Master Brewers Podcast

It is well known that hop-forward beer styles exhibit tropical fruit aromas. These aromas are conferred by a range of hop-related volatile compounds, including polyfunctional thiols such as 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (3SH) and 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (4MSP). These compounds are present at relatively high concentrations in hops and are extracted into beer during dry-hopping. Polyfunctional thiols are also abundant as non-volatile glutathione and cysteine conjugates in hops, and to a lesser extent can be found in barley (and therefore, malt). These conjugates are cleaved into amino acids and free thiols by enzymatic activity of yeasts, thus bound precursors may represent an important pool of tropical fruit flavor in beer, particularly in beer styles where dry hopping is minimal. In order to successfully liberate this pool of flavor, yeast with strong carbon-sulfur ß-lyase activity are needed. In wine research it has become evident that only a small number of commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae starter cultures possess this capacity. High-activity strains may release 10-30x higher concentrations of free thiol from the same amount of available precursor, relative to low-activity strains. This variation has been linked to a range of inactivating mutations in the carbon-sulfur ß-lyase encoding gene, IRC7. In this study we have catalogued several additional mutations in IRC7 that are found in brewing strains of S. cerevisiae. Based upon known mutations that affect wine strains we compare predicted IRC7 activity for various brewing strains, and actual measurements using a model substrate. Furthermore, we show that one of the mutations only found in brewing strains inactivates IRC7. Overall, the data show that brewing S. cerevisiae strains vary widely in their potential to release polyfunctional thiols from conjugated precursors, and that efforts to extract maximum flavor from malt and hops should include consideration of yeast strain.Special Guests: Chris Curtin and Karen Fortmann.Sponsored By:MoreBeer: Precision Fermentation: Gusmer: BSG: Proximity Malt: ABS: Hopsteiner: Links:Poster 157 - Mutations in carbon-sulfur ß-lyase encoding gene IRC7 affect the polyfunctional thiol-releasing capability of brewers yeast — 2020 World Brewing CongressHop Flavor and Aroma: Proceedings of the 2nd International Brewers SymposiumJoin Master Brewers — Use promo code BEER20 to save 20% on dues now through December 31, 2020Upcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarWBC Connect 2020 On-Demand Access — Boundless access to WBC Connect 2020 content is now available for purchase to those that did not attend this year's congress. The 150+ hours of session recordings is a great educational resource. Boundless access gives you access now through October 8, 2021!

Master Brewers is dying to pay for your education; it's part of what we do.Special Guests: Jeremy King, Jim Mellem, Justin Ang, Mike Perine, and Stephen Bernard.Sponsored By:MoreBeer: Chr. Hansen: Precision Fermentation: Gusmer: BSG: Proximity Malt: ABS: Hopsteiner: Links:ScholarshipsMaster Brewers CoursesBrewing CO2 Webinar (MBAA+ASBC+BA) — a 'supercritical' ingredient, utility, and byproductUpcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarJoin Master Brewers — Use promo code BEER20 to save 20% on dues now through December 31, 2020

Could beer infected with diastaticus be rescued by killer yeast?Special Guest: Nicholas Ketchum.Sponsored By:MoreBeer: Chr. Hansen: Precision Fermentation: Gusmer: BSG: Proximity Malt: ABS: Hopsteiner: Links:Poster 91 - Can we rescue Beer infected with Diastaticus during fermentation: A profile in killer yeast and the effect of co-fermentation on the superattenuative characteristics of diastaticus — 2020 World Brewing CongressBrewing CO2 Webinar (MBAA+ASBC+BA) — a 'supercritical' ingredient, utility, and byproductUpcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarJoin Master Brewers — Use promo code BEER20 to save 20% on dues now through December 31, 2020WBC Connect 2020 On-Demand Access — Boundless access to WBC Connect 2020 content is now available for purchase to those that did not attend this year's congress. The 150+ hours of session recordings is a great educational resource. Boundless access gives you access now through October 8, 2021!

John Mallett (Bells Brewery), Rebecca Newman (Lagunitas Brewing Company), Paul Pettinger (New Belgium Brewing), and Jason zumBrunnen (Ratio Beerworks) will be answering YOUR questions about Business Continuity in a Covid-19 Environment during the #worldbrewingcongress Mainstage Panel Discussion this weekend. We'll hear about how their breweries have pivoted, as well as topics like ensuring employee safety, rethinking the workplace, exploring brewery culture, and controlling external factors. Submit your questions for the panelists via the link below.Links:SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS HEREMainstage Panel Discussion Details — Business Continuity in a COVID-19 environment: Current and Future ChallengesSpotify Playlist — WBC Connect 2020 | Brewing Without BoundariesWorld Brewing Congress 2020 — on FacebookWBC Connect 2020 — on Twitter

