Located in the central Mexican city of Queretaro, Cerveceria Hercules has come to be one of the most sought after and celebrated breweries in all of Mexico. Founded in 2011, it’s been fast growing and recently converted a massive 43,000 square foot mid 19th century textile factory into their brewery, beer garden, hotel, and more. Head brewer, Josh Brengle, leads us on a virtual walking tour of the complex and shares the brewery’s perspectives on beer and community.

This panel discussion explores the positive impact of homebrewing on individuals and communities. This session will highlight how homebrewing as an avocation allows people to cultivate creativity, practice artisanship, and develop a deeper understanding of science, engineering, and the culinary arts, leading to a more well-rounded and fulfilled life. Homebrewing not only enriches the individual but also serves as a vital antidote to our society’s increasing isolation by fostering strong, diverse communities. Homebrew clubs, supported by organizations like the American Homebrewers Association (AHA), create spaces where people can form meaningful connections regardless of political or social differences. The discussion will also delve into the ways homebrewers leverage their craft to support social change and contribute to the greater good, such as, among concrete examples to be shared, philanthropic fundraising in partnership with community organizations.

What Ale’s Us? is about two women (Ren Navarro and Erin Brandson) who reckon with a broken beer industry in Canada and start a movement to change it.

A conversation with Erin Brandson, Ren Navarro, and documentary director Cathy van Ingen will follow the screening of the 22-minute mini documentary.

Dan Scholzen, archivist at Miller Brewing Company, takes us into the collections to get a peek at some rare objects that explore the story of Miller High Life.

In 1994, the British Guild of Beer Writers hosted a pivotal conference in London focused on the history, renaissance, and future of the India Pale Ale. In this session, award winning author Pete Brown leads a conversation with Mark Dorber, one of the conference’s organizers, and Garrett Oliver, one of the conference speakers. The trio will revisit the event and will discuss insights learned on the day, the ramifications they had on British brewing, and how IPA has evolved 30 years after this seminal conference.

Frank Clark, Director of Historic Foodways at Colonial Williamsburg leads us on a virtual tour of some of the historic sites related to beer making and drinking during 18th century Colonial America. We’ll meet with a tavern keep, a cooper, and brewer who will help us better understand what (beer) life was like for people working in the various trades. This session is followed by a live Q&A.

In this session panelists discuss what we are (and aren't) doing in our industries to mitigate how much water we’re using. What are we doing to create awareness about water use? How much accountability, or lack thereof, do brewing, secondary, and tertiary industries have towards flood prone areas? Are we concerned with water quality and quantity? Should we be? Join Alden Bing (Orchid Island Brewing), Chris Brown (Holy City Brewing), Dr. Matt Huddleston (South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control), Jamaal Lemon and Michael Stein (Lost Lagers) for a riveting conversation asking hard questions and facing extreme truths.

For more than 200 years, the iconic cuisine of New Orleans, Louisiana, has drawn visitors from around the world. Lagers brewed by German brewmasters, Sazerac cocktails, gumbo, and pralines—these treasures, and more, made New Orleans a global destination for drinking, dining, and indulging. Nevertheless, despite nicknames like “The Big Easy” and “The City That Care Forgot,” the long history of New Orleans’s cuisine—and the people who made and served it—has been anything but easy or carefree.

Join us for a conversation with Theresa McCulla, Curator at Mars, Incorporated (formerly, curator of the American Brewing History Initiative at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History) and Liz Williams, founder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum and the National Food & Beverage Foundation. They will discuss McCulla’s new book, Insatiable City: Food and Race in New Orleans (University of Chicago Press, 2024), a cultural history of the city and its people through the lens of food. How can the study of food and drink help us understand evolving ideas about race and ethnicity? How did Black New Orleanians use food and drink to achieve freedom, build autonomy, and create pleasure for themselves, their families, and their communities? By focusing on the Crescent City, what might we learn about the histories and cultures of other places?

Earth is the only planet with craft beer – so let’s protect it! 

Beer is a luxury, and with growing focus on sustainability, we are plagued with the question: How can we produce and enjoy beer more responsibly? One emerging tool for brewers to add to their arsenal is the power of biotechnology. 

So what exactly is biotech and how can it be applied to make beer more sustainable? Are these applications accessible for small breweries? Are they safe for consumers? And how far is “too far”?

