DOWNLOAD THE GOODS BEFORE YOU GET TO THE SUMMIT!
“Don’t Believe Everything You Read on the Internet”
Headlines about alcohol in recent years have ranged from dour to outright dreadful. But don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Get ready to dig into the data and research behind all the rhetoric, ground yourself in fact and discard the fiction. From tax threats and cancer warnings to Gen Z and Delta-9, this up-tempo talk will break down the most important stories and add crucial context that too often gets lost in the shuffle.
Christopher Shepard writes and edits, follows trends and analyzes data for the family of beer industry trade publications from Beer Marketer’s Insights. He often leads BMI’s legal coverage, offers in-depth looks at alcohol policy and science as editor of Alcohol Issues INSIGHTS and serves as a Senior Editor of craft-focused newsletter Craft Brew News. He frequently presents at industry conferences and plays key roles in building BMI’s annual data reports and webinars.
MEMBER MEETING | 10:00-10:50AM | FRIDAY JAN. 23
Join us for the Annual Voting Members Meeting on Friday morning, this meeting is open to all brewery members. The Guild will be presenting on current programs and the “State of the State of Craft Beer”.
Shawnee Adelson, Executive Director – Colorado Brewers Guild
Carlin Walsh, Board Chair – CBG Board of Directors, Owner – Elevation Beer Co.
Past Seminars
MORE SEMINARS ARE BEING ADDED DAILY!
Check back soon for the full list of 30+ seminars at this year's Summit.
REGISTRATION SPECIAL: Register 3 People from your team, Get $25 OFF Per Person!
Sustainable by Design: Integrating QA/QC for Greener Brewhouses and Bottomline
Frances Tietje-Wang, CEO/Lab Overlord – Fermly
Shaye Holdaway, Quality Manager – Prost Brewing
Explore the intersection of quality management and sustainability to meet environmental and financial goals! Although seemingly separate priorities, understanding how they can benefit each other can result in improved finances and improve community impact. Going beyond theory to practical methods for integrating sustainability metrics into existing quality programs, attendees will learn how to align specifications with environmental targets, engaging multiple departments in shared goals that will resonate with leadership, employees, and customers. Attendees will explore how quality data, consistent processes, and preventive controls can save money, resources, and time while safeguarding product integrity. Brew better while brewing greener!
Tips and Tricks to Control Grain Dust Hazards
Tony McCrimmon, Certified Safety Professional – Brewery Safety Consulting
Dustin Craft, Craft Sales Manager – Malteurop Malting Co
Grain dust poses serious, complex, multifaceted risks—from flash fires and equipment failures to product contamination and employee hospitalization. This facilitated discussion reviews real-world brewery incidents, sharing vital lessons learned and providing practical, economical methods to recognize, correct and control these hazards. Attendees will gain actionable insight into achieving a safer, healthier, and higher-performing brewery environment.
Key discussion points will include:
M.A.S.H.-U.P.S. Techniques: A deep dive into the techniques, current results, and the critical role of M.A.S.H.-U.P.S. in industrial hygiene and testing.
Regulatory Compliance: Understanding how a small brewery can meet NFPA 660 requirements and the guidance provided by the 3-A Sanitary Standard for General Requirements.
Economical Controls: Evaluation of simple, cost-effective controls and their effectiveness in improving equipment operation, sanitation, health, and fire control.
Performance Improvement: Exploring the interrelationship of these safety elements and their impact on reducing labor and improving product quality.
This seminar will equip you with the knowledge to make immediate, positive changes in your operations.
Got Medal? What Should I Enter Into the Competition?
Brad Darnell, Chief Consultant – Fermented Judgment
BJCP Vice President, Grand Master III Beer Judge
This presentation seeks to demystify the competition environment and provide brewers an understanding of how to assess their beers against published competition style guidelines. Equipped with this knowledge, brewers will have the confidence that they entered their beer into the most appropriate category. This presentation will also cover packaging and delivery considerations as well as provide an overview of how beers are handled at competitions.
