​​​Brewing Summit Recordings​

Published with author permission, below are recordings that were shown at Plant Health 2025 that took place in Palm Desert, CA. They are available to all those that registered to attend the meeting.

To search the recordings listed below, please use ctrl + f for windows and cmd + f for mac.

Keynote Sessions

• Kevin Asato, Executive Director • National Black Brewers Association &​ Managing Partner • Davin Brand Management

  Kevin is a 30-year beverage industry expert with diverse experience in Adult Beverages, Non-Alcoholic Beverages, and Carbonated Soft Drinks. He is credentialed as a Certified Spirit Specialist (CSS), WSET Wine Level 1, and working on his Cicerone Certification. His tenure with Anheuser Busch, Miller Brewing, PepsiCo, Dr. Pepper Snapple, Bacardi USA, and Republic National Distributing has enabled him to develop and execute Sales, Marketing, and Distribution plans across multiple channels in both state and national capacities. Kevin is committed to developing minority leaders and improving racial inequalities in the beverage and CPG industries. His passion for mentoring minority talent and advising beverage companies comes to life through serving on the board of the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund and his role as Managing Partner with Davin Brand Management. Both these entities facilitate the growth of BIPOC or female-owned adult beverage companies. ​Leading the NB2A has been an ideal opportunity to cultivate an association's mission that directly aligns with his core values and taps into his experiences and skills. He's honored to be selected as the first Executive Director and to build the foundation that will fuel the growth of Black owned breweries, membership into the organization and celebrate the history and accomplishments of the Black Brewers of America. In his first year, he has been recognized as 2023 Beer Champion of the Year, 2024 Most Influential People in Craft Beer, and 2024 Top 75 People in Adult Beverage.

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• Jason Perrault, CEO and Head Hop Breeder • Yakima Chief Ranches & CEO • Perrault Farms

  As a fourth-generation Yakima Valley farmer, Jason is deeply devoted to long-term sustainability and value creation through innovative approaches to hop breeding, farming and business. He is currently the CEO and head hop breeder for Yakima Chief Ranches and CEO for Perrault Farms, his family’s multi-generational hop farm. Born and raised on the farm, he has been working full time in the industry since 1997.

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Focus Sessions

• Global Perspectives in Brewing Science: The Art & Science of Japanese Beer

  A special address from the BCOJ sets the stage for highlighting key trends, noteworthy research, and groundbreaking innovations shaping their local and the global brewing landscapes. Attendees will gain insights into regional brewing challenges, advancements in fermentation, and emerging technologies that are transforming the industry worldwide.

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• Flavor Quest: Discovering Flavours and Off-Flavours of No & Low Alcohol Beers

  This event will feature presentations from renown flavour kit providers, who will elucidate the unique aspects of flavour perception in NABLABs as compared to traditional beers. Participants will gain insights into why certain flavours and off-flavours are more prevalent in NABLABs. Our experts will provide a comprehensive analysis of the key aromas and off-flavours that characterize these beverages, enhancing the brewer's ability to discern and appreciate the subtleties of NABLABs.

  The workshop will also include a practical tasting session, where attendees will have the opportunity to sample beers infused with typical flavours and off-flavours. This hands-on experience is designed to refine sensory skills and deepen the understanding of the flavour profiles specific to NABLABs.

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• THC Beverages: Navigating Quality, Regulations, and Technical Challenges

  This is a joint focus session put together by the ASBC and MBAA is a primer for brewers on the production of THC beverages. It will have three key areas: an overview of THC beverages and product development, regulatory concerns, and technical concerns. This focus session will appeal to those who want to understand the complexity of developing, producing, and selling high-quality THC beverages.

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• An Open Panel Exploration of the History, Evolution and Brewing of Lager Beer

  What do you think of when you think of lager beer? Something tasteless? Something tasty? A delicate beer with nothing to hide? The anti-hero of the American beer industry? A beer you know all too well.

  Join Greg Casey, Ashleigh Carter, and Jack Hendler as they discuss all of these points and more in a panel discussion on the history and brewing techniques of lager beer. Come with questions, but take a seat, taste some gorgeous lagers, and listen as these three giants of American lager brewing fearlessly debate and provide essential knowledge on this timeless and complex of beer styles.

