During the height of the pandemic, beer industry veteran Garrett Oliver reached a turning point. Faced with a moment of profound reckoning, he realized that action and conviction—rather than waiting and hoping—were essential. That same year, he founded the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling (MJF), a nonprofit born from an urgent call to transform the beer industry and beyond. The vision was bold: to create a dedicated organization that would raise funds to provide formal education in brewing for people of color, paving the way for meaningful change. But could it succeed?

Taking a look at the last five years of its history, this session will explore the MJF’s mission, milestones, and key achievements, offering an in-depth perspective on how a young organization can build a lasting impact. The panel will delve into MJF’s unwavering belief in the power of community—bringing together diverse voices, brewers, consumers, and industry leaders to foster a more equitable, responsible, and forward-thinking beer culture. Through mindful partnerships and collaborative efforts, the foundation has not only brought pressing issues like diversity and social responsibility to the forefront but has also implemented practical solutions that have redefined the beer industry.

Founder Garrett Oliver will reflect on the challenges faced, lessons learned, and success stories that have shaped the foundation’s journey. Joining him are Rafael D’Armas, an awardee turned board member; Shana Solarte of John I. Haas, a hops company and corporate partner; and Roxanne Tiburolobo,a scholarship recipient who exemplifies the program’s impact.

Whether you’re interested in philanthropy, nonprofit work, or community-driven change, this discussion will provide valuable insights into the power of purpose-driven organizations and their transformative influence.

In 1809, London’s Golden Lane Brewery stood trial for the unusual offense of dosing its beer with an extract of fish-skins. The brewers pleaded that the process was simply a harmless, cost-effective substitute for the customary isinglass finings; the public prosecutor thundered that, whether it worked as a fining agent or not, the additive was putrid, disgusting, and obviously illegal. Yet the defense had a star witness: Humphry Davy, famous for his chemical discoveries and the most successful public communicator of science of his generation.

Dr. James Sumner delves into this story and shares how the episode illustrates the challenges brewers faced in promoting innovations to an often justifiably suspicious public, and how they enlisted scientific reputations in support of change.

Dr. James Sumner is Senior Lecturer in the History of Technology at the University of Manchester in the UK. His book Brewing Science, Technology and Print, 1700–1880 explores changing attitudes to scientific expertise, experimentation and publication in the beer-brewing cultures of Britain and Ireland. He also works on the histories of computing and IT, technical education, industrial science, and the history and heritage of Manchester and its universities. He has a strong interest in public engagement and has delivered over 50 public and general-audience events including talks, discussion sessions and guided tours.

Our sense of smell is incredibly powerful and the only one of our senses that is wired directly into our brain; however, smell has been erroneously relegated to a lesser sense - not as important as sight or sound. The relegation of our sense of smell began in ancient times, with Aristotle linking our sense of sight to abstract thinking, a concept only men were considered capable of. Over time, this line of thinking evolved into women and non-white people being better at smelling because they weren’t as fully formed as white men and therefore more “barbaric.” An often overlooked core value of Eurocolonial cultural hegemony is the olfactory neutrality of those in positions of power, whereas marginalized classes were classified as odorous. In this seminar, we will go over the role our sense of smell has had in creating and enforcing social hierarchies.

Jen Blair is a Master Cicerone and National BJCP beer judge. She is the Exam Manager for the Cicerone Certification Program and co-host of False Bottomed Girls, a podcast about beer and brewing. Jen is the creator of Under the Jenfluence and Aroma: Explore the Wheel. She is an international beer judge and judges for the Great American Beer Festival, Festival of Barrel-Aged Beer, and World Beer Cup.

Small breweries across the country describe themselves as community stewards. Natural disasters like floods and fires put this commitment to the ultimate, tangible test: What does it mean to serve your community in the midst of life-threatening emergencies? And what are breweries' roles in sustaining the spirit of a place after the initial danger has passed? Breweries from Asheville, North Carolina and Los Angeles, California offer their perspectives, informed by last year's experiences with hardship and resilience. As our climate changes and society faces new threats, connections forged at a local level offer a blueprint for hope and resistance. 

