2012 Seminars
Featured Presenters: John Mallett | Todd Usry | Julia Herz | Sam Calagione | Daniel Bradford | Experimental Brewing Seminar | Ciccerone Certification Program | Beer & Cigar Pairing | Craft & Specialty Beer Everyday: Pairing Palate Trips

The educational component of our festival weekend continues to grow, and is beginning to attract as much attention as the Commercial Tasting itself. Please note that we will be modeling the schedule for the weekend after last year’s as it was quite successful. The Brewmasters’ Seminars will follow the Experimental Brewing Seminar, and the Beer & Food Pairing Smackdown will immediately follow the Homebrew Competition Awards. We have added a couple of extra seminars, some smaller, on Friday night and Saturday to increase your educational quotient!

As is traditional for our Big Beers Featured Brewmasters, our Colorado Featured Brewmaster and our International Featured Brewmaster will each choose a topic to showcase his area(s) of expertise and/or his love of brewing. Each will speak and interact with his audience for an hour’s time, and share several beers that support his topic. This year these seminars will be held after the Experimental Brewing Seminar and before the Commercial Tasting begins. The first will be at 12:30 pm, and the second at 1:30pm.

There will be 75 seats available for each of the larger seminars: Experimental Brewing, the two Featured Brewmasters’ Seminars, Sam Calagione's Seminar and CraftBeer.com's Beer & Food Smackdown. By popular demand we have established a system whereby for a $10 donation to the Vail Valley Charitable Fund you may save a seat for a seminar. Please note that this $10 donation is in addition to your Commercial Tasting & Seminars event pass, and if you are not present at the time that the seminar begins your seat will be awarded to another attendee on a first come, first seated basis. Reserved seat packages are also available at discounted rates.

The Cicerone Workshop will be offered at no charge, thanks to All About Beer Magazine,  and we are told that this opportunity has not previously been available at any event!  Ray Daniels will begin the workshop at 8:30am, and it will run through to the beginning of the Welcome Reception. The Certified Cicerone Exam will be administered in the afternoon on Friday, and Ray Daniels will handle any registration & fee.

The Twelfth Annual Big Beers Festival is honored to welcome the following Brewmasters as featured presenters for this year’s festivities:


John Mallett
Production Manager, Bell's Brewery, Kalamazoo, Michigan
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John Mallett has chosen to title his presentation "Maltilicious - The Building Blocks of Flavor" after discarding "Kraft American Singles and Natural Light" due to the high average knowledge level of our attendees.

John Mallett has been the Production Manager for Bell's Brewer in Kalamazoo MI since 2001 where he manages all brewing operations.

John has served in numerous capacities over his 20+ year brewing career; he was head brewer of Boston's Commonwealth Brewery, Brewmaster at the Old Dominion Brewing Co in Ashburn VA and founder and President of SAAZ, an equipment and service provider for breweries both large and small.

John serves on many technical committees including Master Brewers Association of the Americas, the Brewer's Association and the American Malting Barley Association, Inc. He has lectured and written extensively and is a widely known consulting resource. John has served as member of the Extended Faculty of Siebel Institute of Technology since 1995. In 2002, he was the recipient of the Institute for Brewing Studies Russell Schehrer Award for brewing innovation.

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Todd Usry will be joined by a panel to present "Colorado Double IPAs". Doug Odell of Odell Brewing Co. and Dave Thibodeau of Ska Brewing Co. will comprise the balance of the panel moderated by Steve Kurowski of the Colorado Brewers Guild.

Todd Usry has devoted his 20-year brewing career to Breckenridge Brewery.  In 1991, he invested in the expansion of the brewery from Breckenridge, CO, to Denver.  It was during those first years with Breckenridge Brewery that he completed his brewing studies at the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago and his apprenticeship under a Canadian brewmaster.  Today, Todd has a dual role at the brewery as Brewmaster/Director of Brewing Operations and also as the head of Sales and Marketing.  During Todd's career, the brewery has grown in production from 3,000 barrels a year to 32,000 barrels.  What was once (and still is) a quaint brewpub in the mountains of Colorado is now the 45th largest craft brewery in the U.S.  Breckenridge Brewery distributes into 32 states and employs several hundred people in its breweries and restaurants in Colorado.

