2018 Keynote Address
Adambier: Another Historical Beer Style That Almost Died Out
This journey in time from 16th-century Germany to modern-day America explores the history of Adambier and the cultural and scientific changes that brought about its downfall—until now!
Aging Beer in a Barrel or Wood Alternatives from Stouts to Sours
From wood powder to large barrels, we’ll dive into the pros and cons of each method and learn how to make barrel-aged beer.
All About That Base: Learning More About Malt Through Sensory Analysis
Brewers will learn the basics of sensory analysis, including a brief overview of the hot-steep method, and an overview of malt and the malting process. The presentation highlight will be a guided 30-minute malt sensory tasting session incorporating craft malt from around the United States, wherein participants will have the…
American Hops: From Soil to Serve
In this inside look at how American hops are grown, harvested, processed, and used, Nick Zeigler will share insights on how to use different hop products to deliver the quality you want. You’ll learn to choose the right hop products for different steps in the brewing process and discover varied approaches to achieving your desired results.
Beasts and Bugs: Using the Science of Kombucha in Brewing Beer
At the center of kombucha brewing is an evolved symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). Learn how the microbiology and chemistry of kombucha connects to beer brewing methods of the past and how understanding it can help you brew better beer. We’ll also cover basic kombucha brewing (so you…
Beer and Food Pairing Principles
Join Jay DeLong to examine the versatility of beer as it pairs with food. This talk discusses the primary beer-pairing factors as well as some general pairing guidelines. Primary emphasis will be on finding balance in both the beer and the food and how they can enhance each other. Pairing…
Better Brewing Through Data Science and Machine Learning
Join Justin Revelstoke as we analyze hundreds of thousands of homebrew recipes and uncover hidden trends. Create, modify, and refine recipes with a live artificial intelligence (AI) brewing assistant and taste the results. Discuss the data science challenges inherent to the brewing industry as we explore the exciting new ways…
Better Hopping Through Science: Tales from the Master Brewers Association of America
Brewing science is constantly evolving and improving. To bring homebrewers up to date on the latest scientific developments in the world of hopping, this seminar introduces attendees to four recent studies conducted by members of the Master Brewers Association of America. For each study, we explain how to incorporate the…
Biggest Mistakes in Sour Beer Making
Perhaps the most difficult style of beer to execute well, sour beer is becoming increasingly popular for both home- and pro brewers. In this seminar, Jay Goodwin shares a few pitfalls of sour beer making from some of the best brewers in the world. From Cantillon and Rodenbach to Russian…
Boil Pro: What Homebrewers Can Learn from Pros on Wort Boiling
Boiling sterilizes wort, drives off unpleasant compounds, coagulates proteins, and isomerizes hop acids, all of which are critical for producing great beer. While homebrewers have been told for years that a vigorous boil is desirable, long and vigorous boils are neither necessary nor desirable for producing high-quality beer. This presentation…
Bringing a Brewery Quality Control Lab into Your Home
The laboratory at Full Sail Brewing takes advantage of the latest technology and instrumentation to ensure beer consistency and quality, but many of the most important, high-impact techniques can be easily and inexpensively adapted for the homebrewer. From cell counts to sensory analysis, Dr. McCabe will walk the audience through…
Build Your Own Electric Brew-in-a-Bag Brewery
Learn the components, construction, and processes needed to safely build and safely brew on your own do-it-yourself electric brewery.
Burton Ale
Burton ale is the parent style of barleywine and old ale. It was a staple of British brewing from the 1820s through the 1950s and 1960s, when it died out. Like most beers, it changed over the course of time. We’ll explore the history of Burton ale and learn how…
Coffee Beer: How Much Buzz Is in Your Brew?
