Keynote Speakers

Joe Whitney, Chief Commercial Officer

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Joe Whitney is the Chief Commercial Officer at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. He joined Sierra Nevada in 2006 when the company’s growth was starting to flatten for the first time in 25 years. After revamping the company’s go-to-market strategy and building out the sales and marketing teams, he led the development of brands like Hazy Little Thing IPA, Torpedo IPA and Beer Camp Across America that enabled the company to double its volume to over a million barrels.

Prior to joining Sierra Nevada, Mr. Whitney was the National Sales Manager for New Belgium Brewing where he revitalized a portfolio that had begun to decline in its home markets, back to double digit growth. He began his beer at the Boston Beer Company in 1988 overseeing sales in the Southwest and eventually becoming Director of New Products where he created Twisted Tea. He resides in Littleton, Colorado but spends the bulk of his free time in Big Timber, Montana.

Bob Quinn, Organic farmer, Scientist, author and founder of Kamut International

Big Sandy, Montana

Bob Quinn was raised on a 2,400-acre family operated wheat and cattle ranch near Big Sandy, Montana that his grandfather started in 1920. He earned a BS in botany, a MS in plant pathology from MSU in Bozeman, and a PhD in plant biochemistry at UC Davis. He then returned home in 1978.

In 1986 Bob planted his first organic certified crop and had the entire farm certified organic by 1991. To add value to crops he grew, Bob started Montana Flour & Grains, Inc., introduced the Kamut brand to sell ancient wheat, founded the Oil Barn which produces high-oleic organic safflower, and Big Sandy Organics which produces Kracklin’ Kamut ancient wheat snacks. He continues to experiment to improve regenerative organic systems and find better ways to grow dry land vegetables, fruit trees, and berries in North Central Montana.

Bob has been a member of Grain Growers, Farm Bureau, AERO (Alternative Energy Resource Organization), OTA (Organic Trade Association), the National Organic Farmers Association and IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements) for many years. He was also a partner in WindPark Solutions America, which developed Montana’s first wind farm.

Bob wrote “Grain by Grain” (2019) with his co-author, Liz Carlisle, which summarizes the tie between regenerative organic agriculture, good food and good health, and the importance of local production of both food and fuel.

Bob is now 75 and has been married for 52 years. He and his wife, Ann, have four daughters, one son and 20 grandchildren. He has now sold all of his business interests and rented out the majority of his farm, the remaining 4 acres of which he now uses to grow most of the food he eats when he is at home. He is currently working to create an 800-acre regenerative organic research, education, and health institute in the middle of his farm.

Sam DeWitt, State Government Affairs Manager

Brewers Association

Sam DeWitt (University of Montana, ’01) works State Government Affairs for the Brewers Association, a 501(c)(6) national trade association dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers, their beers, and the growing community of beer enthusiasts. He has lobbied craft beer bills from the east coast to Hawaii, on a wide range of topics franchise reform and excise tax to self-distribution and direct-to-consumer shipping of beer. He lives in a fortified compound in East Denver with his wife and three kids.

other presenters

Bob Hall has been a member of the Board of Directors at Ronan Coop Brewery since 2018 where he assists with brewing. He is also a homebrewer of 32 years and a BJCP Grand Master beer judge. He was thrilled to find that customers at Ronan enjoy lager beers so much that they drink them in about half the time that it takes us to lager them. His day job is a limnologist at University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Bio Station.

Brittany Buck, Lead HR Consultant

Employer Flexible

Brittany Buck is a SHRM-CP certified HR Professional with over 12 years in the Professional Employer Organization (PEO) industry. She has a Bachelor’s in Marketing from Texas State University. Brittany has practice delivering consultative HR support to a portfolio of small and large companies to help businesses reach organizational goals and improve their business performance. With her experience in the PEO industry, she has partnered with leadership teams across multiple states and industries to design, develop, and implement HR strategies, policies and projects.

Brittany is a habitual problem-solver who is committed to delivering experiences, services, and products to clients and stakeholders. She is eager to learn, constantly exploring ways to sharpen her HR skills and broaden her knowledge. She is passionate about utilizing her HR knowledge and experience to deliver positive change throughout organizations, adding value, and helping small businesses grow! She loves HR, so you don’t have to!

Brittany Ricks, assistant Brewer

MAP Brewing Co.

Brittany lives in Bozeman with her husband and their two dogs. She started working at MAP in 2019 and has loved getting more involved in the beer industry as the years have gone on! When she’s not doing something beer related, Brittany enjoys racing mountain bikes, backcountry skiing and camping.

