2021 HBS: Dry-Hopping Best Practices with LIVE Q&A

Speakers

• Brannen Morris Director of Brewing Operations, Creature Comforts Brewing Co.
  

  Brannen Morris

  Director of Brewing Operations, Creature Comforts Brewing Co.

  Over the last 7 years, Brannen has worked in all aspects of production and service with Creature Comforts. Currently, he serves as the Director of Brewing Operations. Leading Creature’s brewing teams in safely, joyfully, and efficiently creating the highest quality beer possible. Creature prides itself on making high quality and approachable beers of all styles, with a focus on Southern Style IPA. Brannen finds joy in shepherding these beers from creative development to customer glass and managing teams of brewers through times of growth.

• Chris Treanor Head Brewer
  

  Chris Treanor

  Head Brewer

  2012 I started my career in brewing as the Head Brewer for Galway Bay Brewery in Ireland, starting at the cusp of craft beer in Ireland, dry hopping was still something that was very unheard of in commercial applications.
  My first commercial dry hop process included; 10HL open FV’s, whole cones, bags and lots of profanities. This quickly evolved to T90’s and dry hopping from the manway of 40HL CCT fermenters.
  In 2016 I moved to White Frontier in Switzerland, a lot more was invested into equipment, Hop Gun’s were used, DO was tested more rigorously and Hop Creep reared its ugly face in a large way. This was especially problematic for WF who had supermarket brands and in Switzerland where there was little emphasis on cold chain after the beer left the brewery.
  This brings me to 2021 where I joined the team at Fuerst Wiacek. I had known Lukasz from beer events and collabs and was always interested in their approach to IPA and hoppy beer in general. I’ve been here for 4 months now and have helped get the new brewery up and running and soon the 6000 CPH canning line. Our process here, jokingly I refer to it as low-intervention hopping, but its resulting in hoppy beers with great foam, flavour and aromatic profiles.

• Luke Kulchstein Marketing Lead – Europe
  

  Luke Kulchstein

  Marketing Lead – Europe

  Originally trained as a graphic designer, Luke has been working in the drinks industry for over 15 years. Initially working in the wine trade through retailers and importers, where he studied WSET up to diploma level. After many years in this sector, Luke discovered the joys of the emerging Craft Beer scene in the UK that lead him to take up home-brewing and eventually joining the beer industry full-time. In early 2013 he joined Scottish brewery, BrewDog, heading up their e-commerce and direct retail. During this time he studied up to Certified Cicerone level. In 2017 Luke left BrewDog to take a role with the UK’s leading specialist beer importer Cave Direct, managing their consumer sub-brand Beer Merchants. During the three years spent in charge of the Beer Merchants brand, he oversaw their expansion into physical venues in both London & Manchester. Then, in Spring 2020 Luke joined Yakima Chief Hops, heading up the marketing across Europe.

• Mike LaRosa Director of Brewing Operations
  

  Mike LaRosa

  Director of Brewing Operations

  Mike LaRosa began his brewing career in 2012 working at Rock Bottom Brewery. Over the early years of his career he worked with a number of emerging breweries including Kane Brewing Co as Head Brewer and Tired Hands Brewing Co as Brewery Manager. Mike left Tired Hands to open a brewery consulting business focussing on small to mid size start up breweries, during this time Mike found his current partners at New Trail Brewing Co where he serves as Director of Brewing Operations and a Partner. New Trail Brewing Co is a mid-size emerging regional brewery experiencing exponential growth of over 100% for its third year in a row and is currently producing about 25,000 bbls a year. New Trail focuses on Hazy IPAs as well as more traditional styles. They were awarded the Gold Medal for Contemporary American Pilsner in 2019 at GABF.

• Nathaniel Schmidt Owner
  

  Nathaniel Schmidt

  Owner

  Nathaniel began his beer journey in 2005 like many brewers do with a homebrew kit in his kitchen. His passion for brewing came from his love of good beer and the lack of good beer in his hometown of Ensenada Baja California, hence he decided to make his own and Cervecería Aguamala was born. Numerous hoppy beers later he began to sell locally, nationally then internationally. Nathaniel also became an accredited BJCP brew judge in 2011, and has helped organize many beer festival-judging panels and judged many beer competitions. He is always expanding his brewing knowledge by reading, collaborating with other brewers and attending seminars and courses. Thanks to Nathaniel’s leadership Cervecería Aguamala has won many national and international awards including a silver medal in 2014 at the World Beer Cup in the IPA category, as well as best brewery in the Copa del Pacifico Beer Competition in 2020, and best of show in numerous competitions. Nathaniel’s goal together with his team, is to continue to produce new and exciting beers through experimentation, collaboration and research, and share them with Aguamala enthusiasts around the world.

• Pierrick Niewiadowski Regional Sales Lead - Continental Europe
  

  Pierrick Niewiadowski

  Regional Sales Lead - Continental Europe

  Pierrick is passionate about beers and travel, and this is reflected in the fact that he has already worked for ten years in the beer industry. Pierrick holds a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Applied Languages, as well as a Master’s degree in Business and Marketing. After graduating, Pierrick first worked for various breweries in France, before hopping across the channel to London and joining the marketing team at Brewdog. He then decided to go even further abroad and flew to New Zealand, where he obtained a role working for Heineken in Wellington. It is here that he met his Kiwi partner, Natasha, before they later decided to move to France and settle down in Europe.

• Robin Head-Fourman The Beak Brewery
  Robin Head-Fourman

  The Beak Brewery