Master Brewers Podcast

The last of the three-part series of Technical Quarterly articles providing insights to the upcoming MBAA publication The Inspiring and Surprising History and Legacy of American Lager Beer: 1941–1948, the focus of this paper is a review of the American brewing industry during the tumultuous years of World War II (1941–1945) and those immediately following in support of global famine relief (1946–1948). This is perhaps the most remarkable 7 year period ever in the history of the American brewing industry, with production rising by just over 36 million barrels of beer—a staggering increase of 65.3%. While the beer before and after this period was very similar, the beer in between was anything but. Surprisingly, the brewing materials that were scarcest during this period were rice and especially corn-based adjuncts, not malt. But perhaps the greatest surprise of all was that the beer fueling the explosive growth was a significantly lighter, lower original gravity, and lower malt-to-adjunct ratio beer. Indeed, for a time during 1945, the industry's overall use of adjuncts exceeded 50%. A stunning array of materials—many never used prior or since—were employed to brew America's adjunct lager beer. Included in the “adjunct potpourri" were an astounding 141.5 million pounds of cassava products (e.g., manioc and tapioca) and 12.8 million pounds of potatoes. Surprisingly, however, both were first used after World War II, during the Relief years, triggered by federal mandates restricting the use of rice and corn in brewing. All material restrictions lifted in the summer of 1948, and supplies of all brewing materials returned to pre-war levels, but few in the industry could ignore that the lighter lager of the war and famine years had triggered a profound upward step-shift in sales. In the decades that followed, annual industry volume remained largely static, even declining on a per capita basis. Not until 1964 would the industry finally reach 100 million barrels of domestic production, followed in 1970 by the surpassing of the post-Prohibition per capita record of 1948. Buoyed by the 1973–1982 introduction of the modern 100 calorie light adjunct lagers, new records were subsequently set with per capita consumption of domestically produced beer reaching 26.17 gallons in 1981 and domestic production of 203,658,410 barrels in 1990, records that still stand. However, despite the phenomenal growth experienced by the American craft brewing industry over the past 30 years, by 2019 overall industry performance against per capita and annual domestic production metrics has declined by 9.26 gallons and 24.6 million barrels of beer, respectively. Insights to spur 21st century growth, for both macro and craft brewers alike, can be found in the lessons of the past.Special Guest: Greg Casey.Sponsored By:Hopsteiner: Proximity Malt: BSG: Berkeley Yeast: The Lupulin Exchange: Links:Inspiring History and Legacies of American Lager Vol. 1-2 — By Gregory Paul CaseyAmerican Beer (1941–1948): Years of Myths, War, and Famine — 2021 MBAA TQUpcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarBrewing Summit 2025 — August 13-15 Palm Desert, CAJoin Master Brewers

This week on the show, something that most brewers new to canning never consider but can make or break a brewery.Special Guests: Hannah Krieg and Vivian Poteat.Sponsored By:Hopsteiner: Proximity Malt: BSG: Berkeley Yeast: The Lupulin Exchange: Links:Can Liner Quality and Testing Methods — 2021 District St. Paul - Minneapolis PresentationDistrict Presentation ArchiveUpcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarBrewing Summit 2025 — August 13-15 Palm Desert, CAJoin Master Brewers

Why you need a fermentation recipe just as much as you need a recipe in the brewhouse.Special Guest: Tim Faith.Sponsored By:Hopsteiner: Proximity Malt: BSG: Berkeley Yeast: The Lupulin Exchange: Links:Fermentation Quality Control: Including Fermentation in Your Beer Recipe​​ — 2021 MBAA TQ (includes links to templates)John Bryce's SOP seminar — 2021 Craft Brewers ConferenceTechnical Quarterly Author Guidelines — Submit Your Own TQ Article!Upcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarBrewing Summit 2025Join Master Brewers

What’s going on with the recent funding cuts to barely & hops research, and how does that affect your brewery?Special Guests: Alicia Adler, Ashley McFarland, and Scott Dorsch.Sponsored By:Hopsteiner: Proximity Malt: BSG: Berkeley Yeast: The Lupulin Exchange: Links:USDA ARSAmerican Malting Barley AssociationImpact of federal terminations to barley researchHop Research CouncilUpcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarBrewing Summit 2025Join Master Brewers

How automation enabled one of today’s largest craft brewers to grow to scale.Special Guest: Kevin Martini.Sponsored By:Hopsteiner: Proximity Malt: BSG: Berkeley Yeast: The Lupulin Exchange: Links:Brewery Plant Integration & Automation — World Brewing Congress 2024WBC RewindUpcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarBrewing Summit 2025Join Master Brewers

Is your brewery prepared to rescue a team member from an FV or other confined space? Do you train & practice rescue regularly or do you plan to just wing it when seconds matter?Special Guest: Andy Troccoli.Sponsored By:Hopsteiner: Proximity Malt: BSG: Berkeley Yeast: The Lupulin Exchange: Links:Confined Space Entry: A Regulatory and Best-Practices Review​ — 2020 MBAA TQConfined Space Entry Resources — MBAA.comHow to Establish Rules for Confined Spaces in a Brewery​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ — 2019 MBAA WebinarBrewery Safety Resources — MBAA.comUpcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarBrewing Summit 2025Join Master Brewers

A former chair of the BA’s supply chain subcommittee has advice for navigating today’s challenges.Special Guest: Mitch Steele.Sponsored By:Hopsteiner: Proximity Malt: BSG: Berkeley Yeast: The Lupulin Exchange: Links:District Presentation ArchivesUpcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarBrewing Summit 2025Join Master Brewers

Travis Audet, a Zone technical expert in brewing for Anheuser-Busch InBev, dives deep into the art of wort separation. He discusses critical factors like lipid levels, pH, and timing that can make or break the brewing process. Audet shares insights on innovative techniques like the 'accordion effect' to optimize channeling and highlights the importance of monitoring differential pressure for brewing efficiency. His expertise sheds light on mastering temperature control and the impact of modern equipment design on achieving clarity and maximizing yield.

What NIR analysis of roughly 200 beers at UC Davis can tell us about hitting quality targets.Special Guests: Glen Fox and Sarah Suriano.Sponsored By:Hopsteiner: Proximity Malt: BSG: Berkeley Yeast: The Lupulin Exchange: Links:WBC RewindUpcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarJoin Master BrewersBrewing Summit 2025

Understanding the enzymes that drive hop creep and a novel potential control strategy.Special Guest: Matt Cottrell.Sponsored By:Hopsteiner: Proximity Malt: BSG: Berkeley Yeast: The Lupulin Exchange: Links:Controlling Hop Creep of Dry Hopped Beer Using Exogenous Enzyme Addition to Forestall the Endogenous Dextrin Degrading Enzymes of Humulus Lupulus (Hop) — WBC RewindUpcoming Events - Master Brewers CalendarJoin Master BrewersBrewing Summit 2025