Brittany Waiss, HR Manager

KettleHouse Brewing Company

Brittany Waiss, SHRM-SCP, PHR, is a certified Human Resources professional who has embraced being described as a “bonafide HR nerd”. A graduate of the University of Montana College of Business, she has a depth of varied HR experience in healthcare, nonprofits, and for-profit businesses. In 2017, she joined KettleHouse Brewing Co. Doing so helped merge her passion for both beer and effective HR strategy as well as follow in the beer industry footsteps of her grandfather and father as a third-generation “beerman.” At KettleHouse, Brittany has led the charge to develop and optimize HR strategy to help support the company as it grows. In addition, she offers leadership coaching and HR consulting through her practice, Expedition Coaching and Consulting LLC. Brittany is passionate about helping to elevate the HR profession and does so by staying involved at both the national and local levels. She currently serves as the Membership Director for the Montana State SHRM Council. When not practicing HR or talking beer, you can usually find her playing in the mountains.

Chris Palmer, professor of analytical chemistry and brewing science

The University of Montana

Christopher (Chris) Palmer is a PhD analytical chemist and professor of Analytical Chemistry and Brewing Science at the University of Montana. Chris completed his PhD in analytical chemistry in 1991 at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. Following his PhD, he completed postdoctoral fellowships in Virginia, The Netherlands and Japan. While living and working in Europe, he made frequent trips to Belgium, England, and Germany. Not surprisingly, he developed an interest in the many styles and flavors of beer found outside of, but at that time rarely within, the United States. On his return to the US, Chris taught Chemistry at New Mexico Tech in Socorro, where he became involved in home brewing and established a Zymurgy Club. In 2001, Chris moved to Missoula and began teaching at UM. He was pleased to discover the quality and variety of craft brews available in Montana. Once in Missoula, he began to provide analytical services for local breweries. He further developed his expertise in brewing science through webinars and a semester at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Chris has introduced a Brewing Science Certificate program at UM that is in its second year.

Claude Smith, Food & Process Specialist

Montana Manufacturing Extension Center

Claude Smith is the Food & Process Specialist at the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center. He graduated from Jamestown University with a B.A. in Biology and a Chemistry minor. He worked for the US Department of Energy in coal research for two years before being hired by The Pillsbury Company and taking a position in Quality Assurance. While at Pillsbury he was trained in HACCP by several of the individuals who originally created it for NASA. Over the years he has worked in numerous facilities in a wide variety of products and processes. Claude is a Lead Trainer for the FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Food rule and the Produce Safety rule, as well as a HACCP instructor. He has designed and been Project Manager in the construction of two green field food manufacturing facilities and has extensive experience in capital equipment projects. His work is always with an emphasis on Food Safety.

Dacia English, Outreach & Education Coordinator

Montana Department of Revenue, Alcoholic Beverage Control Division

Dacia English has an Associates of Arts and an Associates of Science with a business emphasis from Flathead Valley Community College and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Montana State University. She is currently the Outreach Coordinator for the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABCD). She has been with ABCD for 9 years. She joined ABCD as a Compliance Specialist in August of 2014 processing license applications, helping licensees with changes to their licenses, and compliance matters. She also held the Unit Manager position for 2 years for the Licensing and Compliance Bureau. In this position she oversaw 7 Licensing and Compliance Specialists who process well over 2,400 application cases per year. She has both licensing and compliance knowledge and enjoys helping people understand this complex business and area of the law.

Hannah Turner, Lab Director

Montana State University Barley, Malt & Brewing Quality Lab

Hannah Turner has been involved in plant research for the past decade, receiving both bachelor’s and Master’s distinctions from MSU, and has acted as Director of the Barley, Malt & Brewing Quality Lab since 2016. This research lab supports MSU’s barley breeding program via malting, brewing, and quality analytics, while additionally offering these services to farmers, maltsters, and brewers across the country. Research focuses include innovative projects such as improved barley for craft malting, barley and malt flavor, investigating malt terroir via mineral contributions to brewing, and koji malting. Hannah works closely with the American Society of Brewing Chemist’s Technical Committee, leading the Malt Subcommittee which works to develop and streamline methodologies for malt quality analysis, and also serves as chair of the Craft Maltsters Guild’s Technical Committee, which develops educational and practical tools for the industry.

Hunter Riddle, Owner & Operator

Flathead Valley Hops

Hunter is a 4th generation farmer currently operating 180 acres of hops in the Flathead Valley. His passion lies in getting his hands dirty and nurturing the soil to produce the highest quality crop possible, with a hand in every step of the process from field to brewer. Hunter hopes to instill a love of farming in his children and future generations of farmers to come.

jake Teselle, farmer

Crooked Yard Hops

Jake is a 5th generation Montana farmer raising hops in the Gallatin Valley. After earning a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, Jake decided to return to the family farm and start a Hop operation. Now, Crooked Yard operates a full picking and pelletizing facility as well as 17 acres of hops. Besides farming, Jake has a passion for beer and connecting brewers and consumers to the agricultural side of the equation. As well as Hops, Jake is also a Montana Craft Malt representative and continues to expand Montana's Hop and Malt footprint in and beyond Montana.

