2013 Seminars
Featured Presenters: Matt Brynildson | Kevin DeLange | Julia Herz | Ska Brewing | Daniel Bradford | Experimental Brewing Seminar | Cicerone Certification Program | Steven Pauwels

Seminar Archives | Food & Beer Pairing Taste-Off Winner Archives

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 in My Cheese" seminar will immediately follow the Homebrew Competition Awards. We have added a couple of extra seminars over the past couple years, 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 1:45pm.

There will be 75 seats available for each of the larger seminars: Experimental Brewing, the two Featured Brewmasters’ Seminars, and CraftBeer.com's Beer & Food Pairing Taste-Off. 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!  The Cicerone Team 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 Thirteenth Annual Big Beers Festival is honored to welcome the following Brewmasters as featured presenters for this year’s festivities:


Kevin DeLange
Owner/Founder Dry Dock Brewing Co., Aurora, Colorado
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Kevin DeLange is the owner and operator of Dry Dock Brewing Co. and The Brew Hut, sister businesses in Aurora, Colorado. 

After earning a Masters degree in History from Iowa State University, Kevin spent a number of years in corporate America before diving into entrepreneurship in 2002 with his purchase of The Brew Hut, an existing business selling homebrewing equipment and ingredients, after brewing only six extract batches. 

Under his leadership, The Brew Hut has enjoyed 40 quarters of year-over-year growth.  After only three years as a retailer, Kevin decided to make the leap into craft brewing, opening Dry Dock Brewing in 2005 when the 800 sq. ft. space next to The Brew Hut became vacant. 

Built almost solely on word-of-mouth advertising and quality beers, Dry Dock has garnered some of the most prestigious awards in the industry, including 2009’s Small Brewing Company of the Year award at the Great American Beer Festival.  Despite two expansions in June 2009 and January 2011, keeping up with production has been the biggest challenge.  To keep up with demand, Dry Dock is currently working to expand to a 40bbl brew house in a 30,000 sqft facility by the end of the year.

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Matt Brynildson
Brewmaster, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
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Like most college students, Matt Brynildson’s initial exposure to beer was, as he puts it, “limited to American industrial lagers.” But a fortuitous foreign exchange tour in Europe—during which he sampled some of the world’s finest brews—inspired a passion for fine beer that ultimately put him on the fast track to brewing success. Today, Matt is regarded as one of the most talented brewers in the nation.

After graduating from Kalamazoo College with a degree in chemistry in 1993, Matt—by then a dedicated home brewer—joined Michigan’s KALSEC Inc. as a hop chemist, performing research and development on hops for the brewing industry. There, he worked under the tutelage of Rudy Held, former head brewmaster at Stroh’s, and refined his brewing education in the company’s vast brewing library.

In 1995, Matt continued to advance his brewing skills by attending a course at the famed Siebel Institute of Brewing Technology in Chicago. Shortly thereafter, Chicago’s new Goose Island Brewing Company tapped him, where he quickly rose through the ranks to become head brewer. Under Matt’s guidance, Goose Island’s brews enjoyed phenomenal success, ultimately serving eight Midwestern states with an output of 50,000 barrels.

Matt joined SLO Brewing Company on California’s Central Coast in January 2000, revitalizing the company’s brewing program while earning broad industry acclaim along the way. When Adam Firestone and David Walker purchased the former SLO Brewing facility in Paso, they tapped Matt to head their brewing operations.

Since then, Matt has helped launch Firestone Walker Brewing Company on what All About Beer Magazine called a “white-hot run of medals” at major beer competitions. He was named the 2012 World Beer Cup Champion Brewmaster for the category of mid-size brewing company, which followed his earning of the same honor at the 2004, 2006, 2010 World Beer Cups. He was also named 2007 Great American Beer Festival Brewmaster of The Year for the category of mid-size brewing company, an honor that he also earned in 2003. To ice this list of honors, he also won the 2007 Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing.           

