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ASBC Newsletter
VOLUME 60, NUMBER 2 - 2000
The
World Brewing Congress (WBC) is rapidly approaching and really
promises to be a spectacular event! Jim Munroe and Joe Hertrich have
performed a superb task in organizing all the various facets of the
WBC 2000. Our executive office in St. Paul has coordinated all the
logistics of this extraordinary international congress. Dirk Bendiak
and Finn Knudsen, together with their Program Committee, including
representatives from the European Brewery Convention, Brewery
Convention of Japan, and the Institute of Brewing, have lined up
approximately 60 posters and 60 oral presentations—all of the
highest caliber—as well as a number of extremely useful panel
discussions to define brewing and our industry in the new millennium.
This is the family/technical/global/fun brewing industry event to
commit to—you will not be disappointed! And, even during the
congress itself, there will be ample time at Disney’s Coronado
Springs Resort in Orlando to thoroughly enjoy one of the world’s
most famous vacation spots as well as to mingle with the more colorful
personalities of our industry!
The idea of a WBC is not new, of course. A technical meeting that assumed the character of a WBC was held in Chicago in 1893, attended by a select number of scientists from various beer-producing countries. The first official WBC was held in Brussels, Belgium, in 1910, under the auspices of the Belgian government. However, the most spectacular of these early WBCs was in 1911, again in Chicago. This Second World Brewing Congress and American Exposition of Brewing Machinery, Materials and Products was held together with the Second International Barley and Hops Prize Exhibition and Educational Exhibition. This congress brought together the best-known brewing scientists of the day from all over the world and a wealth of valuable papers. The accompanying exposition was a magnificent showing of the brewing industry and the allied trades.
These original international brewing congresses were extremely important for the brewing industry of the day and vital for the advancement of brewing science in North America, which was following an interesting pathway at that time, somewhat different from the trends in Europe. To understand this complexity, it is interesting to step back in time to analyze its roots.
In Europe, at the end of the 19th century, brewing was becoming (relatively speaking) a mature science with defined analytical measurements. Previously, of course, the thermometer was first used in a maltings in 1762. The saccharometer was introduced to brewing by James Beaverstock in England in 1785, although there had been an earlier treatise on the saccharometer by John Richardson in 1784. Saccharometry met with numerous subsequent studies by Hermbstadt in 1813, followed by publications by Liebig, Balling, Mulder, Otto, and Thausing. Toward the end of the 19th century, therefore, brewing science was being defined in Europe. And, of course, in 1873, Pasteur electrified the scientific world with his Etudes sur la Biere (Studies on Beer), which showed, for the first time, that the yeast mass could be mixed with smaller cells—bacteria. Hansen, in Copenhagen, built upon this work to demonstrate that "wild" yeasts could mingle with the culture yeast and could, additionally, be the cause of disturbances in brewery fermentations. Hansen’s book, titled Practical Studies in Fermentation was epoch-making. And, of course, Hansen devised the original apparatus for propagating pure cultures to enable brewers to always have the identical type of yeast strain at their disposal.
Although, on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, the Joseph Schlitz Co. was the first U.S. brewery to adopt Hansen’s pure yeast culture philosophy, brewing science in the second half of the 19th century was also significantly focused on "engineering," as will be explained later. Lager brewing was expanding the market in North America and beer, in general, was going through a gradual and essential transformation. In previous decades, top-fermented ales had been in vogue, and many brewers who had come from continental Europe continued to make beer of that type. Even the German brewers, who had learned their trade in Munich, Vienna, or Pilsen, first took to brewing ales according to the fashion of the day.
 Joe Hertrich and Jim Munroe met at Headquarters in late January with staff members Deb Woodard, and Amy Hope to plan details of the WBC. |
When bottom-fermented lagers were first introduced, the methodology first followed typical German decoction mashing techniques. However, these techniques were fairly quickly abandoned by most brewers in favor of the American infusion mashing method when it was found that the latter was better adapted to providing more fruity and less heavy-bodied beers, which American popular taste preferred. This transition, technically speaking, marked a notable turning point toward the real commencement of American brewing science.
In the last three decades of the 19th century, it can be strongly argued that the pioneers of brewing science in North America were John Ewald Siebel, originally from the district of Dusseldorf, Germany, and Anton Schwarz from Polna, Bohemia (now Czech Republic). Although both gentlemen will be best remembered for founding their respective brewing schools (Siebel Institute and the United States Brewers’ Academy), their other contributions to brewing science were of enormous significance. In 1881, Siebel published an article in the Western Brewer concerning the use of unmalted cereals in brewing. This was a huge advance for the day, resulting in beers better suited to the U.S. taste for higher "drinkability" (lighter in color, flavor, and texture) and, due to the work of the large brewers at that time, came to define what we now understand as American brewing technique. Of course, this practice was also subsequently adopted by many other brewers around the world.
