Hello All,
We hope to see you at our technical meeting on Saturday, July 13th, 9am at Boomtown Brewing in downtown Los Angeles!
We have some exciting speakers to talk to us about using active dry yeast versus liquid culture in your brewery:
- Kyle Somers of Lallemand, and our District NorCal MBAA President. Kyle is a veteran brewer with over ten years of commercial brewing experience before joining the Lallemand Brewing team in 2019. A graduate of Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago and Doemens Academy in Munich, he has produced beers for Firestone Walker, Lagunitas, and most recently Hen House Brewing. This skill set has allowed him to thrive in his role as the Technical Sales Manager for California and the Western US. When he is not at work Kyle loves spending time in nature with his wife and dog. He loves backpacking and hiking, and his happy place is backcountry Sierras. His favorite part of brewing is the community and his favorite beer styles are hop-forward light beers, and especially loves modern lager styles.
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Sean Thommen of Fermentis. Sean's own brewing experience goes back to 1997 as 19-year-old home brewer and lead to a professional career at Amnesia Brewing in Portland Oregon in 2006. He quickly worked his way up to Head Brewer and stayed until 2016 where an opportunity to design and build a craft brewery in Ho Chi Minh City brought him and his family to Vietnam. The brewery, East West Brewing, of which he remains a share holder and consultant, is now one of the largest and fastest growing in South East Asia. There, Sean also developed a successful Cider brand and Sake Brewery (Dalat Cider and Mua Sake, respectively). In Vietnam, far from liquid yeast suppliers, Sean used exclusively dry yeast and immediately realized all of the benefits. When the call of his extended family and love of the Northwest brought him back to states, his passion and perspective was recognized by Fermentis and his current position was offered to him.
- Kara Taylor of White Labs. Kara Taylor has been with White Labs since 2009. She became interested in fermentation science while homebrewing during her days at Loyola Marymount University. She received a B.S. in biology in 2009 and began employment at White Labs in San Diego as a yeast laboratory technician. Since November 2018, she functions as the Technical Laboratory Manager. She enjoys traveling the world judging beer and educating brewers about fermentation.
We will also have a wonderful speaker on making the proper selection for hoses in your brewery:
- Michael Caviness with TCW Equipment, who you might recognize from MBAA Podcast Episode 114. Michael has worked as Manager of TCW Equipment for the past 15 years, working with brewers, distillers, and winemakers he's become proficient in many industrial equipment lines. He revels in educating customers in the nuanced value of essential tools such as hoses, pumps, and bottling equipment. Michael explains that while industrial hoses and pumps may seem costly, they are crucial for maintaining product quality. Previously, Michael worked at Audible and Apple. In his personal life, he is a hobbyist web developer and a father of three young children.
And we will also have a short presentation about scholarships for our MBAA SoCal district from one of our own:
- Katrina Bruner of Anheuser-Busch, MBAA SoCal Scholarship Chair, and MBAA Brewing Maintenance course director. With a degree in Chemical Engineering from UCSD, an MS in Food Science from UGA, and an MBAA from Kennesaw State, Katrina spent time at Ballast Point, Creature Comforts, and Terrapin Beer Co. before starting her career at AB InBev. At the Budweiser brewery in Cartersville, GA, she spent time in both cellar and brewing leadership before a move to the brewery in Fairfield, CA. There, she led the brewing maintenance department for 2.5 years, then transferred to the LA brewery, where she led the scale up of over 40 new products and several capex projects as the Innovations Manager. After eight years with AB InBev, Katrina is now the cold side Assistant Brewmaster in Los Angeles. Outside of work, Katrina enjoys traveling with her husband, James, seeking out exciting new places to drink a beer, exploring all there is to do in Southern California, and relaxing with her two cats, Max and Myrtle.
For those that register for the meeting, we will have an awesome souvenir to take home as well:
Hope to see you all there!
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James Bruner
Brewing Maintenance Supervisor
City Brewing Company
Irwindale Brew Yard
jbruner@citybrewery.com
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