  Are you ready for it?

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• Yield Improvement: Practical and Advanced Techniques to Do More with Less

  Making the most of our raw materials is critical to success, as materials and labor costs rise and the market for beer faces headwinds. Yield improvements increase the environmental and economic sustainability of our breweries.

  Moderated panel will cover yield improvement techniques, including hot side centrifugation; fermentation management; and beer recovery from spent yeast. The advanced systems to be discussed are being increasingly implemented in craft beer and are newly scalable into smaller applications. Fundamentals of cellar management will also be addressed since technical advances only work with sound fundamentals. Panel will give real-world observations on implementing these systems/techniques. Objective is to help audience members independently evaluate commercial pitches from OEMs and to provide a sounding board for those considering these systems and to stress that all of those opportunities depend upon sound fundamentals

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• Not your father's NA beer: recipe design and process parameters for flavorful outcomes in non-alcoholic beer production.

  The rapid growth of non-alcoholic beer has captured the attention of the brewing industry in recent years. Constant research and development in this area has brought innovative tools and processes that allow brewers to craft increasingly more delicious beverages. This session intends to equip attendees with insights into the design of successful recipes for hop-forward and other styles of non-alcoholic beer. Moreover, key process parameters to preserve beer flavor while adhering to food safety standards will be highlighted. The speaker lineup will include brewers with expertise in diverse production methods including limited fermentations, membrane dealcoholization, and vacuum distillation.

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• Mash Filtration: An Overview and Practical Application in a Contemporary Brewing Environment.

  The panel will cover both basic and advanced concepts about mash filters coming from a diverse set of user experiences. While the technology has been around for over a century, this discussion will put forth a contemporary viewpoint looking at current wort production efficiency needs given a more and more unpredictable barley crop. Further, pulling from the craft sector, panelists will also discuss the opportunities and challenges managing diverse beer portfolios. This panel will represent brewhouses ranging from 20bbl to over 250bbl in facilities managing hugely different production realities.

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• Canning, More Trouble Than It Seams

  This will be a packaging focus session on canning & seam quality. Presenters will discuss both potential common & uncommon seam defects and/or issues from their experience as field experts in this area. Presenter topics will also cover seam specifications, seamer adjustments & maintenance, & proper equipment cleaning. Attendees will walk away with a better understanding the seaming process, what specifications need to be met, & critical areas to watch out for to ensure success by maintaining product integrity.

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• Yeast Research and Technical Updates with Fermentis

  Research presented on "Hazy IPAs Demystified: Yeast's Role in Aroma and Stability & Evaluating an Experimental Yeast-Derived Nutrient for Performance in High Gravity Brewing" and "Yeast Propagation and Fermentation Nutrient: Case Study into Biomass, Fermentation Profiling, and VDK"

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• Tying it all Together - Linking the Science to Sensory and Practical Brewing

  New and emerging scientific research often lacks direct relevance to everyday brewing. This workshop will take a focused approach to exploring the complexities of recent thiol research, providing clear insights into how quantified amounts of these compounds truly affect the sensory experience of the final beer. Attendees will participate in a live sensory exercise to better understand how the measured amounts translate to aroma quality and intensity, and will also learn how additional aroma compounds can influence the perception of thiols. The session will conclude with a summary of how to incorporate thiol compounds into various recipes and the best practices discovered throughout the process.

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• Developing a Data-Driven Approach for Conserving Energy and Fluids at Your Brewery

  This presentation will demonstrate how to effectively utilize available data to model current energy and fluids (E&F) operations within a brewery and identify opportunities for improvement. We will explore the power of process mapping in pin-pointing critical system interactions and focus areas for data collection, drawing from various case studies. By adopting a data-driven approach, breweries can evaluate the impact of different parameters and processes, ensuring that key performance indicators and improvement initiatives yield intended results. This methodology optimizes operations, aligns with the industry's push towards sustainability, and offers cost savings by streamlining processes and reducing inefficiencies.