Cans have become the primary packaging type in the U.S. craft brewing scene. While cans are a near-ideal package for maintaining the quality of the beer, it's important to understand the seaming process and how to diagnose and fix issues with the seamer. Failing to do so will lead to tremendous damage to brands and consumer confidence in canned craft beer. This presentation will focus more on the key quality indicators of seams, how to identify seam issues, tools needed to fix the issue, and how to adjust the seamer to fix the issue.Special Guest: Rick Blankemeier.Sponsored By:Precision Fermentation: Gusmer: BSG: Proximity Malt: ABS: Hopsteiner: Links:Poster 63 - A quality overview of can seams — WBC Connect 9.19.20 Poster SessionWBC Connect 2020 — REGISTER NOW!Upcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarDistrict Presentation: Can Seaming and Tooling Set Up for Craft Brewers — District Texas Spring Meeting April 30, 2019 Can Seaming WebinarWBC Connect 2020 On-Demand Access — Boundless access to WBC Connect 2020 content is now available for purchase to those that did not attend this year's congress. The 150+ hours of session recordings is a great educational resource. Boundless access gives you access now through October 8, 2021!

The 2020 World Brewing Congress is almost here! Have you registered yet?Special Guest: Keith Villa.Links:2020 World Brewing Congress — Register now!WBC on TwitterWBC on Facebook

A growing demand in utilizing biotransformation, a general term for the conversion of compounds through biological pathways, to improve the organoleptic profile of beer has changed the way hop forward beer recipes are approached. While the analysis of terpene biotransformation has been well documented, there remains a gap in knowledge in sulfur compounds due to their extremely low concentrations (sometimes in concentrations of parts per trillion) and high volatility. Analysis of sulfur compounds requires precise and sensitive analytical methodology in order to detect them. While sulfur compounds have been successfully detected using gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) a pulsed flame photometric detector (PFPD), and a GC sulfur chemiluminescence detector (GC-SCD), the research presented here utilizes a GC-SCD via stir bar-sorptive extaction (SBSE) methodology previously used to track aroma intensities in optimizing harvest picking windows. This work shows an identification of various thiols and sulfur compounds found in both un-hopped and hopped wort (with Amarillo® (VGXP01), Cashmere, Idaho grown Saaz (Osvald-72 c.v.), and Czech Saaz) and tracks them through the fermentation process confirming the volatility of some thiols and most notably the presence of 4-methyl-4-mercaptopentan-2-one (4MMP) in the final beer at a retention time of 9.5 minutes, a compound that contributes a catty, black currant/Sauvignon Blanc aroma character. Differences in hop varieties were compared with an American ale yeast, and the effect of yeast strain as well as temperature on thiol production with VGXP01 was compared between an American ale, German lager, Belgian saison, and Brettanomyces bruxellensis strain.Special Guest: Tim Wallen.Sponsored By:Precision Fermentation: Gusmer: BSG: Proximity Malt: ABS: Hopsteiner: Links:Poster 110 - Tracking Biotransformation of Sulfur Compounds in Beer — WBC Connect 9.19.20 Poster SessionWBC Connect 2020 — REGISTER NOW!Upcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarWBC Connect 2020 On-Demand Access — Boundless access to WBC Connect 2020 content is now available for purchase to those that did not attend this year's congress. The 150+ hours of session recordings is a great educational resource. Boundless access gives you access now through October 8, 2021!

This was the very first episode of The Master Brewers Podcast, recorded during the 2016 WBC. As we prepare to kick off the all-virtual 2020 WBC in just a few weeks, this seems like the perfect opportunity to listen in on what was happening during the 2016 WBC. Special Guests: Daniel Vollmer and Tom Shellhammer.Sponsored By:Precision Fermentation: Gusmer: BSG: Proximity Malt: ABS: Hopsteiner: Links:WBC Connect 2020 — REGISTER NOWDry Hopping on a Small Scale: Considerations for Achieving Reproducibility — MBAA TQ 201635. The influence of hop oil content and composition on hop aroma intensity in dry-hopped beer — 2016 World Brewing CongressInstrumental Evaluation of Hops — 2016 World Brewing CongressUpcoming Events - Master Brewers Calendar

We continue conferencing vicariously from the Master Brewers Live event during the 2019 Master Brewers conference in Calgary, where former Master Brewers Technical Director Mark Sammartino joined me to talk about trials using exogenous enzymes in malting to get brewers more consistent malt and make life easier in the malthouse.Special Guest: Mark Sammartino.Sponsored By:Precision Fermentation: Gusmer: BSG: Proximity Malt: ABS: Hopsteiner: Links:WBC Connect 2020Presentation 26 - Exogenous enzyme applications in malting — 2019 Master Brewers Conference2019 Master Brewers Conference Proceedings — New member benefit!Upcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarCOVID-19

Isn't it a shame to just throw out all of that spent hop slurry after dry-hopping a tank? Ola Oladokun from Carlsberg sat down with me during last year's conference in Calgary to talk about brewing trials designed to put that "spent" hop slurry back to work.Special Guest: Olayide Oladokun.Sponsored By:Precision Fermentation: Gusmer: BSG: Proximity Malt: ABS: Hopsteiner: Links:WBC Connect 20202019 Master Brewers Conference Proceedings — New member benefit!Upcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarCOVID-19