Todd and his wife, Terry, moved from Virginia to Colorado in the late 1980s to live in Steamboat Springs as ski bums after completing college.  It was in Steamboat that Todd's dream of opening a Colorado craft brewery was conceived.  That dream led him to the newly opened Breckenridge Brewery in 1990.  At the time, Breckenridge Brewery was the 3rd craft brewery to open in the state of Colorado.  Todd's simple research mission to Breckenridge grew into a lifetime career, and hopefully, the key to getting his two children through college...and a comfortable retirement for Todd and Terry on a beach in North Carolina!

In running Breckenridge Brewery, Todd blends his Virginia roots with his Colorado lifestyle.  This is most evident in the family atmosphere that he fosters at the brewery among his staff.  Subtleties of his roots also come through in the beer he creates.  In developing Autumn Ale, for example, Todd's goal was to create a flavor and aroma that reminds him of raking leaves in Virginia in the fall.  Yet, 471 IPA reflects his adult pallet with its craving for big, full-flavored hoppiness.  Most important to Todd as brewmaster is creating beers that are clean, consistent, well-balanced, and highly drinkable.  Creativity is important to Todd and his staff, too, so look for more barrel-aged creations and interesting small-batch concoctions in Todd's future at Breckenridge Brewery.

Julia Herz
Director of the Craft Beer Program for Boulder, CO based Brewers Assoc. (BA)
CraftBeer.com Food and Beer Pairing Taste-Off
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Julia is a recognized beer judge in the BJCP program, a Certified Cicerone™, an award winning homebrewer plus publisher of CraftBeer.com. She has been featured by the Food Network, interviewed on Public Radio, CNBC Squawk Box, Fox News, and numerous other mainstream media.

CraftBeer.com Beer and Food Pairing Smackdown

For Big Beers weekend, Julia brings back the popular competition now in its fifth year at the Big Beers Festival. During this challenge, brewers compete head to head for your vote as they showcase their skills on beer and food pairing while you, the audience, choose the winner of this hotly contested taste off competition. Previous winners of the International Food & Beer Pairing Challenge trophy include Peter Bouckaert of New Belgium Brewing Co., Will Meyers of Cambridge Brewing Co., and twice crowned champ, Steven Pauwels of Boulevard Brewing Co.

2012's contenders:
Defending two-time champion Steven Pauwels of Boulevard Brewing Co., Rick Chapman of Coronado Brewing Co., Kevin Bolen of Grand Teton Brewing Co., and John Mallett of Bell's Brewing Co.

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Sam Calagione
Founder/President, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Delaware
Topic: The Marriage of Good Beer and Good Music
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Sam traveled with Discovery Channel last year, and we look forward to hearing all about The Marriage of Good Beer and Good Music this year!

The inspiration for Dogfish Head recipes come from a myriad of different sources, music being one such arena. With supporting samples of musically inspired brews such as "Bitches Brew", created in honor of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew album, this seminar promises to be a real musical adventure. So join Sam Calagione for an upbeat experience. As he says, "We're going to rock out and drink beer together!"

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Daniel Bradford
Publisher, All About Beer Magazine
Sensory Workshop: The Elements of Beer Flavor
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Join Daniel Bradford as he moderates an intriguing interactive workshop designed to guide you through the raw components of three specific beers and their resulting flavors in the finished products. Brewmasters from each brewery will be on hand to speak about their individual beers. This promises to be a fascinating journey for the senses!

Note: Limited to 25 people. Your seat can be guaranteed by donating $10 for a reserved seat on the Purchase Tickets page.

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Experimental Brewing Seminar: The Evolution of a Barrel
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Our earliest seminar on Saturday morning is the Experimental Brewing Seminar, running from 10am – noon. The result of a brainstorming session geared toward including innovative brewers who are mapping out the future of craft brewing, but may not be geared toward packaging or nationwide marketing, the Big Beers Festival is pleased to once again host  “Brewing Outside the Box: Brewers Gone Wild!”.