As Featured Brewmaster for the 2013 Big Beers Festival, Matt will be discussing "Oak Three Ways: Fermented, Aged & Wild" as his seminar topic on Saturday afternoon.

Julia Herz
Craft Beer Program Director for the Brewers Association, Boulder, CO
CraftBeer.com Food and Beer Pairing Taste-Off
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2013: Congratulations to Shawn DeWitt of Coronado brewing company who has won this challenge two years in a row!  The wining pairing? Cypress Grove Purple Haze on Trader Joe’s Raisin Rosemary Crisps with Coronado’s Hoppy Daze Belgian IPA. It was a glorious pairing.

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 Taste-Off

For Big Beers weekend, Julia brings back the popular competition now in its sixth 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., twice crowned champ, Steven Pauwels of Boulevard Brewing Co., and Rick Chapman of Coronado Brewing Co.

2013's contenders:
Defending 2012 champion, Shawn Dewitt of Coronado Brewing Co., Scott Witsoe of Wit's End Brewing Co., Nathan Venner of the Altitude Chophouse & Brewery, and Geoff Larson of Alaskan Brewing Co.

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Daniel Bradford
Publisher, All About Beer Magazine
Sensory Workshop: Creating Flavor: The Art of Blending Hops
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Join Daniel Bradford as he moderates an intriguing interactive workshop designed to guide you through the world of craft beer.

Daniel's 2013 topic will be "Creating Flavor - The Art of Blending Hops", and there will be three commercial brewers on hand to discuss, offer the actual hops that they use for their beer, and taste the results with the audience.

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: Smoke
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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!”.

Ro Guenzel, Head Brewer, Left Hand Brewing Co.

Originally from Nebraska, Ro grew up in Lincoln making sausage and fermenting kraut and pickles with his Grandpa. However, his passion for the art of brewing wasn’t kindled until he received his first homebrew kit at the tender age of 21. That’s when Ro’s view of the world was altered completely.

After completing his training at the American Brewers Guild in 2001, he apprenticed with another CO brewer, Odell  in Fort Collins. He then landed a dream job brewing for Vail’s Kaltenberg Castle Brewery, where he spent time learning German brewing techniques at Schlossbraueri Kaltenberg in Bavaria. In the spring of 2004, Ro joined the Left Hand Brewing as a brewer, eventually moving up the brewing ladder as Head Brewer in 2008.

His first attempts at smoked beer stemmed from a desire to clone Alaskan Smoked Porter. He has smoked malt with various woods, including a 100+ year old Hackberry tree planted by his wife’s great-great-grandfather! He has also used smoked teas and chiles to introduce smoke character to Left Hand’s beers.

Geoff Larson, Co-Founder and CEO of Alaskan Brewing Co.

Geoff Larson and his wife Marcy are celebrating the 26th anniversary of their Juneau, Alaska-based brewery. Brewing craft beer in a remote town with no roads leads Geoff and his crew to find better, more sustainable ways of brewing their award-winning Alaskan beer and inspires them to brew with the flavors and history of coastal Alaska.

The brewery’s flagship recipe for Alaskan Amber is based on a recipe pieced together from shipping and newspaper records from a Gold Rush-era brewery in Juneau. First brewed in 1988 with malt self-smoked over alder wood, Alaskan Smoked Porter became one of the first commercially available American smoked beers and one of the most internationally award-winning craft beers in the nation. With decades of smoking malt under his belt, Geoff has co-written a book with Ray Daniels on the topic and become an expert on the use and finesse of smoke in brewing.

Cicerone Certification Program
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This year, we will again be hosting the Cicerone Program and its creator, Ray Daniels and/or his team. In conjunction with our Signature Sponsor, All about Beer Magazine,  the team 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.

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Brewing Belgian Styles
Steven Pauwels, Brewmaster of Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO
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Join Steven Pauwels, Brewmaster of Boulevard Brewing Company as he winds his way through the mysteries of brewing Belgian styles of beer.