Because, as stated above, lager brewing was expanding the marketplace, refrigeration was of critical importance. It was no longer practical to brew only in the winter months and have underground beer storage for close to a full year; brewing had to be year round. In order for this to be achieved, there was a massive technology push for refrigeration machines—the history of which I will include in the next issue of the Newsletter. Probably Siebel’s most important publication during his lifetime was his Compend of Mechanical Refrigeration, published in 1895. This reference book went through many editions and still remained a valuable text for a few decades after Siebel’s death in 1919. Siebel published (and patented) diverse works during his lifetime, including counter-pressure racking systems for the brewing industry, an innovation at the time.
Schwarz studied under Balling in Prague and eventually became Balling’s chief assistant. He then became manager of a brewery in Pest before moving to New York in 1868. Schwarz became publisher of The American Brewer, and during this time he made his greatest contributions to brewing science. Food safety was virtually an unknown science at this time, and the brewing industry practiced dubious "secret formulas" and "remedies"—some of which I highlighted in the last edition of the Newsletter. Schwarz’s vision succeeded in driving such unethical practices from the trade, in the face of considerable prejudice. In addition, Schwarz fitted up extensive laboratories for chemical and microbiological analysis and imparted to the brewers of the day the best ways to utilize brewing materials and methods for the introduction of scientific control of brewery operations.
Both Schwarz and Siebel made considerable scientific and engineering contributions to the brewing industry before the end of the 19th century, at a time when there were no such organizations as the American Society of Brewing Chemists, the European Brewery Convention, or the Brewery Convention of Japan. Even the Master Brewers’ Association of the Americas was in its infancy at that time.
During the 20th century, scientific organizations have formalized brewing science. Our own society has its roots (as well as its future) in standards and procedures, the heart of producing malt beverages of sound and consistent quality. The World Brewing Congress this year will help define where brewing science will focus for the future and, indeed, why we need to work together as an industry in order to succeed!
Hope to see you all in Orlando!
--David S. Ryder
Highlights of the
ASBC Board of Directors Meeting
March 11, 2000
The ASBC Board of Directors met on Saturday, March 11, 2000, at the
Hotel Santa Fe in Santa Fe, NM. President David Ryder called the meeting to
order at 8:00 a.m. Holly Kuester read the previous meeting’s minutes. One
correction was noted, and the minutes were accepted.
A discussion of WBC 2000 followed, led by Jim Munroe. Amy Hope handed out the registration materials to each Board member. Overall, the WBC 2000 meeting planning is going well, but some items still need to be addressed. A conference call will be scheduled for May or June, during which the Board will discuss any last-minute WBC 2000 issues.
The action items from the October 9 and 10, 1999, Board meeting were reviewed, and updates were given. Those items needing additional work were noted in the minutes.
President David Ryder followed with the president’s report. ASBC staff will look into the Hyatt Regency in Tamaya, NM, as a possible 2003 convention site. The dates for this meeting will be planned around the EBC meeting.
Nona Mundy presented the president-elect’s report. Local section polling is planned for May 1. Solicitation for the Student Travel Grant Fund will continue, with funds being used for the 2001 Victoria meeting. An update on a Student Advisory Board should come following WBC 2000. Jim Murphy was nominated as Technical Committee Chairman, and Karen DeVries was nominated as Program Committee Chairperson. Both were unanimously approved by the Board.
Vice-president Rob Maruyama gave his report and passed along Sherman Chan’s Training and Education Committee Report. It was decided that the new Professional Development Committee will be chaired by the immediate past-president for a term of one year. Rob then reviewed the ASBC-MBAA Collaborative Steering Team meeting minutes. This meeting was held on February 4, 2000, during which the team’s vision and mission were discussed. Kathy Kinton and Rob Maruyama will remain as cochairs for this joint committee for four years to ensure some continuity.
David Hysert presented his past-president’s report. Letters were sent to the Editor of Ferment, the Institute of Brewing’s newsletter; the Editor of the MBAA Communicator, the news journal of the MBAA; the Editor of the Brewer’s Digest; and the Editor of the Brewers Bulletin to inquire whether those publications would be interested in exchanging their calendar of events with the ASBC. Letters were also sent to the IoB and MBAA to inquire whether they are interested in exchanging mailing lists with the ASBC. David is still awaiting their replies. The nominee for ASBC vice president is Dirk Bendiak and for ASBC Secretary is Tim Kostelecky. [Biographical profiles for both are printed elsewhere in this newsletter.]
