American Society of Brewing ChemistsEventsWebinars

​qPCRisis: Changes and Curiosities|ASBC Webinar​​​​

​Broadcast Date: May 3, 2023 | 11:00 AM​ Central

View On-Demand Webinar
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Questions? Contact Bryan Mowry at ASBC


Webinar Summary

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The realm of genetic identification in the beverage industry has grown in usage, in some cases replacing conventional methods of assessing microbial threats. However, the instrumentation, kits, customer service, and even operating systems are frequently proprietary, presenting questions of what happens if the provider goes out of business or sells to another company. In this panel of experienced users of a variety of qPCR technologies, there will be reflections and comparisons on business, assets, and methodologies. What options are currently available? What benefits and needs are considered? What are the shortcomings? With the rise of alternative products like ready-to-drink cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages, what is being sought for in future technology?


ATTENDEES WILL LEARN:​​

  • Discussion of a variety of qPCR technologies
  • Reflections on business challenges as a result of vendors/providers of qPCR technologies closing
  • Discussion of benefits of qPCR
  • Usefulness for a variety of beverages
  • The future of genetic analysis
  • Relevancy and importance of alternative methods to qPCR
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Presenters

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Nicole Balistreri
Inland Island Yeast's Quality Micro Lab
​Nicole  Balistreri grew up on a family-owned and operated winery in North Denver and has been around fermentation since a young age. Her academic endeavors were focused on biological sciences and biochemistry at Colorado State University. Nicole entered the brewing community as a Busser/ Beertender at Blue Moon RiNo over 6 years ago since then she has had the privilege of working in the Coors Corporate Sensory department, the Coors Quality Micro Lab, and Inland Island Yeast's Quality Micro La​​b where she is currently the manager. She has found that the best way to get a well-rounded understanding of things is through tribal knowledge and collaborating with peers.
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Ashley Heins
Toppling Goliath Brewing Co.

​Ashley Heins is the Quality Lab Supervisor at Toppling Goliath Brewing Company in Decorah, Iowa. She was raised in Iowa and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Biology from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. Ashley started working at Toppling Goliath in the quality lab in 2020 and since her employment, she has implemented equipment changes to improve test accuracy and reporting. She is proud to work for a company that prides itself on having great people and world-class beer. When Ashley is not working you can find her kayaking local rivers and attending music festivals.

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Matt Linske
BDAS

​Matt Linske is the Manager and Lead Microbiologist for Brewing and Distilling Analytical Services (BDAS), LLC, where he helps producers with both hunting down troublesome microbes and routine testing. Since he started with BDAS in 2012, Matt has helped to grow and expand the business. In 2019, he led an expansion to a second facility in Denver, CO which he currently manages and operates. Matt has been an active member of several industry professional groups over his career, giving presentations at both the local and national levels. At the 2019 MBAA National Technical Conference, his work earned him the People's Choice Award for Best Oral Presentation on Diastaticus yeast detection media. Since then, he has continued to help brewers detect and face the many challenges presented by an ever-evolving alcohol industry.​

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Zachary Miller
Victory Brewing Company

 ​Zach Miller graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2010 with a degree in Biology. Soon after, he became a Quality Lab Technician at Victory Brewing Company where his interest in yeast and other microorganisms allowed him to transform his position into the Yeast & Fermentation Manager as the company grew from 60,000bbls to 250,000bbls. He currently manages 70+ yeast strains across 3 brewing locations.