Have you ever brewed with coffee and wondered how much caffeine was in your beer? In this presentation, we’ll discuss caffeine levels of different commercial beers and how different extraction techniques can affect the caffeine in your beer. The presentation will show how caffeine is extracted from beans and explain…
Crash Course in the Business of Brewing
Do you know you have the drive, passion, and talent it takes to quit your day job and open up shop? The road to entrepreneurship can twist more than your tubing, but fear not! Samuel Adams has assembled a team of brewing and business pros to help you navigate the…
Cultivating Diversity and Inclusion in Homebrewing
This diverse panel of homebrewers will provide a forum in which to discuss the challenges, successes, and opportunities for diversity and inclusion in our homebrew community. We’ll discuss how homebrew clubs and beer appreciation groups and the craft beer industry can foster a greater appreciation and involvement in craft beer…
Designing Beer
This seminar offers an up-to-date look at beer recipe design, including recent techniques and findings. We’ll discuss how to design new beer recipes from scratch, brew beers to style, understand ingredient contributions, and apply brewing techniques to achieve a desired flavor profile. Recent innovations in brewing techniques will be highlighted.
Experimenting with Smoked Hops
A must for those who enjoy beers made with smoked malts, this course introduces homebrewers to an alternative method of introducing smoke flavor: smoked hops. Smoked hops can be added in the boil or as dry hops to deliver a unique smoke flavor different from that of traditional rauchbier. Participants…
Ferment THIS!
As brewers and meadmakers, we have many of the tools and techniques (like sanitizing) to ferment other foods and drinks. Naturally pickled foods, hot sauce, cheese, sauerkraut, kimchi, vinegar, kombucha, wine, and sourdough bread are all fermented products. We will discuss how to ferment these foods and drinks while avoiding…
Flavor Creation in the Malt House and its Impact on the Beer Styles of our Past, Present and Future
Many beer styles are defined by the characteristic flavors found in specialty malts, but how does a maltster develop these flavors? Let’s follow grain on a journey through the malt houses of yesterday and today to understand the importance of flavor creation and its impact on the beer styles of…
Flavor Profiles and Recipe Formulation
In this presentation, accomplished homebrewer Rodney Kibzey discusses how ingredient flavor profiles can affect the development of a beer recipe.
Gluten-Free Homebrewing: No Barley, Wheat or Rye
In this talk, Robert Keifer will relate his own story of gluten-free brewing and offer various tips and tricks that he has learned over the years. The presentation will include an opportunity to taste a selection of gluten-free versions of popular beer styles.
Homebrew Cheesemaking for the Beer Lover
Homebrew on Draft: Setup Theory and Maintenance
Join Michael Ferrari for this in-depth discussion of serving your homebrew on tap. We’ll go over how to build and maintain a clean, waste-free system. From draft system balance to cleaning and troubleshooting, you’ll learn to taste and share the best version of your beer!
Hops Hops and How to use Hops
It's hoppy hour! Come join us for an examination of hops, the spice of beer, from both a brewer's perspective and a hop industry insider. We will examine how hops are used, flavor profiles, hop varieties, substitutions, and storage.
Hot Hot Hot! Brewing a Stein Bier
Stein bier is the result of a 10,000-year-old Germanic method of brewing with hot granite stones. Most common in Alpine regions of Europe, stein bier is all about a brewing method, not about a style—any beer can be a stein beer! Learn how to brew one safely in this red-hot…
How to Brew with Low O2
This seminar discusses the myths, benefits, and techniques of low oxygen brewing (LODO). From hot-side aeration and flavor preservation to shelf stability, you’ll learn why you should care about keeping oxygen out of your beer at all stages of the process. Come discover why there is growing interest in this…
Hyperlocal: Bringing the Pub Back to the Neighborhood
Nanobreweries are uniquely suited to serve their local communities, not from strip malls or industrial parks, but directly in their own neighborhoods. Learn how to open a hyperlocal, community-focused brewery.
Imbibing in Ancient Iberia: Celtic to Flemish Brewing and Beyond
At the 2015, 2016, and 2017 Homebrew Cons, we examined the world of brewing in the ancient Near East, Mediterranean, and Europe. This year we move to ancient Iberia and examine the development of caelia, an ancient beer that predated the Roman conquest of Spain in 206 BCE. As an…
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