The title of this year's seminar is "The Evolution of a Barrel", and presenters will be Yuri DeLeon of Cooperages 1912, Andy Causey and Mitch Abate of Downslope Distilling, Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker Brewing Co., and Joe Mohrfeld of Odell Brewing Co.

Yuri DeLeon Info pending.

Mitch Abate is a geologist by training but has been doing independent research in distilling for the past 15 years.  He got his start by interviewing master distillers throughout Kentucky and Tennessee and transcribing those interviews from the recorded conversations.  For the past three years he has been the head distiller at Downslope Distilling and has developed unique ingredients and processes to create a signature for all Downslope Products-  subtlety and complexity.  In addition to his production and research credits, Mr. Abate designed a distillers workshop that occurs once a month and is attended by distillers and aspiring distillers from all over North America.

Andy Causey got his start through brewing-   for fifteen years he owned and operated Beer at Home in the Denver metro area.  The philosophy of Beer at Home was that it was an education institution funded through the sale of products.  Mr. Causey also taught advanced brewing at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colorado,  wrote a regular column for  Rocky Mountain Brewing News as well as articles for various other publications and judged several national beer competitions. For the past three years Mr. Causey has been developing products and bringing them to market for Downslope Distilling and teaching the business of distillation in conjunction with the Downslope Distilling workshop. 

Joe Mohrfeld has been with Odell Brewing Co. for the past 3 years. During this time he has been involved in many aspects of the brewery, ranging from kegging to marketing. Joe earned his certificate in Brewing and Malting Science through the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in 2009 and is currently Odell's Head Brewer where he manages the brewing and cellaring team and operations while leading the collaborative efforts that influence the development and production of specialty beers like the woodcut series, which he will discuss and you will have the opportunity to taste today.

Matt Brynildson graduated from Kalamazoo College and began his brewing career with KALSEC (Kalamazoo Spice Extraction Company) as a hop chemist. After attending the Siebel Institute of Brewing Technology, he joined the Goose Island Beer Company where he was Head Brewer of their Chicago production facility from 1996-2000. In 2001 Matt joined the Firestone Walker Brewing Company as Brewmaster. He oversees all facets of the brewery operations including Firestone’s unique Oak Barrel Fermentation program. Matt is on the teaching faculty of the Siebel Institute of Brewing Technology and the American Brewers Guild. He also works as a brewing consultant for Hop Growers of America and has spoken to brewers at all levels, both in the USA and abroad, on the subject of hops. Matt was the 2007 recipient of the Brewers Association Russell Scherer Award for Innovation in Brewing. He has been named Champion Brewmaster 3 times at the World Beer Cup and Brewer of the Year 4 times at the Great American Beer Festival.

Cicerone Certification Program
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This year, we will again be hosting the Cicerone Program and its creator, Ray Daniels. In conjunction with our Signature Sponsor, All about Beer Magazine,  Ray will be presenting the Cicerone Workshop from 8:30am – noon on Friday morning. With the generous sponsorship of All About Beer Magazine, Daniels will be presenting this amazing workshop free of charge, an unprecedented opportunity for the beer lover or connoisseur.  Open to the public, topics covered in the workshop will range from storage and draft equipment to beer styles and food & beer pairing…covering almost everything you can imagine in the world of beer. It is not necessary to sign up for this workshop. Come on in and join us!

Certified Cicerone Exam
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Once again , guests & participants at the Big Beers Festival will have the opportunity to become a Certified Cicerone. Relatively new to the beer scene, the Cicerone Program offers a measurable certification with regard to knowledge of all things beer. Similar to a Sommelier designation in the world of wine, there are three levels of Cicerone Certification. The Certified Beer Server designation is accessible on line at www.cicerone.org for a modest fee. The Certified Cicerone Exam is significantly more advanced, and is only offered a few times per year at locations around the country. To register for the Certified Cicerone Exam in Vail at the Big Beers Festival, please contact Ray Daniels, Director, at Ray@Cicerone.org or by going to Contact Us on the www.Cicerone.org website. Ray will handle all registration and fees associated with the exam directly with you, and the exam will begin at 2:30pm at the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa Conference Center.