Secretary Holly Kuester gave her report. The Treasurer and Finance Committee report followed. The third quarter FY 2000 report and an FY 2001 budget were discussed. The balance sheet for third quarter FY 2000 reflects current assets of $552,276 and liabilities of $573,244. Membership equity is a negative $20,968, while the operating reserve balance as of December 31, 1999, is $346,120.60. Total income for the quarter was $84,695, and operating expenses totaled $81,136, resulting in a net surplus of $3,559. Since March 31, 1999, the Society has had an increase of 54 active members, and Journal subscribers increased by 14. The budget for FYI 2001 was approved.
Steve Nyarady presented the Technical Committee’s report. Two methods should be accepted into the Methods of Analysis; they are Malt Grind Standard Sieve Analysis and Surface Hygiene Testing Using ATP Bioluminescence. Two subcommittees, Determination of DMS Precursors in Malt by Headspace GC with Application of Nitrogen Purging of Extracts and Beer Color Using Tristimulus, will be repolled to ascertain the level of interest. The two continuing subcommittees will be Selective Measurement of Acetohydroxy Acid Precursors of Vicinal Diketones and Alkaline Methylene Violet Stain for Yeast Viability. These are in addition to the three standing subcommittees New and Alternate Methods of Analysis, Soluble Starch, and International Methods. The subcommittee on Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction for Determination of Hop Essential Oils will be terminated. Since getting enough data to run the required statistics can be difficult, a few ideas were discussed in this regard. To elicit interest for a particular subcommittee, it may be helpful to send subcommittee sign-up information with procedure specifics via e-mails to all members following the Annual Meeting. This way, the membership would be better informed about who within their organization is participating, as well as whether they can realistically participate based on the specific procedure. It may also be necessary to reevaluate the schedule we currently have for technical subcommittees and recognize that some methods need more time. Another topic that has come up many times concerns the requirement that a technical subcommittee work with a published method. This will require more discussion. It was decided that if the chairperson of the New and Alternate Methods of Analysis Subcommittee hears interest among the membership for an unpublished method, he/she will report to the Technical Committee chairperson, who will discuss it with the Board. Relative to the check service collaborative, one Board member mentioned that these results are no longer published in the Journal. Apparently this was discontinued due to the cost involved. The ASBC staff will look into how difficult/expensive it would be to add this information to the Journal. [Note: As a result of this discussion, the check service reports were printed in the No. 2 (2000) issue of the Journal.]
Charlie Bamforth presented the Report of the Publications Committee. Ten oral presentations and six posters from the Phoenix meeting have been submitted for publication in the Journal to date. Of the 39 papers published or submitted in 1999, 24 came from Annual Meetings and 15 were unsolicited. Charlie noted that thanks are due to the reviewers, to the Editorial Board, to Dr. Alfonso Navarro for providing Spanish translations of abstracts, and to the St. Paul staff. Dr. Peter Freeman, editor-in-chief, will be stepping down in 2000 after almost four years of service. Candidates for this position were discussed. Next, Charlie reported on the Methods of Analysis. Eventually the Publications Committee would like the MOA index to reflect method reviews/revisions. Because there is also a need for modern packaging methods, we may need a standing Packaging Subcommittee. The chairperson of the subcommittee would be invited to join the Technical Committee. A replacement for Internet Editor Bob Jensen should be considered, as he has expressed interest in stepping down.
Dirk Bendiak presented the Program Committee report. The WBC 2000 technical program and schedule were reviewed. There were 60 oral papers and 61 posters as of Feb. 15, 2000. Fifty-two papers had to be declined. Everyone is looking forward to this excellent program. David Ryder read International Board Member Barry Axcell’s report. As Barry’s term is up at the end of WBC 2000, candidates for this position were discussed. Following the staff report, the meeting was adjourned for the day.
March 12, 2000
The meeting was called to order by David Ryder at 7:30 a.m.
Strategic planning was the only item of business for Sunday’s meeting. Some
time was spent discussing how ASBC currently addresses emerging industry
issues and how we could improve this process. A chairperson will be appointed
whose role will be to identify these issues and bring them to the attention of
the Board. Once an emerging issue has been identified, the vice-president,
president-elect, and [some others] will be charged with deciding on an
appropriate action. Rob Maruyama will outline a procedure, and this will be
discussed further during the May conference call. Prior to the start of WBC,
ASBC will offer a test kit seminar. Preregistration will be required to attend
this "hands-on" special event. Modernizing the ASBC logo was
revisited, mainly because many feel it doesn’t reflect the Society of today.
The staff in St. Paul will look into some ideas as discussed.
The next Board meeting will be held via a conference call in late May or early June 2000. The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.