Jamie sherman, barley breeder

Montana State University Barley, Malt & Brewing Quality Lab

Jamie Sherman is the barley breeder at Montana State University. Her program is developing new varieties for all barley end-uses including food, forage and feed, but a primary focus is on developing lines with improved malt quality. Towards that goal, she has developed a fully functional malt quality lab not only to support the breeding program, but also to support the developing craft malting industry.

Jared Long, Director of Culture and Brewing Operations

Black Tooth Brewing Company

Jared Long is the Director of Culture and Brewing Operations at Black Tooth Brewing Company in Sheridan, Wyoming. He took a circuitous path to a career in craft beer that included teaching English in Japan, caring for cats at an animal shelter, dropping out of PhD school, and teaching 6th grade. He has worked professionally in the industry for 14 years at breweries large and small, and has an unhealthy obsession with Whitney Houston and Japanese comfort food.

Julia Herz, Executive Director

American Homebrewers Association

Julia Herz is executive director of the American Homebrewers Association® (AHA)—the nation’s largest hobbyist not for profit organization for homebrewers and fermented beverages. Julia has been at the helm of the 43-year-old membership organization since December 2021.

Julia is a BJCP Certified beer judge, Advanced Cicerone®, medal-winning homebrewer, and experienced zymurgist having made beer, mead, and fermented foods since 1994. Julia is the co-author of Beer Pairing: The Essential Guide from the Pairing Pros (Voyager Press, 2015), the CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Guide and Co-host of Sense of Beer Style Show.

Prior to joining the AHA, Julia was the craft beer program director and publisher of CraftBeer.com for the Brewers Association, where she led the development of the Brewers Association’s Independent Craft Brewer Seal.

Julia has been a guest on national media outlets including National Public Radio, Sirius/XM, CBNC Squawk Box and Closing Bell, Fox News, Good Morning America, the Food Network, and American Public Media’s Splendid Table.

Kelly Brunger, Financial Advisor

SG Long Financial

Kelly serves SG Long Financial as a Financial Advisor and Investment Advisor Representative. She has worked in the financial services industry since moving from Alaska to New York City in 2001 and serves the broad needs of SG Long’s clients in Montana. After noticing a lack of authentic connections during her Wall Street career, she became a tour operator for several years as the founder of Alaska to Africa Travel, where she created team building adventure travel programs designed to increase engagement and productivity for corporate teams. She is extremely happy to be living in Montana getting back to her life-long loves: fly-fishing, any fishing, camping, cowboy hats, and cross-country skiing.

Loy Maierhauser, Chief operations officer

MAP Brewing Co.

Loy Maierhauser first fell in love with beer after she began homebrewing in 2004, and has been a beer lover, brewer, and connoisseur ever since. Loy is currently the COO at MAP Brewing in Bozeman, is an Advanced Cicerone and a Certified Beer Judge through the BJCP. She's passionate about beer education, and has taught brewing, tasting, and judging classes across the state. She also serves as the Secretary of the Montana Pink Boots Society chapter. When Loy’s not working on something beer related, you can probably find her kayaking, traveling around to find the best hikes in Montana, crafting, or cross country skiing.

mark bergstrom, sales representative

Bozeman Brewing Co.

Mark has worked for Bozeman Brewing in a sales role for six years. His beer journey began long ago when he was lucky enough to grow up on Colorado’s Front Range, one of America’s beer meccas. (He’s still known to enjoy a Banquet or O’Dell IPA from time to time).

Mark’s move to Montana motivated a career in beer and now he travels our beautiful state preaching the good word of beer to anyone that will listen, from the newest craft fan to the grizzled industry vet. He loves to learn and takes great pleasure in good conversation over a tasty beer with friends new and old.

Matt leow, executive director

Montana Brewers Association

Matt hails from the Bluegrass State but now calls the Big Sky State his home. After graduating from Hanover College in 1997, he came to Montana and tasted ski bum life for a couple seasons. The post-college adventure turned into a new life in Montana that’s at 25 years and counting. Since 2000, Matt has worked with nonprofit organizations, first as a staffer and later as a consultant, helping advocacy groups achieve their goals through policy change at the legislature and through the citizen initiative process. In 2015, Matt jumped at the opportunity to combine his advocacy and nonprofit background with his love of craft beer when he became the Executive Director of the Montana Brewers Association. He lives in Missoula with his wife, son and their two terriers. When left to his own devices, he can typically be found on the local trails, rivers or slopes along with a Montana craft beer or two.

