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The 2026 MN Brewers Conference has passed. Thank you to everyone who helped make it a success! Check back in late 2026 for information about our next Conference.

Thank You to Our Conference & Awards Sponsors!

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2026 Conference Info

  • Schedule of All Events
  • Conference Sessions (4/10)
  • Conference Exhibitors (4/10)
  • Sensory Workshop (4/9)
  • Brewers Cup Awards (4/9)
  • Hotel & Parking

April 9 and 10, 2026

Thursday, April 9 
Workshops, Awards Ceremony, and Conference Pre-Party
  • 1:00 – 3:00 | Sensory Workshop
  • 5:00 – 6:00 | Awards Check-in and Happy Hour
  • 6:00 – 8:30 | MN Brewers Cup Awards Ceremony & Dinner – Presented by Lagersmith
  • 9:00-12:00 | Conference Pre-party, The Fair on 4 – all MNCBG Members & Prospective Members Welcome!
    • Fair on 4 (Mall of America)
      9:00-12:00.
      Park/Rideshare: East Ramp, 4th Floor, New York Section (parking sections named after a state).
      Take the stairs UP, enter the mall, Fair on 4 on the left.
      (Other doors and entry points will be locked).
Friday, April 10
MN Brewers Conference
  • 8:00 – 9:00 | Conference Check-in, Breakfast, and Bloody Mary Bar – Conference Presented by Husch Blackwell
  • 9:00 – 10:00 | Welcome and Opening Keynote
  • 10:00 – 12:00 | Educational Sessions & Group Meetups
  • 12:00 – 1:15 | Lunch and Exhibitors
  • 1:30 – 4:30 | Educational Sessions & Group Meetups
  • 4:30 – 5:30 | Beers & Cheers with Exhibitors
What to Bring to the Workshops & Conference

NEW: Conference App

We’re going paperless! Check out our Conference App to see all Conference details and build out your schedule for the day! (Prefer Paper? You can download and print our brief Conference Program here.) The app can be accessed via computer, tablet, or mobile, and can be added to your mobile/tablet home screen:

  • iPhone Home Screen Instructions: Open the website in Safari, tap the Share button (a square with an upward arrow), then select Add to Home Screen.
  • AndroidHome Screen Instructions: Open the site in Chrome, tap the three-dot menu in the top right, and select “Add to Home screen” or “Install app”.

April 10: Conference Sessions

Keynote Speaker, Dave Infante: Craft Beer vs. The World

Over a decade and a half on the beverage alcohol beat, Dave Infante has reported on how craft beer went from a “movement,” to a “boom,” to the rapidly maturing industry it is today. In his keynote presentation, he’ll examine some of the biggest challenges facing today’s craft brewer, dispel some popular mainstream-media myths, and highlight how the full-flavored beer segment still has opportunities to deliver on its promises of quality, innovation, and community. With incisive analysis, good data, and bad memes, Dave will examine the state of the industry from his unique vantage point, offering fresh ideas and perspective to Minnesota’s craft brewers finding their way through the industry’s so-called “second shakeout.”

Dave is an award-winning journalist who covers the food and drink industries. He publishes Fingers, an independent newsletter about drinking in America. He also works as a contributing editor and columnist at VinePair, where he publishes the weekly beer-industry column Hop Take.

