District Northern California Full Day Technical Conference hosted by Sierra Nevada Brewing

Starts:  Nov 8, 2024 16:00 (PT)
Ends:  Nov 9, 2024 17:00 (PT)
Associated with  District Northern California

Come one, come all! It is time for the Northern California District to return to the Big Room at Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico! 



On Friday evening 11/8 Sierra Nevada Brewing will offer tours and host a happy hour welcoming event.  So please come up early and join us for drinks and networking opportunities.  There is a separate (free) registration for both of these, so please let us know if you will be joining so we can have adequate tour guides lined up and food for everyone.



Saturday 11/9 we will dive into varied educational topics with a full day of educational presentations, and wrap it up with a casual happy hour.  Please see below for our speakers and topics (to be updated)



Keynote Speaker:  Charlie Bamforth

Senior Quality Advisor Sierra Nevada Brewing

"Overcoming Paradigm Prejudice in Lager Production"

Sam Thompson, Director of Quality & Innovation at Lagunitas Brewing 

"Sustainable Stabilization"

Nic Pitra, Technical Director of Plant Sciences at Hopsteiner.

"Steering the barge, Breeding hops in an ever changing world."

This talk will address some new findings in hop genetics and how we are leveraging them to meet the demands of a market/world/climate that is yet to be seen.

Molly Browning, Technical Advisor at Lallemand Brewing, (soon-to-be) MBAA National President 

"Party Mix: Hoppy yeast research, Sweet hybrid technology, and Umami MBAA updates"

Lindsey Barr, CSO and Founding Partner at DraughtLab 

"Oops, I Built a Sensory Program!"   

While most large and established breweries recognize the value of a Sensory program, the resource demands on a small brewery make starting one seem impractical. But what if you could build a Sensory program by accident? The holy grail is a program that 1) transforms your staff into experts by sparking their intrinsic motivation and 2) enhances both beer quality and the customer experience—all without the need for a dedicated administrator.

Mandi McKay, Chief Sustainability & Social Impact Officer at Sierra Nevada brewing

Ashley Koller, Sustainability Prog Manager at Sierra Nevada brewing

"Sustainability Initiatives for your Brewery"

Friday Tours: 4pm-6pm

Friday Happy Hour: 4pm-8pm

Saturday Lectures: 10am-5pm

Saturday Happy Hour: 5pm-7pm



Registration for this event will include access to all lectures, as well as the facility tours.  Meals provided: Friday dinner, Saturday lunch, Saturday happy hour appetizers.  Please bring beers to share!



Early Registration (before 10/11/24): Member $50/Non-Member $100/Student $50

Standard Registration (before 11/1/24): $60/$110/$50

Late Registration before 11/9): $75/$115/$65



We are able to keep the cost of the event low thanks to our generous sponsors, and Sierra Nevada for donating use of this space to our district at no cost.  Make sure to thank both the brewery staff as well as our sponsors.

Update 10/24: 

We have a hotel block at the Oxford Suites in Chico, down the street from our host Sierra Nevada Brewing.  In order to get the discounted rate you are required to call in to them at (530) 899-9090, and let them know you are part of the Master Brewers Association group. 

The rates are $125/night for a King Suite and $129/night for a double King suite.  There is a complimentary breakfast at the hotel, and we will have a shuttle running in the morning between the hotel and brewery.

The cutoff date for these rates are 10/29!

Thank you to our Platinum level Sponsor: Barnum Mechanical

Thank you to our Gold Level Sponsors:

Thank you to our Silver level Sponsors:

Location

Sierra Nevada Brewing - Big Room
1075 E 20th St
Chico, CA 95928

Contact

Kyle Somers
(925) 708-4588
ksomers@lallemand.com