How Any Brewery Can Safely Pasteurize Packaged Beer Without a Tunnel
Nick Harris, Co-Founder – Berkeley Yeast
You don’t need a tunnel pasteurizer to make microbially stable beer. This presentation shows how breweries of any size can pasteurize packaged beer using equipment they already have on hand. Whether it’s a saison, fruited beer, or a nonalcoholic product, we’ll walk through how to safely pasteurize small batches post-packaging without specialized equipment.
We’ll share experimental data from pasteurization runs at temperatures ranging from 140°F to 190°F and present the temperature and time ranges that consistently achieved safe pasteurization unit (PU) levels without overshooting or damaging can seams.
A sensory component will also be included, featuring triangle tests comparing beers pasteurized to different PU levels to evaluate whether and how pasteurization affects flavor and quality.
From Grain to Glass: Building Resilient Supply Chains & Brands
Luke Richards, Head of Product (Americas) – Downforce Technologies
Todd Olander, Founder – Root Shoot Malt
Walker Modic, Environmental Programs Director – New Belgium Brewing
Craft breweries face converging pressures: U.S. barley acreage has dropped to 148-year lows, sourcing strategies are going overseas, extreme weather increasingly disrupts crop yields, and consumers demand verifiable sustainability practices.
This panel demonstrates how regenerative agriculture can address these challenges and drive value for brewers and maltsters alike.
Join representatives from Root Shoot Malting, New Belgium Brewery, and Downforce Technologies as they present findings and practical lessons from their collaborative supply chain project that will add value to your supply chain now whilst setting you up for long term success.
Sensory and Identification of Beer Microorganisms- Yeast, Beer Spoilers and Non-Spoilers
David Bryant, Board of Directors – Brewing Science Institute
DOUBLE SESSION
This is a hands-on class for brewers to identify different types of microorganisms in beer as well as brewery environments by using sensory and other microbiological/molecular tests. The staff at BSI will showcase a myriad of brewer’s yeast strains and their aromas as well as common brewery contaminants and their off flavors. Methods for detecting and identifying these contaminants will be showcased with spiked beer samples.
Please note: this seminar is an extended session, spanning two Summit “sessions” at 1 hour and 50 minutes long. A short break will be provided during the session.
Maximizing Brew Day ROI
Alan Windhausen, Technical Sales Manager – Murphy & Son
Alesha Ivey, Technical Sales Manager – Lallemand Brewing
Getting the most out of every dollar spent is increasingly important in brewing, for everything from raw materials to tank throughput. Join Alesha Ivey and Alan Windhausen as they discuss techniques, process aids, and best practices toward that goal. Topics include:
- Getting the most out of all your ingredients
- Maximizing KO volumes and extract efficiency
- Increasing tank throughput and functional volume
- Building efficiency into brewer and cellar shifts
- Tying a beer’s production time to monetary value
Learn techniques, process aids, and practices that maximize ROI on raw materials, brewer/cellar shifts, tank space, and more.
Big Picture Hop Takes
Eric Sannerud, President – Sannerud Hop Consulting
RIP The US Hop Golden Era, 2015 – 2025. What comes next? We’ll check in on the state of the hop market and what the future may hold. We’ll look specifically at hop ownership trends, shifts in hop breeding, and what to make of various ‘innovations’ vying for brewers’ attention.
CSU OSHA Consulting Program
Gregg Gress – CSU OSHA Consultation Services
Come hear about the CSU OSHA consultation program process, top OSHA violations, frequency of inspections, how fines are assessed, the current OSHA regional emphasis. There will also be time for Q&A. This safety seminar is a must for anyone in the back of house.