Join us for an honest panel conversation with leading experts pioneering biotech advancements across beer’s value chain and get a taste of the innovations that undoubtedly have the potential to transform our industry. Together we will unpack the cultural and economic implications for both brewers and consumers alike — to discover where biotech is already making meaningful impact to beer’s environmental footprint. 

Historian Ron Pattinson discusses Scottish ingredients, brewing techniques, and beer styles from the early 19th century to the 1950s. Along the way he’ll demolish the many myths about Scottish beer: boiling the first wort to syrup, lager-like fermentation temperatures and minimal hopping rates.

Join us for an engaging panel discussion featuring representatives from Crisp Malt (UK) and Admiral Maltings (USA) as they unravel the story of their groundbreaking international floor malting collaboration. This session will explore how these two renowned maltsters joined forces to revive Hána, a heritage barley variety, through traditional floor malting techniques. Floor malting, an ancient method dating back millennia, relies on the maltster's skill instead of mechanization to nurture grain through germination and kilning, producing malt with distinctive flavors prized by brewers throughout history.

Panelists will take you on a journey through time and across continents, connecting the dots between agricultural history, malting traditions, and modern brewing practices. Learn how this unique project has not only produced exceptional malt but also strengthened the ties between farmers, maltsters, and brewers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Discover the challenges and triumphs of working with heritage grains, the nuances of floor malting, and the distinctive characteristics that Hána barley brings to the brewing process. Our experts will share insights into how this collaboration is influencing beer styles and flavors while offering a taste of history in every sip.

This session will conclude with a Q&A, allowing attendees to engage directly with the panelists and delve deeper into the intricacies of this fascinating collaboration.

Historic preservation is difficult under the best of circumstances. During this presentation you will learn how Black Point, the summer home of Chicago beer baron, Conrad Seipp was preserved despite numerous challenges including legal opposition.

Black Point Executive Director, Dave Desimone will also share insight into the amazing architecture was lost around Geneva Lake and why historic preservation can be an asset to any community.  This program includes a virtual tour through the summer cottage, built in 1888.

Over the last decade, the demand for gluten-free beers has grown causing a positive increase in gluten-free focused companies and breweries. In this session, three industry experts examine the increasing popularity of gluten-free beers and what it means for the industry.  They will also share insights into what they’ve learned about consumer demographics and preferences and how this market is accessible to all.

This panel discussion aims to delve into the changes occurring in beer education brought on by the pandemic and beer's own "me too" moment. It will explore the shift from traditional teaching methods to innovative approaches, driven by advancements in digital platforms and growing consumer interest. Additionally, the discussion will highlight the potential of beer education to foster diversity within the industry.

With Shana Solarte, Chris Leguizamon (Advanced Cicerone, Education Manager at Pure Project Brewing), LaTreace Harris (Certified Cicerone) The Beery Godmother Jessie Smith (Certified Cicerone, Founder & Principal Scientist at Queen City Quality).

The ‘Burton Union System’ is a method of fermentation using wooden barrels that dates back to the early 19th century.  After the announcement that the last Burton Union system was to be decommissioned, a transatlantic collaboration between Garrett Oliver, Thornbridge brewery and Epochal Barrel Fermented Ales sought to preserve an important part of British brewing heritage.

In this session, Dominic Driscoll and Ben Wood from Thornbridge are joined by Gareth Young from Epochal to discuss the history of the Burton Union, its brewing and cultural significance and how it is now being utilised in two different breweries 250 miles apart.

Can you find Moldova on a map?  Not surprisingly, most people around the globe struggle to place this tiny country of rolling plains that is sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine.  Moldova is primarily known for its wine and brandy, but there is a small, growing craft beer culture in this relatively unknown region. 

In July, two members of the Beer Culture Center’s League of Historians sat down with Serghei Litra of Litra Brewing Company in Chisinau, Moldova.  Serghei was the first craft brewer in the country and had an uphill battle working through layers of post-Soviet bureaucracy, financial constraints, and a cultural bias toward wine.  In the interview, he tells Mike Stein and Alison Orton about the long, winding path to open the door for craft brewers.  Following the interview, Serghei will be available via Zoom to answer questions. 

This presentation will explore the mysterious intoxicant κυκέων as it exists in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. A longstanding belief is that Greeks did not brew beer, but evidence from the Bronze Age Aegean is proving otherwise. Moreover, the epic poems composed by Homer between 725-675 BCE tell tales of events from Greece’s Bronze Age past. κυκέων (pronounced kee-kay-own) appears in both of Homer's works as an intoxicating beverage and potion, but what was κυκέων?

