contribute

Craft Brewers Conference 2024Las Vegas, NevadaSpeaker(s): Alicia Adler, Kayla Altendorf, John Henning, Eric Sannerud, Daniel Sharp

The United States Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) hop geneticists Dr. John Henning and Dr. Kayla Altendorf will present experimental hop varieties in public breeding programs, highlighting Advanced and Elite Line stages. Representatives from the Hop Research Council and Hop Quality Group will detail programs aiding public hop breeding and brewer involvement.Read More

ingredients
  1. Seminar

Exploring Hop Picking Windows and Their Impact on Aroma and Flavor

Craft Brewers Conference 2024Las Vegas, NevadaSpeaker(s): Jeff Dailey, Claire Desmarais, Tom Nielsen, Alexandra Nowell

This seminar explores the impact of harvest dates on hop aromas and beer flavors. Learn about in-field sensory techniques and testing to gauge harvest readiness for optimal aroma. Discover collaborations between brewers and growers to extend harvest windows, enabling a broader range of hop aromas and unique flavor profiles in beers.Read More

mobile playlist icon CBC 2024 Quality & Sensory Seminars brewery worker examining beer samples

CBC 2024 Quality & Sensory Seminars

Quality management is critical for continued success in the ever-crowded craft beverage industry. Seminars in this track help you build your own sensory and quality programs and maintain quality products in the taproom.Read More

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Education Program Manager

MacKenzie Staples is the education program manager for the Brewers Association. In addition to managing the resources and articles on BrewersAssociation.org, she organizes the seminars for the Craft Brewers Conference® (CBC), curates the webinars in the BA Collab Hour series, and serves as the staff liaison for the CBC Seminar Subcommittee. She is originally from Texas where she fell in love with craft beer, and is proud to say that she has visited over 800 U.S. small and independent craft breweries.

See MacKenzie Staples's Articles
quality
  1. Seminar

Tasting and Creating: Messages from the Science

Craft Brewers Conference 2024Las Vegas, NevadaSpeaker(s): Randy Mosher

Randy Mosher delves into recent scientific research on tasting. He explores topics from biophysics of receptors to neural processing, emotion, and memory, offering valuable insights for brewers and flavor creation from these new discoveries.Read More

quality
  1. Seminar

Beyond Cell Counts: Off-Flavor Sensory for Aspiring Yeast Whisperers

Craft Brewers Conference 2024Las Vegas, NevadaSpeaker(s): Jackie Beardstrom

This seminar emphasizes the importance of understanding yeast health beyond traditional metrics. It explores leveraging sensory data to assess yeast well-being, identifying off-flavors associated with fermentation issues, their causes, and how to optimize recipe design for yeast health.Read More

business-model
  1. Seminar

The Flavor of Your Taproom: How the Drinking Atmosphere Shifts the Taste and Memory of Beer

Craft Brewers Conference 2024Las Vegas, NevadaSpeaker(s): Mandy Naglich

This seminar explores how various sensory elements in a taproom impact the flavor experience even before a drink is served. It delves into the influence of music, decor, and ambiance on taste perception, backed by scientific research and industry success stories. Participants will learn to enhance customer satisfaction by optimizing sensory experiences.Read More

best-practices
  1. Seminar

Sensory Impact of Various Draught Dispense Types

Craft Brewers Conference 2024Las Vegas, NevadaSpeaker(s): Jack Van Paepeghem

Learn about different faucet types—such as Lukr ("side pull") pours, nitro dispense, slow pours, and flow-control faucets—and their functions, different pouring techniques and various approaches to foam, and the role of carbonation, dispense gas type and equipment, and their effects on beer flavor and aroma.Read More

best-practices
  1. Seminar

Glassware Styles and Presenting Draught Beer

Craft Brewers Conference 2024Las Vegas, NevadaSpeaker(s): Matt Meadows

Access Recording In this dynamic presentation, Matt Meadows covers the history and sensory impacts of different glassware, and teaches how a proper pour into a beer-clean glass can enhance the experience for your customer, as well as increase your profits. Learning Objectives Learn …Read More

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