Sake Reimagined - Innovative Approaches to Traditional Rice-Based Brewing
Scott Lafontaine, Assistant Professor – University of Arkansas
This session introduces attendees to the fundamentals of sake, including its history, ingredients, and the traditional multi-step brewing process behind premium daiginjo styles. Building on this foundation, the presentation explores innovative techniques—such as enzymatic hydrolysis, high-ester-producing yeast strains, and optimized fermentation controls—that dramatically reduce production time while preserving sake’s signature aroma and flavor. Participants will learn how these approaches can create sake-like beverages in a craft or commercial setting, opening new avenues for rice utilization and product development in the beverage industry.
Beneath the Bine & Barley: Market Realities & Sustainability Initiatives in Hops and Malt
Steve Bradt, Craft Sales Representative – Hopsteiner
Zach Gaines, Commercial Director – Proximity Malt
Join Zach Gaines (Proximity Malt) and Steve Bradt (Hopsteiner) for a quick tour through the 2025 malt and hop harvests and what’s trending in today’s craft beer supply chain. They’ll share what’s new in quality and availability, plus a look at how sustainability efforts—from the field to the brewhouse—are helping support better ingredients and stronger industry partnerships.
If you’re curious about where your hops and malt are headed next, this session will look at the 2025 hop and malt harvests—what’s trending, what’s changing, and how sustainability is shaping the future of craft beer ingredients.
Strategies to Develop Safe and Delicious Non-Alcoholic Beers
Scott Lafontaine, Assistant Professor – University of Arkansas
This presentation will explore cutting-edge approaches to creating non-alcoholic beers that are both microbiologically safe and sensory-driven. Attendees will learn how ingredient selection, production methods, and quality control practices can be optimized to ensure food safety while maintaining—or enhancing—flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel. Using real-world examples and current research, the session highlights innovative techniques for microbial control, pasteurization, and flavor retention, as well as strategies to accelerate product development. Participants will leave with practical insights and tools to develop non-alcoholic beers that meet consumer expectations for taste, safety, and quality.
I'm In My Liquids Era: Harnessing Solubility Principles to Maximize Liquid Hop Aroma and Flavor
James Zarzour, Regional Sales Manager – Yakima Chief Hops
With a rapidly-expanding array of liquid hop aroma options in market, brewers have more tools than ever before in pursuing high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective beer. Join the Yakima Chief Hops R&D team as they work to demystify the many types of liquid products, and explore how the principles of beer/hop solubility can have significant effects on recipe design and finished beer outcomes. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role of emulsifiers in the brewery, and how brewery data bears out the advantages and disadvantages of different hop formats.
Redefining the Flavor Frontier of Lager Beers
Sean Thommen – Fermentis
This presentation will review applied research studies focusing on the nuances of using different lager yeast strains to ferment standardized worts. Two sets of applied research were performed: • The first set focused on specialty lagers, specifically Continental Hop Lager and Dark Lagers. • The second set focused on traditional lagers, specifically Bohemian Pils and Winter Bock recipes. Through these four studies, it was found that each lager strain studied produced different chemical and sensory profiles. The variations were less pronounced when compared to ale strains. Lastly, a newly selected strain that promotes the liberation of bound thiols will be reviewed, showcasing its unique profile and fermentation kinetics.
Barley to Brew - A Behind the Scenes Look at the Journey Raw Materials Take and the People and Processes that Make it Possible
Dustin Craft, Craft Sales Manager – Malteurop Malting Co.