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• Alternative Grains and Cropping Systems: Potential for the Malting and Brewing Industries

  Sustainable agricultural systems will be critical to the long term future of the brewing industry as climate change threatens the existing barley supply chain. Maltsters and brewers are already looking towards alternative grains and/or agronomic systems for resiliency. This session brings together growers, agronomists, and researchers working in this space to discuss the potential for new barley cropping methods as well as a number of grains other than barley that may contribute unique flavors to beer. The goal of this panel is to offer an look into our existing agricultural system and how it impacts malting and brewing; the potential for new systems such as winter barley and conservation-/no-tillage; and how other grains fit into it all.

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• Next-Gen Brewing Yeast: Evolution, Innovation, and Application

  A wide variety of yeast strains are available to meet brewers' needs. However, many existing strains have properties that could be improved, such as suboptimal performance, undesirable effects on flavor, or inappropriate flocculation. Furthermore, new yeast properties could be invented that expand the range of what yeast can contribute to brewing.

  In this session, we will have experts in yeast strain development discuss their latest and greatest work to improve yeasts and give them novel characteristics. Two strategies will be emphasized: 1. experimental evolution, where lab cultivation is used to select for new mutants with specific properties such as changes in metabolism or clumping and 2. engineering, where targeted genetic modifications are made to introduce or modify traits.

  Recording Coming Soon!

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• Strategies for Understanding and Extending Shelf-Life

  As breweries expand distribution, consumers become more discerning and cost-conscious, and the market sees an explosion of beyond-beer beverage offerings, new questions about shelf life are emerging. This session will provide an in-depth exploration of how breweries today are measuring and extending shelf life across a diverse range of products.

  Brewers representing a variety of sizes, distribution models, and product portfolios will share real-world case studies illustrating both analytical and sensory approaches to understanding shelf life across different beer and beverage types. Presentation of the new ASBC Sensory Method 19 for Shelf Life will also be presented and discussed, as well as other ASBC resources.

  Ample time for expert discussion and Q&A will ensure that attendees can engage directly with panelists and get answers to specific challenges. Whether you're part of a small craft brewery or a large-scale operation, this session will deliver actionable takeaways on testing methods, technological advancements, and best practices for maintaining beverage quality in an increasingly competitive market.

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• What you don’t see can hurt them: protecting your customers, business partners, and brands through Food Safety

  This panel brings together food safety experts to guide breweries through the critical role of food safety in protecting consumers. While beer itself is often considered shelf-stable, the brewing process involves equipment, chemicals, and raw materials that pose potential risks if not properly managed. These practices become even more imperative for breweries producing non-alcoholic beer or alternative beverages, where the reduced alcohol content or added sugar can heighten the risk of contamination. Additionally, many retailers now expect breweries to have formal food safety programs, making these protocols not just a regulatory requirement but a competitive advantage. Our panelists will break down FDA expectations, highlight common missteps in program creation — such as inadequate hazard analysis, poor traceability systems, and overlooked equipment risks — and share practical resources to build robust, compliant plans. By adopting strong food safety practices, craft breweries can safeguard their products, build trust with customers and business partners, and strengthen their position in the market.

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• Brewtech Innovations

  Brewtech innovations highlights new products, services, and equipment from our industry partners.

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Technical Sessions

• Alternative Malt

  Industrial Perspectives on Rice Malt: Upscaling Production and Insights from a Malt House and Breweries

  Bernardo Guimaraes | University of Arkansas

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  Making a Sake-Like Product with Traditional Brewing Methods

  Chijindu P. Onwuchekwa | University of Arkansas

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• Analytical

  trans-Humulinones – Synthesis, Structural Characterization and Comparison to cis-Humulinones

  Hershel Jude | Kalsec Inc

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  Bright Path for Sensors - Handheld Technology for Quality Control in the Brewing Industry

  Luis Rodriguez-Saona | The Ohio State University

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  Profiling Free Fatty Acids In Beer Wort Using An Isolator Column-Assisted LC-MS/MS Technique

  Sarina Lindtner | Research Center Weihenstephan for Brewing and Food Quality at Technical University of Munich

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• Fermentation

  Utilizing Chemistry, Microbiology, and Sensory data to Better Control Quality Outcomes and Predictability in a High-gravity Brewing Environment

  Justin Alexander, Andrea Ley | New Belgium Brewing Company

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  Sustainable Stabilization: Get More From Less

  Sam Thompson | Lagunitas Brewing Company

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  Wort Oxygenation and Aeration - Simple...Right?

