Session/Speaker Guide

Advancing Hop Technology and Utilization (Eric Kapraun): Modern Techniques for Efficiency and Innovation: This session explores the evolution of hop formats and their impact on brewing efficiency and flavor design. We’ll dive deep into our portfolio – from traditional pellets to cutting-edge liquid hop solutions – highlighting how liquid products deliver measurable cost savings, improved brewhouse performance, and consistent quality. The discussion will cover applied techniques for optimizing hop formats in various brewing scenarios, followed by an interactive hop rub and mock selection exercise.

Eric is the Regional Sales Manager for Yakima Chief Hops, with over a decade of brewing experience.

Stop Posting & Praying: Build A Real (Practical) Marketing Plan (Julie Rhodes): Posting to Instagram and hoping for sales isn’t a strategy. This session demonstrates how to create a structured, multi-channel marketing plan that integrates your social media, email, events, PR, and sales efforts into a cohesive system. We’ll cover how to choose the right tactics for your brand stage, create content that supports actual business goals, and build a lightweight process to track performance, without overwhelm.

Attendees will learn how to build a connected marketing system, align content with goals across channels, and track results to improve over time.

Julie Rhodes is a 20-year veteran of the food and beverage industry, owning Not Your Hobby Marketing Solutions, a fractional consulting and educational services company, and a Co-Founder of Kick Fizz, a low-dose hemp-infused beverage brand. She specializes in beverage sales, digital marketing, distributor management, and business strategy, helping craft beverage brands work smarter, not harder. A sought-after speaker, business journalist, and instructor for multiple university programs, Julie was named the 2023 Brewers Association Mentor of the Year. She is also an active member of numerous trade associations and state-level guilds.

Recyclability of Beer Packaging (Jeff Watkins): Breweries face growing pressure to adopt sustainable packaging, but conflicting claims and recycling complexities make it hard to know what truly works. This session will clarify the recyclability of plastic rings, paperboard carriers, aluminum cans, and more by showing how they’re processed at local facilities. We’ll cut through misconceptions, highlight key legislation, and offer clear guidance on packaging choices that support sustainability goals and customer expectations. Attendees will leave with practical insights to strengthen their packaging strategy and meet the demand for eco-friendly practices.

Learn how to:

• Recognize recyclable vs. non-recyclable brewery packaging
• Understand how recycling facilities process materials and where manufacturer claims fall short
• Identify relevant state & national legislation for recycling standards
• Leave with actionable insights for how to explore / adopt more recyclable solutions for common brewery packaging.

Jeff Watkins is the founder of Proper Pack, a company dedicated to replacing single-use plastic can carriers with curbside-recyclable paper alternatives. He works with breweries nationwide to implement packaging solutions that balance sustainability, durability, and brand impact. With a background in engineering and entrepreneurship, Jeff has experience in packaging design, supply chain management, and sustainability initiatives. Drawing from both technical expertise and hands-on fieldwork, Jeff helps breweries navigate recycling claims, legislative standards, and customer expectations to make informed, cost-effective packaging decisions.

From Brewer to Boss: Equipping First-Time Leaders in the Brewery (Ryan Mayfield): Many breweries promote high-performing staff into leadership roles without giving them the tools to lead people well. This session helps bridge that gap by equipping new (and future) managers with the communication, delegation, and accountability skills they need to succeed. Attendees will walk away with a practical framework to lead their team without losing their mind—or their team’s respect.

Learn how to:
• How to shift from “doing the work” to “leading the team”
• How to set clear expectations and follow up effectively
• Tools for peer-to-leader transitions in a brewery environment

Ryan Mayfield is a leadership coach who helps brewery professionals build healthy leaders, strong teams, and thriving cultures. Through Craft Leadership, he equips clients with practical tools to lead with confidence, improve communication, and reduce daily frustrations. Craft has supported top breweries like Other Half, Rhinegeist, and Creature Comforts in navigating leadership and team challenges. Based in Tulsa, Ryan lives with his wife, teenage son, and opinionated beagle, Rooster.

Barley Varieties and Why They Matter (Betsy Roberts): As a maltster, there are several critical factors we need to consider to ensure we are able to achieve consistency and quality in our process: high-quality barley, process control in the malthouse, and appropriate malthouse recipes from steep to specialty malt.  At the core of 2 of these important criteria is appropriate raw material selection. 

Barley variety holds as much importance in producing quality and consistency as the recipes themselves and the work of the maltster.  Characteristics of barley including plumpness, protein levels, pre-harvest sprout risk, mycotoxin development, enzyme levels, and beta-glucan levels are rooted in the genetic heritage of the barley variety.  Selection of a variety that can help uphold all those characteristics within your growing region is very important. Briess is fortunate enough to have a dedicated group of about 300 growers that are part of our commitment to high-quality barley and malt production.  From their growing practices to harvesting practices, each step helps maintain raw material quality.  

Experience in both the malting and food industries. Prior to coming to Briess, Betsy worked as a Quality Control Supervisor for the J.M. Smucker Company. Betsy started her professional experience in the malting industry, gaining experience in both malting production and quality analysis while working for Anheuser-Busch and the USDA Cereal Crops Research Unit Barley and Malt Division. Betsy started with Briess in the Technical Services Group, driving various projects to improve malt quality, including method validations and new method development. She has served as a company regulatory resource, allergen technical resource, and product analysis resource, as well as provided quality training and developed procedures in various areas of the Briess quality system. In her current role, Betsy is responsible for assuring product quality of each of our malthouses, as well as the barley operation. She also manages the two malt analytical labs in Chilton and Manitowoc. Betsy is a member of the ASBC, MBAA, and AACC.

From Pints to Profits: How Merging Entertainment and F&B Creates Exceptional Guest Experiences and Higher Margins (Adam Howe and Brad Hansen): The Phoenix Taproom isn’t just a place to grab a drink. It’s a place where people come to relax, have fun, and make memories. Owner Brad Hansen will share how he combines great beer, food, and entertainment to keep guests coming back and spending more.
With his background in sales, marketing, and finance, Brad knows how to turn a good night out into a profitable business model. He’ll explain the changes he’s made to speed up service, improve the guest experience, and create events and activities that draw big crowds.
Bradley Feiner from GoTab will add examples from other breweries and taprooms, showing how technology and smart planning can help owners run smoother operations, keep guests happy, and make more money.

Attendees Will Learn: 

• How to design entertainment + F&B experiences that attract repeat visits and higher spend
• Operational strategies to improve guest flow, reduce wait times, and maximize staff productivity
• How technology like mobile ordering, open tabs, and integrated payments—can unlock new revenue streams
• Case study insights from The Phoenix Taproom’s approach to merging great beer, engaging entertainment, and efficient service

Nitrogen, the way of the future! (Joshua Blair): This session will present three cost saving benefits brewing with Nitrogen can bring to your brewery: How onsite generated Nitrogen can be used to augment CO2 costs in numerous brewing processes, how this in turn reduces your carbon footprint and creates more self sufficiency. 

Joshua is a seasoned sales engineer with a focus on the food and beverage industry. Joshua enjoys problem solving and creating a right sized solution to whatever the pain point is over a pint! Liberty Systems has been providing solutions for numerous industries for more than 20 years, including breweries! Liberty Systems has launched their second generation of Nitrogen Generators for Breweries in the last year!