Track: Brewing Techniques & Innovation

*All sessions in this track selected by the MBAA St. Paul Minneapolis Chapter

  • Stave New World: Methodologies for Managing the Modern (British) Brewer’s Wood Cellar
    • Marty Scott, Barrel Program Manager, Revolution Brewing
  • Low & Non-Alcoholic “Off-Flavor” Sensory Workshop
    • Alesha Ivey, Technical Sales Manager, Lallemand Brewing
  • Hop Quality Analysis for Dummies
    • Eric Sannerud, President, Sannerud Hop Consulting
Business & Operations
  • Restaurant Hospitality for Breweries – Turning your Brewery into a Successful F&B Operation
    • Sara Phelps, Independent Restaurant Consultant, skphelps Consulting, LLC and Mise en Place Consulting, LLC
      Michaelann Gillis, Independent Restaurant Consultant, Mise en Place Consulting, LLC
  • Winning in Distribution
    •  Chris Farmand, Founder, Small Batch Standard
  • S.A.L.E.S. Training: Selling Alcohol Legally, Effectively & Safely
    • Robert Foster, Trainer Partner, MLBA
Marketing & Events
  • Telling Your Brand Story Online: How to Connect and Stand Out Online
    • Stephanie Grant, Content Creator and Strategist, She Loves Craft
  • Brewing Bonds: Cultivating Community Partnerships to Increase Foot Traffic
    • Liz Heimer, Co-Owner, Intuition Brewing
      Julie O’Donnell, Taproom Manager, Intuition Brewing
      Dawn Finnie, Owner, Little Thistle Brewing
      Audrey Robinson, Taproom Manager, Little Thistle Brewing
  • Your Taproom Is Already a Third Place — Act Like It
    • Ben Neitge, Events Coordinator, Forgotten Star Brewing Co
      Jordan Weller, Taproom & Events Manager, 56 Brewing
Looking to the Future
  • From Brewer to Boss: Equipping First-Time Leaders in the Brewery
    • Ryan Mayfield, Partner, Craft Leadership
  • State of the Hemp Market
    • Elliot Ginsburg, Attorney, Garner, Ginsburg & Johnsen, P.A.
      Jen Randolph Reise, Consultant, North Star Cannabis Consulting
      Jon Halper, Owner/CEO, Top Ten Liquors
      Steven Brown, CEO, Nothing But Hemp
  • Future Planning in Headwinds- Let’s Get Creative
    • Ben Hugus, Founder, Ursa Minor Brewing Company
      Ryan Bandy, Chief Business Officer, Indeed Brewing Company
      Mike Corneille, President, Pryes Brewing Company
Community & Culture
  • Naloxone Training & Supplies for Breweries
    • Meghan Walsh, Overdose Prevention Director, Steve Rummler HOPE Network
  • Where Do We Go From Here, When Here Keeps Changing? How Policy and the Industry Impact One Another
    • MNCBG Legislative Committee Members & Staff
  • The Guild’s Role in Today’s Industry: A Discussion on What You Need Now
    • Jess Talley, Executive Director, MN Craft Brewers Guild
      Bob Galligan, Director of Government & Industry Relations, MN Craft Brewers Guild
      Nate Schneider, President, MN Craft Brewers Guild
      Kabel Lefto, Vice President, MN Craft Brewers Guild
Introducing The Guilded Goat!

MN Brewers Conference Commemorative Beer
Thank you to our volunteers and sponsors who created this 7% Maibock, available to all attendees of the MN Brewers Conference!

Conference Exhibitors

Thank you to all of our exhibitor sponsors! Visit these businesses in our Exhibitor Hall on April 10!

April 9: Workshop

Sensory Training: The Good, the Bad, and the Pungent: The Basics of Beer Flavor | 1:00 PM —3:00 PM
Sponsored by ABV Technology

There are a million different factors as to what makes a successful brewery, but the most important factor of all consistently comes back to one simple question: “How does the beer taste?” Sensory science itself strongly owes it’s history to beer, and we’ve improved it ever since. Although most breweries cannot build a consistently trained sensory panel, every person who works in a brewery can learn the basics of beer flavor. This workshop will teach attendees how to taste beer and introduce them to basic flavor standards of both positive attributes, as well as common off-flavors. Thank you Trove Brewing for supplying our base beer!

Training by Bob Galligan, MN Craft Brewers Guild. Bob began his brewing career hand canning in Austin Texas in 2012. Since then, he has been a brewer, tap room manager, salesperson, and quality and innovation manager. Most recently, he was the Sensory Specialist at Surly Brewing from 2017-2022. He served on the MNCBG Board in 2021 and was hired as the Guild’s Director of Government and Industry Relations in 2022. 

April 9, 2026 – MN Brewers Cup Awards ~ Presented by Lagersmith

>> Get Your Tickets to the Awards!

5:00 – 6:00 p.m.: Check-in & Cocktail reception
6:00 p.m.: Dinner service
7:00 p.m.: Award Ceremony begins
9:00 p.m.: Event ends.
9:00 – 12:00 p.m.: Afterparty at the Fair on 4! Shuttles running from the Hilton Hotel until midnight. All Members, Allied members, industry staff, and Conference presenters/sponsors/attendees welcome!

Fair on 4 (Mall of America)
9:00-12:00.
Park/Rideshare: East Ramp, 4th Floor, New York Section (parking sections named after a state).
Take the stairs UP, enter the mall, Fair on 4 on the left.
(Other doors and entry points will be locked).

 

Hosted by Hosted by Dan Beaubien, owner of A One Pint Stand.

The Winning Brews: The winners of the top 3 entries in each category will be announced at the awards ceremony and put on the MNCBG website, and all winners will be sent graphics and a marketing packet to help promote their achievement. All winners in each category will be announced in a press release, highlighted on the Guild’s social media, and promoted at the Minnesota State Fair.

Hotel & Parking

The MN Brewers Conference will be held at the Hilton Minneapolis-St Paul Airport (3800 American Blvd E. Bloomington, MN 55425).
  • Parking at the hotel is free.
  • Confirmed exhibitors will receive information about costs and deadlines for shipping materials to the hotel.

  • ✅ Event Location:
    Hilton Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, 3800 American Blvd E, Bloomington, MN 55425

    📍 This Hilton is located near the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America. Please note: There are multiple Hilton hotels in Bloomington, MN, and we want to ensure everyone arrives at the correct venue. Double-check your GPS or rideshare destination.

>> Book Your Room in our Block
We have reserved a limited number of discounted rooms for April 8-11. Reserve by March 18 to receive the block rate. Contact Lindsey Darling, MNCBG Events Manager, if you have issues booking your room. Once the block is full, we can no longer guarantee the discounted rate – book soon to get the discount!

 

FAQs

When will the session list be finalized?

Basic session info is added in late January through mid-February.

Proposals were due by December 7. Once all proposals were received, they were reviewed and considered by several groups, which takes about a month. Staff and Committees then work to develop sessions to fill any major gaps in programming. We will begin to add session details in January, and the full session list should be ready in late February, before the early-bird registration deadline ends.

How are presentations selected?

We accept presentations from Allied Trade Members and other organizations in the fall. Proposals are reviewed and selected by the MBAA, MNCBG staff, MNCBG committees, and MNCBG Board members. Our Committees of volunteer industry staff also coordinate sessions they think will be most beneficial to the industry. In 2025, 8 of 15 sessions were developed or coordinated by Committee members.

I don't know which staff will be attending. Can I still register?

Yes. Make sure you get Early Bird Discounts by registering by the deadline, even if you don’t know which staff will attend. When you purchase, include your information as the Ticket Purchaser. Then, when asked to input information for each registration, you can write, “Attendee 1 (or 2, 3, 4) TBD,” in the First and Last Name section, and input your own email.

After you’ve checked out, you’ll be sent a confirmation email with a link to edit (“manage”) your attendee information until Friday, March 27. Information for all registrations is needed by then to finalize menus, accommodations, and name-badges.

I need to change which staff member is attending. How do I do that?

You can make changes to your attendee data until Friday, March 27.

NOTE: Only the person who purchased the tickets can update the attendee information. If the ticket purchaser is no longer with the company, please contact us.

By March 27, make sure you’ve entered the correct attendee information to ensure your attendees receive information leading up to the event, get a conference name badge at check-in, and receive all post-conference resources.

To update your attendee information, follow these steps:

  1. Click the “Manage Order” button, beneath the QR Code, in your registration confirmation email. It will take you to the Humanitix “Manage Order” webpage.
  2. Click “Edit” to update all necessary information on the Humanitix “Manage Order” webpage.
  3. To save updated information, click the blue “Update” button at the bottom of the webpage.
I can't find my registration. What do I do?

First, make sure the person who purchased your registrations (if it wasn’t you) forwarded your ticket to you.

Then, please check your email, including your spam folder. There should be an email from Humanitix with your receipt and ticket. If you still do not see it, please contact us.

 

Brewing Techniques & Innovation— Sessions coordinated by the MBAA District St. Paul-Minneapolis.

Setting up Successful Fermentations - Yeast Attenuation and Wort Fermentability
Setting up Successful Fermentations – Yeast Attenuation and Wort Fermentability

Lance Shaner, Head of Chicago Plant Operations, Omega Yeast

The attenuation of a given yeast strain is a relative range because it can be heavily influenced by the wort fermentability or the composition of sugars extracted during the mash. On the hot side, we’ll overview how the brewer can manipulate wort fermentability in the mash and “set up the dinner plate” for a given yeast strain. On the cold side, we’ll dive into how different yeast strains can be used to consume more or less of the wort sugars and best practices to avoid attenuation problems stemming from poor yeast performance. We’ll apply this baseline knowledge and tackle more advanced technical challenges such as limiting ABV in NABLABs and targeting attenuation in dry-hopped beers. Selected by the MBAA.

3 Key Takeaways: 

  1. How wort fermentability impacts yeast attenuation.
  2. The important factors to consider on the hot side and cold side that impact attenuation.
  3. Applying these concepts to technical challenges in NABLAB recipe design and targeting attenuation in dry-hopped beers.
Lance Shaner

About the Presenter: Lance is the Co-Founder and Head of Chicago Plant Operations at Omega Yeast Labs in Chicago, IL, operating since 2013. Lance received a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from the University of Texas – Houston. He has 11 years of laboratory experience, including 5 years of original research on the stress response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (a.k.a. brewer’s yeast).

Community & Culture

Looking to the Future

Marketing & Branding

Business & Operations