Master Brewers Association of the Americas

Envision a board meeting. Trapped in an undersized conference room, zoning in and out of consciousness through a criminally boring PowerPoint presentation, sifting through a thick packet of documents destined for the shredder…

The Master Brewers Association of the Americas does things a little differently.

At the Oct. 26 quarterly meeting of the MBAA District Cincinnati, held at Columbus’ own Elevator Brewing Company, rival brewers dragged kegs and cases of their prized beers to share. Elevator Restaurant provided classy hors d’oeuvres, and the guest speaker was the brilliant Charlie Bamforth, professor of brewing and malting science at the University of California-Davis (best job ever).

Dick Stevens, owner of Elevator Brewing Company, said he lobbied hard to host the fall meeting.

“We love it,” he said. “Any time we can get people down here, we’re proud to show how we do things.”

The session brought out representatives from multiple organizations, including Columbus Brewing Company, Anheuser Busch/InBev, Fat Head, Gordon Biersch, Miller and Samuel Adams. One might imagine such a meeting between rivals to be fraught with competitive tension, but on the contrary; the fraternity between brewers was palpable from the get-go. The meeting opened with a toast to a brewer who had recently celebrated the birth of a child.

Above: Guest speaker Charlie Bamforth

But the man of the hour was unquestionably Mr. Bamforth, who delivered a rousing speech based on a simple principle: You can have reverence for beer.

Much of Bamforth’s discussion revolved around the rivalry between beer and wine.

“There’s a dreadful statement that really pisses me off: ‘It takes a lot of beer to make good wine,’” he said disdainfully, displaying a slide photograph of grapes. “What if I stomped on these a bunch and let them rot in a barrel?”

The brewers in attendance erupted in laughter and cheers.

Bamforth went on to contrast the imagery of wineries with that of breweries – rolling hills and green vineyards versus blue-collar brick. His point: Look beyond the stereotypes. For example, he compared a wide-ranging list of wines to a similarly broad spectrum of beer flavors. Bamforth also mocked the clichéd images of wine and beer drinkers themselves.

“Wine drinkers buy lettuce leaves and exercise,” he said. “Beer drinkers eat sausages and watch ball games!” It’s a common misconception that only wine provides health benefits, Bamforth noted.

“All alcoholic drinks in moderation lower the risk of coronary heart disease,” he said, then added with a twinkle in his eye, “It’s OK to drink beer every day, in moderation. You define moderation. No missing a day!” In fact, the world’s oldest woman – age 114 – has acknowledged drinking a seven-ounce beer with every meal.

“If she drank 12-ounce beers, she’d be 150 by now!” Bamforth said.

He also discussed recent efforts by brewers to reduce their carbon footprints, such as zero malting beer to cut down on waste. Bamforth tried one such product.

“It made me appreciate very good beer,” he said. “Taste is most important among drinkers, and it’s not right to make beer with a chemistry set. “We need not B.S., but champion what we have here. People are not impressed by brewers attacking one another. We need to stick together as an industry.”

Judging by the camaraderie at the MBAA gathering, the beer industry is only getting stronger. Stevens had no qualms paying compliments to the “big boys” in attendance at his brewery, and vice versa.

“We had a plant manager from Anheuser Busch down here, enjoying our Dark Horse Lager,” he said. “If we go up to their brewery, we’re awed by the immensity. When they come down here, they’re in awe of us for being hands-on.”

Above: A peek at some forthcoming Elevator beer label designs