Beer & Cigar Pairing
Speaker: Paul Gatza
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Even though the reserved seats are sold out, cigars will be available for purchase at the event and beer will be available to pair with until it runs out.

Join Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association, as he and our other special guests lead us through the world of beer and cigar pairing. Enjoy two different types of cigars and experiment with pairing with several different 'cigar friendly' beers. The first ever after-dinner seminar in Big Beers Festival history, this promises to be an exceptional adventure. Additional cigars will be on hand to purchase. Remember - once again - to bring your coat, since the actual smoking will take place on the Vail Cascade's picturesque pool deck.

Smoker Friendly and Altadis USA are sponsoring several different kinds of cigar pairings in combination with beers donated by the following breweries: Great Divide, Unita, Left Hand, Allagash, John Courage, and Malheur. Examples of the cigars that will be available to try include Romeo y Julieta 1875, H Upmann 1844 Reserve, and Vega Fina.



Craft & Specialty Beer Everyday: Pairing Palate Trips
Speakers: Steven Pauwels & Julia Herz
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Join Steven Pauwels, Brewmaster of Boulevard Brewing Company and Julia Herz, Publisher of CraftBeer.com and the Brewers Association Craft Beer Program Director as they tour you through the everyday world of food interactions and craft beer. Beers from a variety of today's small and independent U.S. producers will be shared. Principals of cooking with craft beer, pairing with it and evaluating it will be covered as they take your palate on a ride! As well, we will talk beyond beer 101 and geek out to some of the 'wild side' of craft beer. This seminar is brought to you by CraftBeer.com and Boulevard Brewing Company.

Note: Limited to 25 people. Your seat can be guaranteed by donating $10 for a reserved seat on the Purchase Tickets page.

Get tickets to Saturday’s Commercial Tasting and Seminars for the entire Festival Weekend.


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Our historical “Seminar Treasury” includes the following speakers and topics:

2011
“SlowBrew Tour of Belgium”
Chris Bauweraerts, Co-Founder of Brasserie d’Achouffe, Ardennes, Belgium

“Belgian Yeast”
Steven Pauwels, Brewmaster for Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO

“Regional Brewing Traditions Around the World”
Sam Calagione, President/Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE

“Hops, Hops & More Hops”
Daniel Bradford, Publisher, All About Beer Magazine, Durham, North Carolina

“Experimental Brewing: Brewers Gone Wild!” Speaking on the 2010 theme: “The World of Sours” & Moderated by David Edgar:

• Sean Knoll, Vice President of Artisanal Imports, Denver, CO
• Adam Avery, Brewmaster/Founder of Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
• Tomme Arthur, Brewmaster/Director of Operations for Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Co., San Marcos, CA

“CraftBeer.com’s Beer & Food Pairing Smackdown”
Moderated by Julia Herz, Brewers Association

2010
“Brewing with Monks”
Lodewijk Swinkels, Brewmaster for LaTrappe at Bierbrouwerij Koningshoeven, Berkel-Enschot, The Netherlands

“La Folie: Wood Aged Sour Beers”
Peter Bouckaert, Brewmaster for New Belgium Brewing Co., Ft. Collins, CO

“Experimental Brewing: Brewers Gone Wild!” sponsored by White Labs Yeast Co. Speaking on the 2010 theme: “Generations of Brewing” & Moderated by David Edgar:

• John Mallett,  Production Manager, Bells Brewing Co., Kalamazoo, MI
• Sam Calagione, President/Founder, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
• Steven Pauwels, Brewmaster for Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO
• Kevin DeLange, Owner/Operator of Dry Dock Brewing Co., Aurora, CO

“Food & Beer Pairing Challenge: A Global Big Beers Competition”
Moderated by Julia Herz, Brewers Association

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2009
“Funkification: Funky Beers from Wine Country”
Vinnie Cilurzo, Brewmaster/Owner, Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CO

