Sierra Nevada’s Charlie Bamforth to keynote Michigan’s Great Beer State Conference

Michigan’s Great Beer State Conference & Trade Show — presented by Michigan Brewers Guild, Michigan State University Extension and Master Brewers Association of the Americas – District Michigan — returns to Kalamazoo January 10-12, 2024, and attendees will be treated to a keynote address from Dr. Charlie Bamforth from the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

The world of beer is very different now from when Charlie joined it in 1978. That was the year that President Carter signed the legislation to make homebrewing legal at the federal level. It was a year before Margaret Thatcher took the Prime Minister position in the UK, during which era she would introduce the legislation that radically transformed the British brewing industry. It was before genetically modified yeasts and hazy beer, most of the globalization of the industry and the remarkable growth of “craft” brewing.

Formerly with the Brewing Research Foundation and Bass in the UK, Bamforth was lead professor of brewing at UC Davis for 20 years from 1999. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at UC Davis and Honorary Professor with the University of Nottingham in England.

Charlie is Senior Quality Advisor to Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. He is the author of numerous articles, papers, and books on beer and is past President of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to the industry and has featured extensively in the media. He has also written for almost 40 years on football (soccer).

Throughout the Conference, 20 breakout sessions in four tracks — Brewing, Business, Hops and Barley — will be presented including Charlie’s session “Foam – A visual, scientific and technical delight” Friday morning at 11:30am.

The Trade Show will be held at the Wings Event Center from 1-6pm on Wednesday, with the Conference running Thursday and Friday at the Radisson Plaza Hotel.

The complete conference schedule, including the list of other speakers, is available online: 2024 Michigan’s Great Beer State Conference Schedule. REGISTRATION rates start at $345 for MBG Members ($395 for non-members).

The Michigan Brewers Guild is a network of innovative and passionate brewers that serves as the recognized advocate for the Michigan craft beer industry. The mission of the Guild is to promote and protect the Michigan craft beer industry with an overarching goal to help craft beer acquire 20% of the market by 2025.

Michigan’s thriving brewing industry conservatively contributes more than $144 million in wages with a total economic contribution of more than $600 million. In terms of overall number breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs, Michigan ranks #6 in the nation – thus supporting its claim as “The Great Beer State.”