Journalist Kate Bernot moderates this discussion with Jonathan Chassner, Jeremy Chassner, Johnathan Parks of Zillicoah Beer Company; Jess Reiser of Burial Beer Company; Brent Knapp of Common Space Brewery; and Matt Stevens of Creature Comforts Brewing Company.

In specific cases, ancient beverages were weaponized in the ancient world to execute or murder notable figures of Classical antiquity. In this presentation, Travis Rupp explores how beer, wine, and other intoxicants were made deadly in both intentional and unintentional ways. From Bronze Age Britain to ancient Greece and ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire, curious ingredients and methods were employed to produce alcoholic beverages that would be entirely illegal today due to the high risk of illness and death. Did the ancients know what they were doing? Why did they take these risks? Was their intent murderous, or is the more to the story?

Travis Rupp is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Classics at the University of Colorado Boulder where he has taught for 15 years. He teaches all things Egyptian, Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman. His scholarly expertise focuses on Roman archaeology, ancient food and alcohol production, ancient sport and spectacle, and Pompeii and the cities of Vesuvius. He also worked at Avery Brewing Company for 9 years serving as Research and Development, Wood Cellar, and Innovation Manager. He was granted the title of Beer Archaeologist while working at Avery and founded Avery’s Ales of Antiquity Series, which ran from 2016-2020. He serves on the National Advisory Board for the Beer Culture Center, and he is the founder and owner of The Beer Archaeologist LLC, which is a research brewery dedicated to exploring brewing processes and recreating ancient and historic drinks from the past. As a result of his careers and passions, Travis is writing a book on beer consumption and production in the Roman military. He is also actively conducting research on intoxicants from Homeric Greece, brewing in the early monastic tradition, beer production in Revolutionary America, and the beer industry in WWI Belgium. Recently his travels and research abroad have focused on beer production in early monastic Ireland, and beer consumption in Roman occupied and Gaul and Britain.

There are hundreds of beer styles available on every shelf in every store. But how did those styles develop? What makes a beer representative of an individual style? Was it location, technology, ingredients, or simply a happy accident? Beer styles bring order to a vast array of flavors and ingredients, but how did that catalog begin?

Take a deep dive into the cultural, geographical, and historical stories that created and shaped the beers we drink today. Bring your curiosity and settle in with your favorite pint as journey through centuries of beer history.

Ryan Wagner is the National Ambassador for Guinness USA, a member of the Brewers Association’s Subcommittee on Draught Beer Quality, and a long time storyteller.

Korea’s national and cultural history is interwoven with the story of its traditional alcoholic drinks, including distilled spirits, fruit-based wines, and the most nostalgic, evocative, and unpretentious of all: the rustic, rice-based, mixed fermentation known as makgeolli. Commercial varieties are often diluted, bright white, highly carbonated, artificially sweetened, labeled as wine, or all the above. These modern incarnations can obscure the drink’s authentic nature, its fond place in people’s hearts, and the craft brewing revival underway today. How is it consumed? That depends who you ask.

Makgeolli has been many things over the centuries: the nourishing refreshment of farm laborers and blue-collar workers, not unlike saison; the product of a spontaneous blend of yeast and bacteria, not unlike lambic; the second-runnings tipple of commoners, not unlike small table beers or the pub’s mild; and the O.G. unfiltered hazy celebrated for its rich yeast character. Its story is steeped in history and change—from depictions in ancient folk art, to the banning of domestic homebrewing under decades of 20th century occupation and oppression, to taking its rightful place in Korea’s popular cultural identity. This talk with Sujin Park and Adam Wojciechowicz - both with the Korean Culture Center, Washington, D.C., a branch of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea - aims to tell the story of a nation reborn through its national folk drink.

Sujin Park is a certified Korean Alcoholic Beverage Sommelier and an avid makgeolli homebrewer. She is also a former staff member at the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C., a branch of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, where she coordinated various cultural programs and visitor experiences, including workshops on traditional Korean brewing.

Adam Wojciechowicz is a Public Affairs Specialist at the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C., a branch of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, where he has worked on a wide range of public diplomacy and cultural programs for 18 years, specializing in outreach, education, and strategic communication. He is also an avid homebrewer and BJCP judge.