“Experimental Brewing: Brewers Gone Wild!” sponsored by White Labs Yeast Co. Speaking on the 2009 theme: “Micro to Macro” & Moderated by JoAnne Carilli-Stevenson:

• C. Andy Brown, Brewmaster, Wynkoop Brewing Co., Denver, CO
• Casey Hughes, Brewmaster, Flying Fish Brewing Co., Cherry Hill, NJ
• Nick Ison, Brewer & Cellarman, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
• Kristin Zantop, Brewmaster, Anheuser-Busch/ Michelob, St. Louis, MO

“Food & Beer Pairing Challenge: A Global Big Beers Competition”
Moderated by Julia Herz, Brewers Association

2008
“The Veritas Series”
Tomme Arthur, Director of Operations for Port Brewing & The Lost Abbey, San Diego, CA
“Malt & Hops: Aromas & Flavors”
Doug Odell, Brewmaster/Owner, Odell Brewing, Ft. Collins, CO

“Experimental Brewing: Brewers Gone Wild!” sponsored by White Labs Yeast Co
Moderated by JoAnne Carilli-Stevenson
“Ancient Ales”
Sam Calagione, Founder, President, Dogfish head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
“Brett and Microbiology”
Peter Bouckaert, Brewmaster, New Belgium Brewing Co., Ft. Collins, CO “Creating New Styles”
Will Meyers, Brewmaster, Cambridge Brewing Co, Cambridge, MA
“Cellaring – Why, When & How”
Adam Avery, Founder/Brewmaster, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO

“Cheese & Chocolate Challenge: A Global Big Beers Competition”
Moderated by Julia Herz, Brewers Association
                Victor:                  Peter Bouckaert, New Belgium Brewing Co., Ft. Collins, CO
                Challengers:      Will Meyers, Cambridge Brewing Co., Cambridge, MA
                                                Adam Avery, Avery Brewing Co, Boulder, CO
                                                Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
                                                Jay Baum, Manneken-Brussels Imports
                                                Sean Knoll, Artisanal Imports

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2007
"Belgian Beer: The New Generation”
Hildegard Van Ostaden, Owner/Brewmaster, and Bas Van Ostaden, Owner/Astist/& Storyteller,  Brouwerij de Leyerth, West Flanders, Belgium
“Beer & Cheese”
Brian Dunn, Founder/Brewmaster, Great Divide Brewing, Denver, CO

2006
“Barrel-Aging Beer”
Rob Tod, Founder/Brewmaster, Allagash Brewing Co., Portland, ME
“Aging Barleywines”
Eric Wallace, Co-Founder/Brewmaster, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, CO

2005
“Hops and Randalling” and “High Alcohol Brewing”
Sam Calagione, Founder/Pres., Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
Adam Avery, Founder/Brewmaster, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO

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2004
"Cooking with Beer"
Rick Kangas, Executive Chef, Grouse Mountain Grill, Beaver Creek, CO
“Transatlantic Kriek: The Story"
Shawn Hines, New Belgium Brewing, Ft. Collins, CO
“The Effects of Aging on Belgian Beers/ Vertical Tasting”
Adam Avery, Founder/ Brewmaster, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO

2003
“Aging & Vintages of Specialty Beers”
Adam Avery, Founder/Brewmaster, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
“Beer & Cheese Pairings”
Brian Dunn, Founder/Brewmaster, Great Divide Brewing, Denver, CO
Eric Wallace, Co-Founder/Brewmaster, Left Hand Brewing Co.,
Longmont, CO
Sean Knoll, Owner, Paragon Importers (Chimay), Denver, CO
Adam Avery, Founder/Brewmaster, Avery Brewing Co, Boulder, CO

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Vail's China Bowl

2002
“Aging and Vintages of Specialty Beers”
Adam Avery, Founder/Brewmaster, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
“All About Belgians”
Sean Knoll, Owner, Paragon Imports, Denver, CO

2001
“Aging and Vintages of Specialty Beers”
Adam Avery, Founder/Brewmaster, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
“All About Belgians”
New Belgium Brewing Staff, Ft. Collins, CO

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