Matthew Peetz, Yeast Whisperer

Propagate Labs

From working at the Brewing Science Institute to doing bio-fuel research, Matthew has propagated yeast from both a home brewing scale all the way up to a seven-figure scale – working with proprietary yeast strains and cultivating yeast production at scales unheard of in the craft brewing industry. With a background in fermentation and biology, and a Masters degrees in Cell Biology and Data Science, Matthew’s extensive resume makes him uniquely qualified to provide you with the highest quality yeast.

Patrick Kainz, Owner/CEO

Map Brewing Company

Patrick Kainz has been in the brewing industry for 28 years. In 2015 he founded MAP Brewing Company in Bozeman, MT and is a founding member of the Wild Onion Brewing Company in Lake Barrington, IL. Over the years he has also helped dismantle and rebuild numerous breweries within North America.

Paul Marshall, Owner

Draught Works Brewery

Paul Marshall, originally a business professional with his M.A. in Human Resources, met a young Jeff Grant while working for Consumer Direct Services in the early 00’s. The pair bonded instantly over sports, home brewing, and hop cultivation, and as their hop vines grew, so did their fellowship. Years later, Paul and Jeff drafted their business plan for a community-minded, family-friendly brewery in Missoula, MT while Paul attended Siebel Institute of Technology. Though Paul has always had a passion for beer and brewing, his true talents lie in numbers, business and employee management. Paul's wife Laura points out “Every brewer needs a spouse with a ‘real job’ beside them.” In 2011, Paul and Jeff opened Draught Works Brewery, Missoula's 4th brewery (and first since 1995).

Rich Higgins, Master Cicerone & Consultant

Bozeman, MT

Rich Higgins is all things beer: brewmaster, beer travel operator, author, public speaker, podcast host, and a consultant to breweries and restaurants. He is one of 19 Master Cicerones in the world, and additionally is a Certified Sommelier. He runs Beer Immersions educational beer tours of Belgium and Germany. Educational offerings include his organized approach to blind beer tasting, the Deductive Beer Tasting Method, as well as his Beer Lessons on YouTube and his online Video Prep Course for the Certified Cicerone Exam. He teaches public classes and industry trainings, co-hosts the Liquid Bread Podcast, and is a public speaker and coordinator of events around the world. He lives in beautiful, beery Bozeman, Montana.

Roger Herpst, West Coast Sales

Hopsteiner

Roger Herpst is the West Coast Sales representative at HopSteiner with 15 years of experience in the brewing industry including time as Quality Manager and Brewmaster at Bear Republic Brewing Co. in California.

Sara Killeen, Owner/Editor-in-chief

Montana Craft Beer Connection

Sara Killeen, the driving force behind the Montana Craft Beer Connection, cofounded the magazine as a way to promote and highlight the craft beer industry. Since taking over the business in 2020, Sara has grown MCBC to encompass many other projects highlighting Montana craft beer. Sara first experienced, and simultaneously fell in love with, craft beer at a backyard picnic after moving back to Montana for college and has continued to immerse herself in the craft beer world ever since. In addition to her business, Sara is also the current Secretary of the Montana Pink Boots Society and an active Certified BJCP judge.

Shannon Stober, Founder

Jump Start Training & Development

Shannon is a nationally recognized trainer and facilitator in the realms of leadership, community building, and volunteerism. Each year she engages hundreds of individuals from a variety of sectors through high-powered workshops, retreats, speaking engagements, and coaching activities. Shannon is also a skilled strategist and consultant, with an extensive background in strategic alignment, change management, and the development of program theory. After finishing her degree in sociology, Shannon completed two terms of service as an AmeriCorps *VISTA and went on to serve as the Statewide Training Officer for the Governor’s Office of Community Service, Program Manager for Montana Campus Compact, and Director of Programs with the Montana Conservation Corps. She is known for her positive energy, strength of character, and humor.

Teal Soden, Retention Specialist

City of Fairbanks Police Department, Alaska

Teal Soden is the Public Information Officer and Public Outreach Specialist for the City of Fairbanks Police Department in Fairbanks, Alaska. Teal has worked for the City in various roles since 2010, including 6 years as the Communications Director for the Mayor's Office. Her duties at Police Department currently focus on recruitment and retention, as well as public relations. She received her Business degree in 2014 from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Teal was born and raised in interior Alaska, spending most of her life there, save a short 5-year break enjoying the Northeast in Maine. In her free time, Teal enjoys traveling, fishing, and exploring the outdoors with her husband, Matt, and their teenage daughter.

Thomas Sierra, Technical Sales Representative – Western Region

Pentair Food & Beverage

Thomas graduated from Siebel Institute of Technology with a certificate in Brewing Technology and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Montana State University Billings. He is the former Director of Operations for Great Northern Brewing Company, and is currently the Technical Brewing Sales Representative for Pentair-Haffmans on the West Coast.