I decided to consolidate these as Day three really was a Trade show day for me.  The seminars available did not really do it for me so I concentrated on new and previous contacts within the industry.

Day 4 includes a number of really good seminars starting with Water and its use in the Brewery. The myriad of variables when it comes to water in the brewing process is quite amazing sometimes.  I have always subscribed to the thought that I want to make beer in a region that is unique to that region so I do not do much more than filter the chlorine and/or cloramines out of it.  I am now interested in whether I can adjust my water to create a much better beer.  Additionally it is interesting to think about the possibilities of creating multiple water profiles so that each beer can be adjusted.

The next seminar was QA/QC for the small brewer.  As some of you know I have fought this battle before and I am determined to not have it rear its ugly head again.  The lecture was informative and highlighted the amazing fact that you can never be sure that everything is clean.  You can only work towards reducing statistical probability that it is bad.  The number of samples that would be required to reduce that number to zero means you are not selling any beer.  It was interesting to see all this charted out and the introduction of a chart that can help you define what your risks are and how to mitigate that risk effectively.

Next up: Increasing Hop Flavor and Aroma through Process Variables.  What a great presentation.  Eye opening to say the least and I can not thank the Rock Bottom organization for allowing its brewers to conduct this experiment. Needless to say I am now looking at how to change some of my new recipes to bring these characteristics forward in the new beers.

The last one was Server Education and Chris Lady from Moon River instilled a number of great ideas that I am hoping to implement in The River Company.  Using the new Cicerone program to educate our servers should be in my opinion the absolute highest priority.  Having a mandatory testing program for them where it concerns beer is also something that we all need to address.

The last day capped with a reception that was nice but a little disappointing. The last CBC I attended included a banquet dinner and while we had some nice small food items I really liked the banquet better.

Mike