Holly Kuester
Secretary
Emerging Issues
In order to fulfill industry needs in the most timely manner, the ASBC Board of Directors has created an advisory group to identify emerging issues in the hops, malt, and brewing industries. The members of this group include the president, president-elect, and vice-president of the Society along with the five most recent past presidents. These eight members will hopefully "keep their collective ears to the ground" and identify issues that may effect the future of our industry. The issues can be either immediate in nature (e.g., a method for the analysis of DON in barley and malt) or "predicted" needs based on new information (e.g., the shortage of common reagents due to pending OSHA regulations).
All members of the Society are encouraged to pass along any information to members of the advisory group, who will form an immediate plan of action to validate the need and seek the appropriate individuals within the Society to look for a resolution.
Report of the Nominating Committee
The ASBC Nominating Committee is pleased to announce the following slate of officers for approval by the membership: Rob Maruyama for president-elect, Dirk Bendiak for vice-president, and Tim Kostelecky for secretary. Because of the WBC 2000, the usual annual business meeting at which we normally elect our new officers will not be held. Therefore, as allowed by the Constitution and by-laws, the Board of Directors has decided for election by mail ballot. You will soon be informed of the details of this mail ballot.
President-Elect
Robert Maruyama remains on the Board, as president-elect. Maruyama
has served on the Board of Directors as Publications Committee chairman and
most recently as vice-president. He graduated from the University of Colorado
in Boulder in 1979 with a B.A. in molecular, cellular developmental biology
and received an M.S. in environmental science and engineering from the
Colorado School of Mines in 1993. He joined Coors in 1980. During his tenure
at Coors, Maruyama was responsible for analytical methods development using
gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography, development of
laboratory automation applications, and analytical project management. In
1994, he was named laboratory supervisor, where he was responsible for the
organic laboratory operations, which supported environmental control and
container manufacturing. Maruyama was promoted to Research and Quality
Assurance laboratory manager in 1995, where he was responsible for managing
the analytical laboratory that supports brewing research and development and
corporate quality assurance. In 1999, Rob was promoted to the position of
director of product quality in the Golden Brewery Business Unit, where he is
responsible for the quality control functions in brewing and packaging
operations. In addition to his role in quality, Rob assumed the
responsibilities for Golden’s environmental health and safety and process
improvement and training in 2000. Maruyama is a member of the ASBC and ACS and
has made presentations and posters to ASBC and AOAC. He has served ASBC as an
active subcommittee participant and has chaired a number of technical
subcommittees, including Coordination of New and Alternate Methods of
Analysis.
Vice-President
Dirk S. Bendiak received his B.Sc. in honors genetics from the
University of Alberta (1975) and his Ph.D. in molecular biology from York
University (1980). After a year of postdoctoral work at the University of
Alberta in yeast mutational research, he began to work at Molson Breweries
Canada Ltd. in 1981 as senior microbiologist. He has worked in the quality
assurance and research areas. This work has included numerous projects in
microbial physiology, yeast physiology, yeast identification, fermentation,
and yeast handling concerns. In 1995 he began as corporate operation
specialist for Molson Canada, delving into areas of brewing and packaging
troubleshooting. Since June 1999, he has been back in the brewing department
as the microbiology and brewing specialist working on: optimization of yeast
propagation, yeast management practices, microbiological issues, CIP issues,
malt issues, and brewhouse capability studies. Bendiak is a member of the
ASBC, presently serving as program chairman and as a Technical Committee
member. He is also a member of MBAA, the American Society of Microbiologists,
and the Canadian Genetics Society and an associate member of the Institute of
Brewing.
Secretary
Tim Kostelecky received a B.Sc. degree in biochemistry from Fort
Lewis College, Durango, Colorado, and joined the Coors Brewing Company in
1976, where he held positions as brewing chemist in the areas of quality
control, malting/brewing research, and brewing materials quality assurance. He
worked with the hop quality program at Coors from 1988 to 1993. From 1994 to
1996, Tim was the founder/director of the Rocky Mountain Brewing Institute in
Denver, Colorado, providing training, education, and consultation to brewers.
Tim joined John I. Haas, Inc. in Yakima, Washington, in 1996, where he
currently holds the position of technical services manager for hops sales and
operations and works extensively with special projects and business
development for the company. He has written articles for brewing publications
such as Zymurgy and Brewing Techniques on the use of hops and
hop products and has presented papers and posters for the ASBC and IoB. Tim is
a member of MBAA and has been an active member of ASBC since 1978. He has been
involved as an ASBC subcommittee participant and is currently the chairman of
ASBC Northwest Local Section 7. Tim and his wife, Sandy, transplanted from
Colorado, are now believers in the wonders of the Great Pacific Northwest and
enjoy the culture and outdoor activities offered there. He is also an avid
amateur astronomer.