Think there's nothing new left to be done in beer, no uncharted territory or novel trends? Think again. Beer is moving forward all the time, from advances in fermentation, grain manipulation, and hop products unlocking new worlds of flavor and aroma possibilities, to revolutionary methods for quality control and growing categories like non-alcoholic beer, to innovations in the sustainable methods this industry will need to survive--responsibly and with a positive impact--in coming years. Behind every new flavor you find in a beer or every new process that will help, for example, grain being grown in an eco-friendlier manner, there are scientists, academics, and researchers hard at work. They don't often get the same spotlight as brewers, but beer would flatline without them--they're the spark behind beer's forward-moving creativity and what makes that even possible, and they're the people who will help the beer industry sustain itself.

In this panel, we hear from three people directly working with or reporting on scientific advances in beer to dive further into this fascinating world behind the scenes. 

Laura Burns, Ph.D. is the Director of Research and Development at Omega Yeast. After studying stress responses in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for her graduate thesis at Vanderbilt University, she decided the best place to apply this knowledge was in brewing. She worked in production brewing for five years as Head Brewer and Director of Quality Assurance before heading back to the bench at Omega Yeast. Her undeniable curiosity drives her to tackle difficult questions that brewers face daily.

Courtney Iseman (moderator) is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer covering drinks and culture with a focus on craft beer. She has written for outlets including Craft Beer & Brewing, VinePair, Good Beer Hunting, PUNCH, Wine Enthusiast, and more, writes the monthly beer column for metal magazine Decibel, and pens a weekly craft beer culture newsletter called Hugging the Bar. When not writing, she can be found traveling and brewery-hopping with her pug, Darby.

Hollie Stephens is a freelance writer covering the beverage industry. In 2021, she was awarded the Gold Award by The British Guild of Beer Writers in the category of Best Writing on Sustainability in Beer and Pubs. Her work has appeared in Good Beer Hunting, Pellicle, Craft Beer and Brewing, Ferment, and many other publications.

Emily Tietje-Wang is founder, laboratory overlord, and TTB-certified brewing chemist of Fermly, an independent third-party lab located in Denver, CO. With a Bachelors in Biology and Chemistry and a penchant for memes, she uses wit and humor to make complex brewing and science topics not just digestible, but delicious.

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