We’ll discuss the process of going from seed to barley to malt to brewery, highlighting the parts of the journey that normally go unseen, with the goal of showcasing the complexities and intricacies of the supply chain. Along the way we’ll meet some of the people that make it all happen and gain an understanding of how they contribute to the finished product. We’ll focus on barley and malt, but touch on other products as well. You’ll have a chance to meet some of the people who make it all possible and gain some insight into what they do, why it matters, and how you can use that knowledge to better understand and work with your suppliers and partners.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Paths to Profit: 3 Ways Brewery Owners Unlocked Big-Time Profit in 2025 (With Real-World Examples)
Chris Farmand , Founder – Small Batch Standard
If you own or operate an established brewery, and want to increase profit this year, this session shows exactly how. Drawing from 15 years of financial insight across 285+ U.S. craft breweries, we’ll break down three common paths to increase profit by $100k/year or more using adapted examples from real-world scenarios:
● Profit Path 1: Taproom Revenue Ratios
● Profit Path 2: Disciplined Distribution
● Profit Path 3: Event Expansion
We’ll work through the step-by-step process together for each scenario to find profit opportunities, build a +$100k/year profit strategy, and create an action plan the brewery team can execute without hiring, buying equipment, or spending more. No matter where your business is today, there’s always a path to more profit. Our goal is to help you find it.
Are You Priced to Profit? Using Margin Insights to Make Smarter Business Decisions
Doug Cunningham , Founder – Crafted Ledgers
Jeremy Carney, Founder – Central Coast Analytics
Are You Priced to Profit? Using Margin Insights to Make Smarter Business Decisions gives brewery leaders a clear, approachable way to understand margins across both taprooms and wholesale, and how those margins should guide pricing decisions.
The session covers practical ways to evaluate margin performance and product mix, and shows how connected data and visual dashboards make opportunities easier to identify and act upon. Attendees will learn:
- Where the business is making money and where it is not, and how that clarity can support stronger and more confident pricing decisions.
- How to connect their financial and operational data to make smarter pricing decisions, calculating true margins, using product mix and menu engineering to boost profitability, and leveraging automated dashboards to visualize and sustain performance.
Strategies for Successful Brewery Capital Raises
Karen Hertz, Chief Brewista – Holidaily Brewing Co.
Jake Gardner, Head Beer Drinker – Westbound & Down Brewing Co.
Secure the future growth of your established brewery. This session features two experienced brewery owners who have successfully navigated complex capital raise campaigns. Hear about their proven strategies, critical lessons learned, and the information they wish they’d known before starting. Attendees will gain actionable insights into securing investment, structuring deals, and avoiding common pitfalls that stall growth and dilute ownership. This is your blueprint for transforming ambition into funded expansion. This session is meant for established breweries, but open to breweries in planning.
Beginning with the Next in Mind: Exit Planning is Successful Business Planning
Ally Ecklund, CPA, CPWA®, CFP® , Founder and Financial Advisor – Zestiny Wealth
Exit Planning is Successful Business Planning.
Yes, we all HATE to think exiting the business we just started or are building, growing and creating! But thinking about exiting at the beginning and messy middle and not the end of the journey is just successful business planning.
We’ll walk through the stage of next (not exit) planning to prepare your business, your personal finances, and you for the eventual exit from your current business. This session will be practical to focus on actions to take now, steps to consider in the future and positive mindsets to adopt.
Brewery Portfolio Management
Aaron Gore , V.P. of Sales & Marketing – The 5th Ingredient
Life, and business, are all about choices. How does an owner decide what products in their portfolio to keep, what to eliminate, and what to introduce? It takes solid process and objective data to eliminate the guesswork and make your company better by not wasting time, energy, and dollars on things that don’t earn their place. In this session, attendees will be given a primer on the philosophy of portfolio management, the process of rationalization and innovation, and how to apply it to their own businesses, regardless of scale.
SALES & MARKETING
Telling Your Brand Story on Social Media: How to Connect and Stand Out
Stephanie Grant , Chief Story Crafter – She Loves Craft
In today’s crowded market, great beer isn’t enough—you need a story that connects. This session explores how breweries can use storytelling to build brand loyalty, deepen community ties, and stand out online without feeling salesy or overproduced. Attendees will learn a simple framework for turning everyday moments into meaningful content and walk away with actionable strategies to humanize their brand voice across platforms. Whether you’re a small taproom or a regional player, this talk will show you how to craft content that feels as intentional as the beer you brew.