  Travis Audet | Slant Six Consulting

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• Hops

  Smoke Exposure in Hops: Comparisons of Field and Kiln Smoke Sources and the Impact on Hop Quality

  Cade Jobe | Oregon State University

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  Investigation of the Reaction Pathways and Origins of Geraniol Biotransformation Products Using a Deuterated Chemical Standard

  Jacqueline Brummett | Yakima Chief Hops

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• Malt

  Protein content or protein composition: Which is more informative of malting and brewing potential

  Glen Fox | UC Davis

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  Starch gelatinization properties impacted by growing and process factors and implication to brewing

  Xiang Yin | Boortmalt

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• NABLAB & Alternative Beverages

  Investigating Antimicrobial Factors for the Stabilization of Beyond Beer Products

  Andrew Maust | University of Arkansas

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  Review of Non Alc Beer Recipe Design and Process: Learnings from an Innovations Brewer

  Anthony Bledsoe | Berkeley Yeast

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  Shredder: instant, zero-energy pasteurization

  Dr. Jesse Kremenak | Kremenak NanoTech, Inc.

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• Non-Alcohol Beer

  The Role of Kettle Souring in Non-Alcoholic Beer: Amplifying Hop Flavor Perception and Overall Beer Quality

  Kevin Lane | Fermentis

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  Enzyme-Powered NAB: A New Approach with 100% Unmalted Alternative Cereals

  Sem Backaert | Innovation centre for Brewing & Fermentation (IBF), Ghent University

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• Novel Flavorings/Ingredients/Additives

  Characteristic Behaviors of the Aroma Components in Beer Brewed with Cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia Blume) as a Flavoring Ingredient: Transformation of Cinnamon Aroma Components by Brewing Yeast

  Ayako Sanekata | Sapporo Breweries Ltd. Value Creation Frontier Laboratories

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  Development of Natural Antioxidant Blends for Improved Beer Oxidative Stability

  Celina Dugulin | Murphy and Son Ltd.

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  Impact dosing of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) has on the aromatic characteristics of dry-hemped beer.

  Kai Kawachika | University of Florida

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• Novel Innovations

  Leveraging machine learning to explore and improve beer flavor

  Michiel Schreurs | VIB-KU Leuven

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• Packaging

  A Paradigm Shift in a Tunnel Pasteurizer Water Treatment Program to Prevent Biofilm and Organic Deposition in Modern Brewery Pasteurizers

  Jack Bland | United Water Consultants

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  Development of Next-Generation Packaging: The Tray Paper Pack

  Tomohiko Yokoishi | Sapporo Breweries Ltd

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• Quality/Sensory

  A study in volume tasting in search of a more sessionable lager

  Madi Stults | Saint Arnold Brewing Co

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  Functional proteins that offer enhanced functionality and qualities of malt beverages, whether into alcoholic or non-, likely that could benefit from longer lasting foam, and optimal 'lacing'.

  Neeraj Sharma | Kerry

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• Raw Materials

  Hop Terroir and Harvest Timing: How do Michigan Hops Compare to the Pacific Northwest

  Alex Raeon | New Belgium Brewing

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  New Sugar Components of Hop Creep: Plant Secondary Metabolites and Starch

  Jessica Young | UC Davis

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  Approaches to Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the Malting Process. Brewing Performance of ‘Dual-S Barley’ Malt with 2 Days Germination Period.

  Makoto Kihara | SAPPORO BREWERIES LTD.

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• Yeast

  Comparing Liquid and Dried Yeast: Fermentation Performance and Flavor Stability Over Multiple Generations

  Jun Yomo | Suntory Spirits Limited, Oregon State University

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  Enhanced enzymatic release of polyfunctional thiols from glutathionylated and/or γ-GluCys-S conjugates over cysteinylated precursors in lager and special yeasts: toward novel cofermentation strategies

  Margaux Simon | UCLouvain INBR

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