HOME  >  Newsletter

ASBC NEWSLETTER

Well, the sun actually can shine in California in March! I am writing this column just days after returning from the Second Brewers and Vintners Annual Scientific Symposium and spring ASBC Board of Directors (BOD) meeting in Napa, California. In regard to the former, I would like to recognize and thank Rebecca Newman for her dedication, hard work, and passion in representing the ASBC in the development and execution of the 2006 meeting. With nearly 100 attendees, the lectures were of great interest to both industries, including presentations on energy savings, environmental and community sustainability, emerging legislation for food allergen labeling (and an opportunity for the ASBC to ensure robust test method[s] for all classes of allergens!), global and historic research around the subject of moderate alcohol consumption, as well as sensory and marketing science. The level of audience engagement, sharing of best practices, Q and A between speakers and attendees, and interaction during breaks and lunch was outstanding. The date and location for the 2007 meeting will shortly be established. I strongly recommend considering attending future symposia, especially for those members within driving distance.

Immediately following the positive energy generated by this meeting, the BOD met for three days just another hour down the highway. While I have participated in many past BOD meetings, I came away from this meeting truly inspired by the esprit du corps, level of commitment, self-accountability, and just sheer passion for the ASBC by every member of the BOD and Scientific Societies. It is truly an honor to be on the same team with a group of individuals who have become as much friends as employees in a common industry.

I recall mentioning in my first column that because of the efforts of earlier BODs, the theme of “strategy in action” is very evident in the ASBC—especially in regard to professional development, publications, and our Annual Meetings. Adopting this approach, the focus of this meeting was on laying out a new five-year strategy around professional development for our membership—and to start laying the groundwork for it now. There will be much more to say about this at the June 18 ASBC General Business Meeting (the last time this term will be used at an Annual Meeting!). However, the need for creative and cost-effective ways to enable every level of our membership to benefit from site, local, regional, and national interaction with industry experts has been identified. Additionally, whether the audience is a home-brewer, microbrewer, brew-pub operator, regional brewer, major brewer, or supplier of any brewing materials or technology to the industry, the requirement for an interactive, non-refereed publication dealing purely with “nuts and bolts” applied brewing science has been identified as a strategic need. While I am not sure whether this will be viewed by the membership as good or bad news, I have eagerly volunteered to serve as the next chair of the Professional Development Committee after Past-President Rob Maruyama reaches the end of his productive and standard-setting tenure.

As this is my last Newsletter column (warning, I am a mind reader!), I would like to use this opportunity to muse on learnings gained as a result of my journey to date in the ASBC. Certainly, I have come to appreciate that across the entire supply chain of the global brewing industry, the elements of people, processes, materials, and technology must each interact in coordinated harmony to provide products that not only delight our consumers, but also enable us to do so in a manner that is socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and yielding of efficient and profitable operations. The lifeblood that flows and connects each of these elements is data (aka measurements!), and how we use it profoundly impacts our degree of success in these endeavors! Unlike the applications, reactions, debates, or interpersonal energies that data generate, data alone are somewhat cold and inert. It is when data are acted on that things really get interesting! Perhaps the greatest lesson I have learned to date as a result of my journey in the ASBC is the power of “databased decision making”—and how often it runs smack into the towering walls of industry dogma or one’s own (or others’) paradigms. These latter forces can slow, or even prevent, the attainment of invigorating process improvements stemming from practicing the discipline of data-based decision making—especially when there is a level of “paradigm slayer” involved in the interpretation.

In this spirit, I would like to invite and encourage every reader of this column to attend the 2006 ASBC Annual Meeting in La Quinta, California (June 17–21). The outstanding program coordinated by John Engel and team is sure to provide moments of insight and learnings to improve our skills as brewing industry professionals so that we may harmonize the elements that must interact seamlessly across the supply chain in producing our products—and who knows, perhaps even generate a paradigm slayer or two! Hopefully, by now every member of ASBC has received a registration brochure for the La Quinta meeting (and if not, please ask for one!). The program has a balanced array of presentations and posters on topics that are sure to leave lasting impressions, including the following:

• The attendees themselves and the plethora of volunteer opportunities the ASBC has to offer
• First timers and student receptions
• Comprehensive guest program to ensure coordinated opportunities for fun and friendship for all guests of members attending the meeting
• An ASBC culture that is simultaneously magical, democratic, collaborative and creative—as the old tag line goes, “try it, you’ll like it”

• Technical sessions on barley, malt, hops, and yeast processes
• Technical sessions on brew house oxidation, packaging, and physical stability technology

• New Products and Services Seminar

• Workshops entitled Beer Design, Beer and Chocolate 101, and Sake One: An Americanized Sake
• Keynote (and audience interactive) presentation on beer and food pairings

• Technical Committee meetings and reports
• Technical sessions on analytical and flavor science
• Workshops entitled Statistics: Validation of Analytical Methods; TPO—How to Measure, Validate and Trouble shoot TPO
• Short course on getting the most from your sensory tasting

Lastly, I would like to address the topic of a possible merger between the ASBC and MBAA as proposed and publicly promoted in recent months by the president of the MBAA, Jaime Jurado. I was informally approached by Jaime at the conclusion of the 2005 MBAA meeting in Miami with a request to support collaborative discussions on merging our two organizations. The ASBC board of directors has considered this request in great detail, and, while the board is unanimous that such a merger would not benefit the organizations at this time, there is a need for increased dialogue between MBAA and ASBC. Many important synergies are possible, and we can build on our cooperative successes such as the World Brewing Congress and our publishing and educational programs. We already share staff and infrastructure to efficiently serve our respective members. Through increased communication, we can ensure that ASBC and MBAA are recognized for their contributions to the technological and scientific integrity of the brewing industry. Working together where appropriate and practical will allow us to serve the specific needs of our individual members. We will respond to the MBAA leadership with these ideas and reach out to the membership for their active input. The upcoming ASBC annual meeting is an opportunity for continued discussion.

Greg Casey
President

In This Issue

© American Society of Brewing Chemists
Request Information | Contact Us | Copyright | Webmaster