Attendees will learn how to craft and consistently share a brand story that builds emotional connection, highlights what makes them unique, and strengthens their online presence through human-centered, value-driven content.
Profit Driven Taproom Marketing - Proven 10X Programs
Ross Stensrud , Co-Founder – TapWyse
A full taproom is a happy taproom, but gone are the days of “If you brew it, they will come.” We need new ideas and strategies. We need profitable marketing programs that are proven to put butts on barstools and make money!
This session is for micro to mid-size brewery owners, GMs, marketing managers and head janitors (because you do all these jobs) who want to implement 10X+ ROI marketing strategies at their breweries. We will look at the most profitable marketing programs, proven ways to drive repeat visits and tactics to sell through aging beer more quickly.
No “pie-in-the-sky” or fluffy marketing ideas allowed. Just real-world examples, numbers & best practices. So you can skip the guesswork and start implementing proven programs right away.
Whether your goal is to grow weekday traffic, launch a paid membership, or turn first-time guests into lifelong fans, you’ll leave with a clear action plan tailored to your brewery.
Crafting Connection: How DMOs Can Strengthen Your Brewery’s Reach
Kristin Sutter, Director of Events & Engagement – Visit Aurora
Austin Hannon, Digital Marketing Manager – Visit Fort Collins
Join Austin and Kristin for a lively session filled with live polling and actionable strategies. Learn about what a DMO (Destination Marketing Organization) is and how to best partner with them.
They will explore how event calendars, marketing tools, storytelling programs, and community engagement can boost your visibility in the year ahead.
Craft Under Pressure: Strategic Marketing to Survive and Scale
Scott Kolbe, Advisor – Market Your Craft
Tired promotions and liquid social posts aren’t going to save craft. Throwing more resources and budget at the problem doesn’t make it go away. Festivals and retail demos are drying up. It’s time to start thinking more strategically about sales growth, starting with your marketing plan. Owners and industry experts alike are placing their bets on one simple blueprint:
• Design your website to show up in search and AI response
• Deliver email campaigns prompting immediate action (and traffic)
• Stay ahead of changing drinker behavior on social media
• Introduce a branded mobile app for activating individual drinkers
• Leverage AI as a tool, not a strategy, to generate beer content
The data is available to help brewery owners and managers take a more thoughtful, deliberate approach to business growth. We’ll discuss how to track marketing efforts using tools like weekly dashboard reporting, as well as best practices for success in each channel. Presentation attendees have access to 10+ Guides with techniques to keep fans engaged and proven tools to fuel excitement around your unique story.
The Sales Multiplier: How Training Drives Wholesale Growth
Julie Rhodes , Strategic Business Consultant – Not Your Hobby Marketing
In today’s crowded market – where shelf space is limited and buyer attention is scarce – breweries must rethink how their sales teams operate. Sales training isn’t just for onboarding; it’s a strategic advantage.
This session unpacks the building blocks of a high-performing sales function: weekly structure, KPI tracking, and core selling skills that lead to consistent results. Whether your brewery self-distributes or works with multiple wholesale partners, you’ll walk away with a Sales Rep Toolkit built to scale with you and a clear understanding of why training is the most overlooked (and highest ROI) lever in your growth strategy.
Beyond Google: Is Your Website AI-Ready? Optimizing for the Next Generation of Search
Jonathan A. Liebert , CEO/Executive Director – Better Business Bureau
Search is changing rapidly and for craft breweries, being discoverable online now goes far beyond traditional SEO. In this session, Jonathan Liebert, CEO of the Better Business Bureau and recognized AI Thought Leader, breaks down how Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is reshaping how customers find breweries through AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and next-generation search engines like Perplexity Comet and ChatGPT Atlas.
Designed specifically for craft brewers, this practical session will show what your website must do to stay visible, relevant, and competitive. Whether customers are searching for your taproom, events, beer offerings, or brand story. Jonathan will translate complex AI and search concepts into clear, actionable steps breweries can take immediately to improve online visibility and drive real-world traffic.