During his tenure at Boulevard Brewing Company, Steven Pauwels has overseen all aspects of brewing and quality control as the regional craft brewer’s sales have more than tripled, to over 140,000 barrels in 2009. Pauwels is also responsible for 13 additions to Boulevard’s brand lineup, including the critically acclaimed Smokestack Series line of artisanal beers.

Pauwels grew up steeped in the brewing industry. His first stint in the business came with summer work at his hometown brewery, Eeklo’s Brouwerij Krüger, where his father held a job. After receiving degrees in Biochemical Engineering from KaHo Sint-Lieven and in Business Administration from Mercator, both in Ghent, Belgium, he held positions at the Domus brewpub in Louvain and at RIVA brewery in Dentergem.

The transplanted brewmaster has received international recognition for his beers, most recently in the form of a gold medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival for Boulevard’s summer seasonal, ZŌN Belgian-style Witbier. ZŌN was also the first beer Pauwels developed for Boulevard’s portfolio upon his arrival to the brewery in 1999.

Steven currently lives in Kansas City with his wife Vivanne and two children.

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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The Beer in My Cheese
Ska Brewing Co., Durango, CO
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Ska Brewing Co. has an unusual partnership in the dairy industry: a cheese maker. Learn how this partnership originated, how the beer world and the cheese world work together, and enjoy the fruits of their collaboration.

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:

2012
“Colorado Double IPAs”
Todd Usry, Brewmaster/Director of Brewing Operations, Breckenridge Brewery, Denver, CO with special guests Doug Odell of Odell Brewing Co. & Dave Thibodeau of Ska Brewing Co., and moderated by Steve Kurowski of the Colorado Brewers Guild.

“Maltilicious – the Building Blocks of Flavor”
John Mallett, Production Manager for Bell’s Brewing Co., Kalamazoo, MI

“The Marriage of Good Beer & Good Music”
Sam Calagione, President/Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE

“The Elements of Flavor”
Daniel Bradford, Publisher, All About Beer Magazine, Durham, North Carolina

“Craft Beer & Cigar Pairing”
Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association, Boulder, CO
Jeremy Weiner, Smoker Friendly International, Denver, CO
Travis Pappenheim, Altadis USA, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

“Experimental Brewing: Brewers Gone Wild!” Speaking on the 2012 theme: “The Evolution of a Barrel” moderated by David Edgar:

• Yuri DeLeon, Cooperages 1912, Napa, CA
• Andy Causey & Mitch Abate of Downslope Distilling, Centennial, CO
• Matt Brynildson, Brewmaster for Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
• Joe Mohrfeld, Head Brewer for Odell Brewing Co., Ft. Collins, CO

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

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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 Taste-Off”
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

2013 CraftBeer.com's Beer & Food Pairing Taste-Off Winner
Shawn DeWitt (Owner, Coronado Brewing Company) has won this challenge two years in a row!  Cypress Grove Purple Haze on Trader Joe’s Raisin Rosemary Crisps with Coronado’s Hoppy Daze Belgian IPA. It was a glorious pairing.

2012 CraftBeer.com's Beer & Food Pairing Taste-Off Winners
Rick Chapman (Owner, Coronado Brewing) and Daniel Jensen (Brewmaster, Coronado Brewing)
Idiot IPA & Red Dragon Welsh Cheese

2011 CraftBeer.com's Beer & Food Pairing Taste-Off Winners
Steven Pauwels (Boulevard Brewing Company)
Boulevard Tank 7 Saison paired with Grafton Aged Cheddar Reserve

2010 CraftBeer.com's Beer & Food Pairing Taste-Off Winners
Steven Pauwels (Boulevard Brewing Company)
Bourbon Barrel Aged Quadrupel paired with Crème Brulée Ice Cream

2009 CraftBeer.com's Beer & Food Pairing Taste-Off Winners
Will Myers (Cambridge Brewing Company)
Barleywine paired with Point Reyes Original Blue

2008 CraftBeer.com's Beer & Food Pairing Taste-Off Winners
Peter Bouckaert (New Belgium Brewing Company)
Le Fleur paired with Grafton Two Year-Aged Cheddar

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