Travis Rupp will deconstruct Homer’s beverage while examining evidence of beer production and consumption in Greece during the Trojan War and during Homer’s time. It will also explore the detailed process undertaken to recreate κυκέων in Rupp’s research brewery, The Beer Archaeologist.

Founded in 2017, Sesiones del Migrante is a unique beer collab and celebration of the Mexican migrant workers who travel to Yakima each year to harvest hops for breweries across the globe.

Initiated by Cervecería de Colima, Cerveza Loba, Ronin Fermentation Project, SouthNorte, Yakima Chief Hops, and Bale Breaker, Sesiones del Migrante is a project and beer aims to honor and recognize a pivotal underrepresented community in beer. And each year, proceeds from this beer go to local nonprofits who support the migrant farm working community in the Yakima Valley. The group also brews a series of the beer in Guadalajara, Mexic,  Colima, Mexico, and Graeagle, California where a portion of the proceeds go to their local migrant communities.

In this session, the founders of the project will discuss the who, where, what, why,  and how  behind their project as well as the international and cultural impact it has made.

The beer industry faced a cataclysm when Brienne Allan asked the craft beer world, “What sexist comments have you experienced?” From there, a global reckoning led to hirings, firings, public callouts, cancellations, and—very often—silence or denial. Some changes ended up being temporary, others permanent, but what really changed since then?

This panel will feature people who were on the front lines of the biggest controversy craft beer has ever seen, as well as those who have kept up the discussion that started in May 2021. We’ll quickly review what happened, but focus on what’s happened since then and what we think could (and should) happen in the future, discussing more recent controversies such as the Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney debacle. Is beer ever just beer? What are the risks of a brewery opting out of taking stances on politics, human rights, and equity? What were some long term benefits for the industry, as well as the emotional, financial, and mental costs? And once you’ve been “canceled,” is redemption ever possible?

Cask beer is a unique format of fresh, live draught beer that, at its best, delivers a taste experience unmatchable in any other way. Rarely found in the beer world at large, cask retains a significant commercial presence only in the UK, where it famously survived efforts by big brewery groups to phase it out in the 1960s and 1970s. Though in its home country it’s once again struggling to retain its profile, many brewers and drinkers remain fascinated with cask.

Cask is beset with myths and misunderstandings, a legacy of its emergence as a cause célèbre at the very birth of the beer consumer movement when technical and historical knowledge of beer and brewing was much sparser than it is today. More recently, it’s been overwhelmed by the sound and fury of the craft beer movement, dismissed by some younger UK enthusiasts as terminally obsolescent ‘boring brown bitter’, and now accounts for under 5% of overall UK beer production.

Today, unless people drink from the bottle or can, beer is almost exclusively consumed from glassware. Historically, in the farmer's culture, glasses were next to non-existent. Instead, the farmers had an astonishing array of drinking vessels. While the almost endless variations of these are fascinating in themselves, they are perhaps the most interesting for what they tell us about the drinking culture of earlier times.

Lars Marius Garshol explores the variety of farmhouse drinking vessels, their meaning, and their decorations which are also fascinating and informative, and even include a separate literary genre of beer bowl rhymes.

“We’re not in the business of making beer, we’re in the business of selling beer” is something often heard in the brewing industry. The marketing of American beer has proceeded in recognizable, parallel cycles: first notification that beer is available, then touting its quality, and finally placing the beer as an accessible and aspirational product. With variations, these cycles developed in the pre-Prohibition era, the post-Prohibition era, and the craft era. Beer has been advertised with science, with history, and with humor. 

In this session, brewing historian Doug Hoverson will illustrate these cycles and discuss how beer advertising changed with other trends in society.

Ease into the morning in company of artist, Josh Moulton. Known for his style of photo-realism and urban landscape painting, Josh is drawn to architecture and its interaction with nature, as well as the effects that nature has on man-made objects.

Today, Josh treats us to a live demo as he paints an iconic Chicago drinking establishment, the Old Town Ale House. While he works, he will discuss approach, technique, reason, and there will also be commentary on the history of the bar. In the end he’ll produce a beautiful 18” x 24” acrylic on watercolor paper original piece of art.