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ASBC NEWSLETTER

By the time this Newsletter is published, the holidays will be but a memory, and the New Year will have begun. But right now, as I’m writing this, it’s just before Christmas, and I’m trying like everyone else to squeeze a few more hours out of every day. It is a wonderful season, and I enjoy everything about it…the decorations, the music, the shopping, and just the spirit and excitement of this time of the year. I truly hope that all of you enjoyed your holidays.

This is the third of four columns that I will write for the Newsletter. It’s hard to believe that the “ASBC year” is already half over. In six months (June 16–20) we’ll be in Victoria, British Columbia, for our annual meeting. The 2007 meeting will be held at the beautiful and historic Fairmont Empress. This venue received such rave reviews when we were there for our 2001 meeting, that we decided to go back!

John Engel and the Program Committee have been working overtime to put together another top-notch program. As an opening, Dr. Arthur Klatsky, a senior consultant in cardiology for the Permanente Medical Group in Oakland, California, will discuss the “Risks and Benefits of Moderate Alcohol Consumption.” Several exciting workshops and seminars are also in the planning stages. Details on these will be found in future ASBC News Capsules and in the next issue of the Newsletter. The closing speaker will be Greg Evans, executive director of the Maritime Museum of British Columbia. Greg is a historian, museum director, beer consultant, and narrator/storyteller and is currently an active member of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) . His talk promises to be intriguing and entertaining.

While the Program Committee is pulling together the workshops, seminars, openers, and closers, no annual meeting would be complete without contributions from brewing scientists everywhere. Communication of recent technical findings in the form of oral presentations and posters is the backbone of every successful meeting. We encourage your participation and welcome your contributions!

The 2007 ASBC Annual Meeting is not the only upcoming event receiving attention right now. Sue Thompson and Inge Russell, along with other ASBC and MBAA members, met on December 14 in St. Paul, Minnesota, to discuss plans for the World Brewing Congress 2008. Discussions on meeting format, deadlines, and a plan for promoting the convention took place. In addition, the group brainstormed ideas on to how to make this the best program ever. The energy and enthusiasm surrounding the planning of this meeting is high, and the people involved are dedicated to making the meeting a huge success. The World Brewing Congress 2008 will be held August 3–6, 2008, in Honolulu, Hawaii. It’s not too early to start making plans to attend!

The annual meeting is just one of the areas in which ASBC offers value to its membership. Another area is in publications. In November, the much anticipated book Brewing Chemistry and Technology in the Americas was published. The book is a compilation of information from more than 50 brewing chemists. It was compiled and edited by Peter Gales, who just happens to be not only a past president of ASBC (1992–1993), but also my friend and previous boss. He was generous enough to give of his time and talent to make this book a reality. Thanks, Pete! The ASBC Board appreciates your contribution and is looking for another opportunity to get you away from the lake and back at your computer.

There is another person who contributed to this new publication to whom I would like to express my gratitude. I’ll give you a hint—when you think of yeast cells, grass-hoppers, and fishbones, who comes to mind? Why, of course, it’s Greg Casey. Greg’s infamous cause-and-effect fishbone diagrams are included in our new publication. Such a practical method of problem solving! Between the Q&A format, the technically sound information, and the easy to use fishbones, this book would be a great addition to every brewing laboratory.

In my last column I mentioned the formation of an ASBC-MBAA Joint Steering Committee. The purpose of this committee is to jointly address the synergies of both organizations and outline strategies to strengthen their collaborative efforts. Since its inception in October, the committee has made great progress. I applaud the members (Mike Joyce, Mary-Jane Maurice, Bob Foster, Gil Sanchez, George Reisch, and Ruth Martin) for their diligence in reviewing and revising the ASBC-MBAA Cooperative Agreement. The plan is to have the agreement in its final form by early February for review by the ASBC Board of Directors and the MBAA Board of Governors.

Once the agreement is signed, a PowerPoint presentation that outlines the agreement and other work the committee is doing will be made available. The presentation will be posted on both organizations’ websites and can be used at local section meetings to clearly define the goals and objectives of the two societies.

In addition to the Cooperative Agreement, the ASBC-MBAA Joint Steering Committee has been working on a mutually planned event: the First International Brewers Symposium—Hop Flavor and Aroma is scheduled for August 9 and 10 at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The symposium will be composed of world-class lectures on hops flavor and aroma research. There will be tours of the OSU hop-breeding yards and a commercial hop yard in Willamette Valley. In addition, a monograph featuring all presentations will be made available. This promises to be a one-of-a-kind event that brewing chemists from around the globe will be attending. Between the speakers and the attendees, networking opportunities alone make this a meeting you won’t want to miss!

I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year—a year full of exciting challenges and fulfilling successes. I very much look forward to seeing you in Victoria in June!

—Karen DeVries
President

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