What You’ll Learn:
– How AI-driven search is changing customer discovery and why SEO alone is no longer enough
– The critical website updates breweries need to be “AI-readable” and recommended by AI answer engines
– Practical AEO strategies to increase visibility for taprooms and brand storytelling
LEGAL & COMPLIANCE
Workers’ Compensation 101: What Every Employer Needs to Know
Myles Potter – Brewers Insurance Co-Op of Colorado
Mark Kalicki – Employers Assurance
Richard Antablian – Employers Assurance
This seminar gives employers a clear understanding of workers’ compensation basics, legal requirements, and best practices. Learn how to manage claims, control costs, and support injured employees through effective return-to-work programs. Gain practical strategies to stay compliant and protect your workforce.
Legal & Regulatory Stuff You Need to Know (Brew Pubs)
Robert “Chas” Runco , Attorney – Runco & Proffitt, P.C.
Chas will be providing updates on the regulatory and legislative changes from this year, and how they affect your brewery’s operations. We will also discuss regulatory concerns arising from current market trends, such as shared warehouse space, contract and AP brewing, and festival permits.
This session is specifically for breweries that are licensed as brew pubs. If you are a manufacturing brewery, we recommend attending the other session.
Legal & Regulatory Stuff You Need to Know (Manufacturing Breweries)
Robert “Chas” Runco , Attorney – Runco & Proffitt, P.C.
Chas will be providing updates on the regulatory and legislative changes from this year, and how they affect your brewery’s operations. We will also discuss regulatory concerns arising from current market trends, such as shared warehouse space, contract and AP brewing, and festival permits.
This session is specifically for breweries that are licensed as manufacturers. If you are a brew pub, we recommend attending the other session.
LEADERSHIP
Burnout 101 for Brewing Professionals: Understanding, Preventing, and Recovering
Kaylyn Kirkpatrick, Founder & Coach – Gentle Roots Wellness
Long brew days, late nights, and high creative demands can add up—sometimes to burnout. This session offers an accessible overview of what burnout is and isn’t, how it differs from stress and depression, and why it often shows up in craft beer. Drawing on both science and lived experience, Kaylyn Kirkpatrick will share key contributors, early warning signs, and practical ways to recover and build resilience. Brewers, managers, and anyone passionate about sustainable careers in beer will walk away with tools to protect their energy and creativity.
Using the C.A.R.E Framework to Drive Inclusive Leadership
Delroy Waugh, Owner – Ramp UP Fractional HR Services (Formerly ADIBE Collaborative)
Have you ever wondered how deeply you can connect with your team—or how to truly uplift them so everyone thrives? In my class, “Lead with Emotional Intelligence,” I’ll show you how emotional intelligence can transform your leadership style. You’ll discover my C.A.R.E. Framework to check in with yourself and others, acknowledge challenges, respond thoughtfully, and empower people to excel. If you’re ready to inspire trust, motivate your people, and create a culture where everyone feels valued, then join me, and let’s lead with emotional intelligence together!
Attendees will learn how to apply emotional intelligence and the C.A.R.E. Framework to lead with empathy, strengthen trust, and create a culture where people feel seen and motivated to excel.
More than a Feelin': Building Company Culture through Core Values
Loy Maierhauser , COO – MAP Brewing Company
77% of current job seekers say they take a company’s culture into consideration when applying for a job, and 56% believe that a positive culture is more important than salary. This is encouraging for many of us, as we likely have more room to build our culture than make dramatic salary increases! Using 80’s yacht rock as our guide, we’ll explore utilizing (or creating) core values to build company culture that translates into better staff retention. You’ll walk away with concrete tools and a solid start to building purposeful, positive culture at your company. Attendees will learn how to identify meaningful core values, shape them into a clear and actionable statements, and will begin to create a practical plan for bringing those values to life within their company.