Tony Babinec
Tony has been both a homebrewer and a member of the Chicago Beer Society since 1989. He and Steve Hamburg ran some yeast tests in the early 1990s that evolved into the first Bitter Men presentation at the AHA conference in Denver in 1994. Tony's day job has nothing to do with beer. He lives in Flossmoor, Illinois, and you'll find him on occasion at his neighborhood pub, Flossmoor Station.

Larry J. Bell
Started homebrewing in 1980. Founder of Kalamazoo Brewing Company, Inc. established in 1983 and has served as its president since. He is a past president of the Michigan Brewers Guild, served as chairman of the IBS board of advisors, Served as a member of the board of directors of the AOB, and have held the position of VP for District Michigan of the MBAA. Larry is also a member of the American Cheese Society and Slow Food International.

Peter Bouckaert
Married to Frezi, and father of two little boys: Wout and Jo Wolf. Training in Engineer Chemistry, option Biochemistry, specializing in Brewing and Fermentation technology, CTL Gent, Belgium, Quality Engineer, CKZ-Kortrijk, Belgium 1991-1993. 10 years experience in the Belgian brewing world: worked in Kronenbourg brewery in Zulte, Belgium; brewery De Gouden Boom, Brugge, Belgium; Brewmaster Rodenbach Brewery, Roeselare, Belgium from 1986 to 1996; startup/former partner in the “De Zwingel” brewpub, Harelbeke, Belgium in 1995-96, a project that started with some homebrewing. Brewmaster, New Belgium Brewing Co., Inc. Fort Collins, CO, since 1996. Belgian brewer organization K.O.S.B.H.S.G. member since 1985, Board Member 1994-1996. MBAA member since 1996. Technical Chair MBAA Rocky Mountain region 1999-2001. Member ASBC.

Ray Daniels
Ray is the author of Smoked Beers, Designing Great Beers, and 101 Ideas for Homebrew Fun. He is the editor of Zymurgy and The New Brewer. He is the founder of the Real Ale Festival and the Craft Beer Institute..

Roger Deschner
His hobby is beer, when he's not running computer servers for the University of Illinois at Chicago. He brews it, judges it, writes about it, and speaks about it. Since a 1984 trip to Germany, he has championed the German Ales, working for many years to popularize the classic Altbier style brewed in Dusseldorf. Now he takes on the equally historic, but somewhat better known, favorite beer of nearby Cologne - Kölsch.

Jason Ebel
Jason started homebrewing in 1992 and by 1994 he made the jump to the professional side of craft brewing. He graduated from the Siebel Institute Diploma Course in 1996. In the spring of 1997 he and his brother Jim opened Two Brothers Brewing Company.

Fred Eckhardt
Fred Eckhardt is America's original award winning beer writer since 1969, when he first published A Treatise on Lager Beer, the first American homebrewing text and he first to feature all-malt brewing in the home. Fred is a regular contributor to the Celebrator Beer News and All About Beer and was the beer columnist for The Oregonian from 1984 to 1990. His articles have appeared in many other beer magazines including Zymurgy and American Brewer, as well as 16 newspapers including the Seattle Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Orange County Register and San Francisco Examiner. He is also the author of Essentials of Beer Style and Sake (USA). A BJCP National judge, he has also judged at the GABF since 1982.

Tom Fitzpatrick
Tom Fitzpatrick has been homebrewing since 1992, is a BJCP Master beer judge, and was 1995 Midwest Homebrewer of the Year (sorry, Al). Tom served as BJCP Competition Director for two years, spearheading the committees that re-wrote the BJCP Style Guidelines and BJCP Beer Scoresheet.

Chris Frey
Chris (aka Crispy) Frey has been a passionate homebrewer since his move to Michigan in 1994. Currently president of the Fermental Order of Renaissance Draughtsmen (F.O.R.D.) and an active member of the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild, Crispy has been a poster child for National Homebrew Day celebrations, a multiple award winning brewer, and an active AHA Liaison.

Paul Gatza
Paul is the Director of the American Homebrewers Association and the Institute for Brewing Studies, the two membership divisions of the Association of Brewers. He is a former owner and manager of What's Brewin' Homebrew Supply in Boulder, CO and formerly worked at Boulder Brewing Company. Prior to joining AHA, Paul had 5 years of non-profit management experience with Greenpeace. Paul has been brewing mead, beer, wine, cider, and sake for the past 12 years continuously.

Mariellen Griesch
Mariellen Griesch is a registered dietitian with 19 years experience in food research and sensory evaluation working on a variety of foods and beverages. Her primary focus is in consumer testing, descriptive analysis and discrimination testing. She holds her B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science and is currently Director of Sensory Analysis for Northland Laboratories, Northbrook, Illinois.

Rex Halfpenny
Rex is the publisher of Michigan Beer Guide. He has been a homebrewer since 1992, completed Siebel’s Sensory Evaluation of Beer course in Chicago, spearheaded the legalization of homebrewing in Michigan, and founded the Michigan Brewers Guild. Rex is the BJCP Midwest Representative. In addition to many homebrew competitions, he judges on the panels of the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup.

Steve Hamburg
Steve is a co-founder and the cellarmaster of the annual Real Ale Festival in Chicago. A homebrewer since 1984, he has been a BJCP judge since 1990, has judged at the Great British Beer Festival, and is an Honorary Master Judge in Japan, where he taught beer appreciation and judging classes for several years. One of the homebrewing community's "Two Bitter Men," Steve has been a regular contributor to Zymurgy and other beer publications, most notably Great Lakes Brewing News and All About Beer.

Dave Houseman
Dave Houseman is a homebrewer and Grand Master II BJCP judge. He currently is chairman of the AHA's Board of Advisors and the MidAtlantic representativeto the BJCP Board of Directors. He and his wife began making cheese as a companion to his beer production. He enjoys brewing all styles of beer but has a preference for Irish dry stout and English bitter.

Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson is internationally recognized as the leading writer on the beers of the world. In a front-page profile, The Wall Street Journaldescribed him as "the world's leading beer critic." Jacson is regarded as one of the fathers of the renaissance of interesting beer worldwide, especially the North American microbrewery movement. He has been covering the movement since its beginnings in the mid 1970s.

Al Korzonas
Al has been critically tasting and researching beer since 1979, after his first trip to Britain, Belgium and Germany. He holds Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Electrical Engineering. Al has worked as a technical editor for Zymurgy magazine and has had articles published in both Zymurgy and Brewing Techniques. He has achieved the rank of Master Judge in the Beer Judge Certification Program and served on the BJCP Style Guideline and Scoresheet Committees. A serious homebrewer since 1987, Al has earned over 100 ribbons in competitions, including several in the American Homebrewers Association National Competition. His 7-Grain E.S.B. was selected Champion Beer at the 1995 CBS Invitational Brew-Off by both popular vote and by Michael Jackson. He is the author of Homebrewing - Volume I (Volume II is on hold until the kids are in school) which has been awarded the Bronze Quill and Tankard Award for best beer/brewing book by the North American Guild of Beer Writers. Al is the president of Sheaf & Vine (brewinfo.com), which publishes books, provides beer and brewing consultation and sells specialty brewing equipment.

Lyn Kruger
Lyn Kruger has 25 years experience in education and training, yeast management, fermentation, microbiology, sensory evaluation, laboratory services, research and consulting. She holds her B.S. in Microbiology and Chemistry and her M.S. in Fermentation Microbiology. She has published numerous articles in a variety of brewing journals. Lyn is currently President & COO of the Siebel Institute of Technology.

Jeffrey Levine
Levine has been brewing full-time at Dragonmead Microbrewery for 4 years. He began homebrewing in 1993 and with the right timing, was able to turn a hobby into a successful career. Levine has a marketing/public relations and education backgound. He began his association with Dragonmead as a volunteer assistant at the brewery's inception in 1998. Dragonmead beers have received a variety of accolades including medals at the World Expo of Beer, and a gold medal at the Real Ale Festival.

David Logsdon
With a degree in biochemistry, David founded Wyeast Laboratories in the early 1980s after developing a bank of yeast cultures from around the world..

Charles McGonegal
Charles has brewed and vinted at college and home, but only recently turned a cider passion into a commercial venture. AEppelTreow (pronounced 'apple true') