MBAA - District Northern Illinois

MBAA - District Northern Illinois https://linktr.ee/MBAA_DNIL

Mission
The Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA) is a nonprofit (501 C3) professional, scientific organization dedicated to advance, support, and encourage scientific research into brewing malt beverages.

As we kick off this morning, we want to give a huge thank you to for hosting us and to all of our sponsors.
02/27/2026

As we kick off this morning, we want to give a huge thank you to for hosting us and to all of our sponsors.

We are greatly looking forward to tomorrow, but first we will see you tonight! Make sure to stop by Old Irving Brewing f...
02/26/2026

We are greatly looking forward to tomorrow, but first we will see you tonight! Make sure to stop by Old Irving Brewing from 6-9pm (Montrose Ave Brewpub) to meet our speakers and network before tomorrow's conference.
Thank you to all our great speakers who have traveled to Chicago to share their knowledge with us. See you tonight!

We kick off tomorrow with the social at Old Irving Brewing, then we gather Friday morning bright and early for the Sprin...
02/25/2026

We kick off tomorrow with the social at Old Irving Brewing, then we gather Friday morning bright and early for the Spring Technical Conference! There is still time to purchase a ticket- please visit out link in bio to learn more. We are looking forward to seeing you all this week!

We are pleased to announce our final speaker, Ashton Lewis. Ashton will be joining us Friday and sharing his presentatio...
02/25/2026

We are pleased to announce our final speaker, Ashton Lewis. Ashton will be joining us Friday and sharing his presentation, Role of pH in Brewing. Read a little more about Ashton below- and grab your tickets for Friday. Link in bio. đź”—

Ashton Lewis is the Technical Product Manager at RahrBSG. Before joining RahrBSG, Ashton spent two decades working in the field of custom stainless steel design and fabrication at the Paul Mueller Company. He was also a partner and longtime Master Brewer at Springfield Brewing Company in Missouri, overseeing brewing operations from 1997 to 2019.

Ashton holds a B.S. in Food Science from Virginia Tech and an M.S. in Food/Brewing Science from UC Davis. He currently serves as the MBAA District Great Plains Technical Chair, co-chair of the MBAA Podcast Working Group, and a member of the ASBC Program Committee.

For the past 30 years, Ashton has shared his brewing expertise as the Technical Editor and “Help Me, Mr. Wizard” columnist for Brew Your Own magazine. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, homebrewing, and scuba diving.

We are just a week away from the MBAA District Northern Illinois Conference. Make sure you sign up early in order to joi...
02/20/2026

We are just a week away from the MBAA District Northern Illinois Conference. Make sure you sign up early in order to join us for the Pre Conference Social at Old Irving Brewing on Thursday. Thanks to Old Irving Brewing for opening your space to us!

Both Joe and Nicole will be joining us from Wisconsin to speak with us about malt, and more specifically, malt in conjun...
02/18/2026

Both Joe and Nicole will be joining us from Wisconsin to speak with us about malt, and more specifically, malt in conjunction with Kernza. Never heard about Kernza and looking to learn more? Join us on 2/27 and read a little more about this duo of speakers below!⬇

Dr. Nicole Tautges is Research Director at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Dr. Tautges has degrees in Crop and Soil Science, and specializes in organic small grains research. At Michael Fields, her research focuses on organic production methods, biological nutrient cycling, and post harvest quality flows in food grade grain systems, where she works to develop Midwest Kernza, oat, and buckwheat food chains. Nicole manages 40 acres of Kernza, and direct markets the Kernza grain and milled flour to southern WI consumers and small businesses.

Joe Walts grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and studied aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan. In 2005, he left a job at a jet engine manufacturer to pursue a brewing career at J.T. Whitney’s in Madison, Wisconsin. Joe eventually became the QA Manager at Ale Asylum (Madison, WI), the Head Brewer at Narrows Brewing Company (Tacoma, WA), the QA Manager at Ale Asylum (again), and the Beer Recipe & Process Improvement Lead at Octopi (Waunakee, WI). He’s currently the Quality Manager and R&D Brewer at Karben4 Brewing (Madison, WI) and teaches the Brewery Water and Adjustments portion of the MBAA Brewing and Malting Science Course.

Hops are first up on our Ingredient Usage Panel. David has spent over a decade at Revolution Brewing, and you can learn ...
02/17/2026

Hops are first up on our Ingredient Usage Panel. David has spent over a decade at Revolution Brewing, and you can learn about how he makes quality beer on Friday, February 27th.

David Blackford is the Lead Brewer at Revolution Brewing and manages daily operations for the Brewhouse team. He got his start in the beverage industry as a packaging line operator at Finch's Beer Co. in 2013 and joined the Revolution packaging team in 2014. Since then, he has spent time in various production roles at the company, helping to manage growth while remaining focused on quality and efficiency throughout the brewing process.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone on the 27th, kicking off bright an early at 8am! District Northern Illinois ex...
02/16/2026

We are looking forward to seeing everyone on the 27th, kicking off bright an early at 8am! District Northern Illinois excited to welcome Halley Moore to Chicago to speak with us about Brewhouse Efficiency & how to make improvements in your brewery! Read more about Halley below. ⬇

Halley was born and raised in the Youngstown Ohio area and attended Youngstown State University where she graduated with a BE in Chemical Engineering (2004-2008). She moved to Edinburgh, Scotland and attended Heriot-Watt University and earned a Post Graduate Diploma in Brewing and Distilling. Halley worked for BrewDog for about 3 months in Fraserburgh, Scotland before moving back to the US and started working with Molson Coors in April 2010.
Halley is a long time Molson Coors employee and has had many positions within the company.
She currently works as the Sr. Project Manager (2024-present). Her role is to scope, select, price/purchase, support installation and commissioning of brewing equipment.

Alongside Travis Hixon we are excited to welcome Cesar Marron. Cesar is a leader in the community and below you can read...
02/11/2026

Alongside Travis Hixon we are excited to welcome Cesar Marron. Cesar is a leader in the community and below you can read about how he integrates sustainable practices into his daily operations at Sketchbook Brewing. To learn more, sign up for the MBAA DNIL Spring Technical Conference on February 27th, link in bio.đź”—

Cesar Marron co-founded Sketchbook Brewing Company in Evanston and Skokie, Illinois, with partners. With a passion for brewing ignited by a gift from his wife Amy, Marron delved into the science and process behind beer-making with an emphasis on processes and quality. Marron's roots in entrepreneurship trace back to Brazil, where he managed his family's butcher shop as a teenager. Committed to sustainability, Marron integrates eco-conscious practices into Sketchbook Brewing's operations, aiming to minimize environmental impact while celebrating the global nature of beer and its culture. Marron aims to create a welcoming space for all generations to enjoy at Sketchbook Brewing, where sustainability and craftsmanship intersect.

We are excited to announce that Travis Hixon will be joining us on February 27th to speak on Infrastructure and Sustaina...
02/11/2026

We are excited to announce that Travis Hixon will be joining us on February 27th to speak on Infrastructure and Sustainability. Read a little more about Travis below. ⬇

Travis attended the Siebel Institute of Brewing Technology in Chicago in 1997 and has spent the last ~30 years in the Brewing sector, with 6 years in the Distilling sector somewhere in there. Starting out as Assistant Brewmaster at Blackstone Brewing Co. in Nashville, TN his roles have ranged from Brewmaster to Director of Operations, new start up engineering and consulting, to distillery fire codes consultant, to headhunter. Along with others, he helped charter MBAA District Mid-South where he also served as Technical Chair and President. In 2022 Travis moved to Chicago after taking a position with Half Acre Beer Co. In addition to his job description duties and often complimentary to them, he leads Sustainability efforts there, along with serving as Executive committee Co-Chair for the Great Lakes Business Network, and the Brewers Association Sustainability subcommittee.

Sign up is open for DNIL Spring Technical Conference at Revolution Brewing. More details to follow. Link in bio to sign ...
02/02/2026

Sign up is open for DNIL Spring Technical Conference at Revolution Brewing. More details to follow. Link in bio to sign up on the MBAA Website.

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Liberty Township
Butler County, OH

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