Hear brief presentations from researchers doing work relevant to the craft beer industry, then stay for a poster session where you can learn more and ask the researchers your questions.

Presentations in this session will include:

• Reductions in Aging Aldehydes in Infusion Malts Lead to Enhanced Shelf-Life Properties on Malt-Based Beverages – Infusion malts benefit brewers and distillers by enhancing beverage complexity and the potential of prolonged shelf-life.
• Developing Non-Glycosidic Nitrile Producing Malting Barley – Using a novel Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) approach is a more efficient and less expensive method for detecting glycosidic nitrile (GN) genes in malting barley.
• Fungal Impacts to Fermentation and Beer Gushing Potential – Harvest conditions and microflora load of barley can be used to mitigate mycotoxin presence, premature yeast flocculation and gushing potential in beer.
• Mousy Off-Flavor: Dwell Deeper Into Spoilage Compounds of Mixed-Cultured Beverages – Concentration of mousy off flavors in barrel-aged beers vary depending on a variety of factors.
• Brewer’s Hop Creep Cheat Sheet: A Comparative Analysis of Hop Variety, Quantity, Origin, and Product Type – Hop variety, growing region, and hop product type impacts the effects and severity of hop creep.
• Evaluation of Hop Lot Matching Methodologies – Hop sensory profiles and survivable compounds can be used to successfully find replacement hop lots and keep beer flavor consistent.
• Hop Storage Index: A Key Tool for Assessing Hop Aging – Classifying the degree of hop aging using Hop Storage Index (HIS) is complicated by a variety of hop characteristics and non-oxidative mechanisms.
• Wildfire Smoke and the Threat to Hop Quality – Smoke exposure during hop drying affects the chemistry and sensory properties of hops.

About the Speakers

Isabel Alicia del Blanco, Malting Barley Breeder

University of California, Davis

Isabel Alicia del Blanco (she/her) has been a malting barley breeder at the University of California, Davis (UCD) for the last 12 years. During this period, four new UCD malting barley varieties have been released. Isabel received her Ph.D. in Agronomy and Crop Sciences at Oregon State University in 1999, my M.Sc. degree at South Dakota State University in 1994, and is a U.S. citizen, born in Argentina.

Xiang Yin, Supply Chain Quality

Boortmalt

Xiang S. Yin works for supply chain quality at Boortmalt USA. He previously served as the vice president of corporate quality and innovation at Rahr. His experience in the industry includes working as the global director of brewing raw materials at SABMiller based in the United Kingdom (U.K.), and as technical director at Prairie Malt/Cargill Malt. He is a past president of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC), and is a fellow of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (U.K.). He served as chair of the technical committee of the Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute in Canada from 2016-23. Xiang authored the first book by the ASBC, Malt: Practical Brewing Science. He taught malting and brewing in the Jiangnan University China in his early career. Xiang holds a doctoral degree from Heriot-Watt University (U.K.) and a sixth dan black belt for taekwondo.

Jessica Young, PhD Student

University of California, Davis

Jessica Young (she/her) earned her undergraduate degree in cell and molecular biology before learning to brew outside of Asheville, North Carolina. In 2017 she accepted a brewer position in Nashville, Tennessee at Bearded Iris Brewing. She quickly rose through the ranks to become Cellar, Quality, and Sensory Manager. She has been featured on the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA) podcast twice, published a method in the MBAA Technical Quarterly on mid-fermentation yeast harvesting (Volume 58, no.2), and “Humulus lupulus and Microbes: Exploring Biotic Causes for Hop Creep” in the Journal of Food Microbiology (Spring 2023). She is now working on her PhD in food science with a brewing focus at the University of California, Davis. She enjoys breaking down complex ideas into digestible bites and solving problems, ideally sitting outside with a Czech Pilsner and her English lab, Billie.

Florian Schuell, Technical Manager

HVG e.G.

Dr. Florian Schuell (he/him) is an accomplished brewer with a 20-year career in the field. Florian's journey began at the Technical University of Munich in Weihenstephan, where he studied brewing science. Over the years, Florian has gained expertise in brewing technology, research, raw materials, and laboratory management. He has also ventured into the commercial side of the industry, providing advisory services and managing a raw hops laboratory for HVG, a renowned hop trading company in the Hallertau region. His commitment to brewing education is evident through his involvement in workshops and teaching activities. Florian lives near Munich with his wife and two sons.

Tommy Yancone, R&D Data Analyst

Yakima Chief Hops

Tommy Yancone (he/him) is the research and development (R&D) data analyst at Yakima Chief Hops. He helps manage data collection and reporting for the sensory, brewing, and lab teams. He enjoys using data to solve problems and give brewers more insight into their beers and raw ingredients. Prior to Yakima Chief, he led the lab team at Southern Tier Brewing Company.

Paulina Martusevice, Postdoctoral Researcher

University of California

Dr. Paulina Martusevice is a bachelor's and master’s graduate of Kaunas University of Technology in Food Science and Technology. She further defended a doctoral thesis in the agronomy field at the Lithuanian Research Centre of Agriculture and Forestry. During her study years, Paulina contributed to one of the first kombucha breweries in Lithuania and was involved in many non-alcohol mixed-culture beverages projects. After defending her doctoral thesis, she continued her academic path and joined the research team working on brewing sciences at the University of California Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Brewing Laboratory. Paulina enjoys exploring the biochemistry of fermentation, which can lead to a tastier experience.

Thomas Shellhammer, Professor

Oregon State University

Dr. Thomas Shellhammer (he/him) is the Nor'Wester Professor of Fermentation Science in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University. He is an internationally recognized expert in hop chemistry and brewing science, and his lab investigates hops, beer quality, and the origins of hop aroma and flavor in beer. He is a member of the Brewers Association Quality Subcommittee, and he served as president of the board of directors of the American Society of Brewing Chemists and president of the District NW Master Brewers Association of the Americas.

Cristal Peck, Product Innovation Manager

Boortmalt

Cristal Peck studied biomedical science in her home country, Australia, before transitioning into the brewing industry. She worked in Berlin, Germany for several years before relocating to Antwerp, Belgium. Here she combines her background in brewing and biological research into a role targeted toward innovation at the malting company Boortmalt. In her capacity as product innovation manager, she works to stretch the boundaries on malt as a raw ingredient, pushing product innovations as well as diversification into a broader domain beyond malt as a commodity to brewers and distillers.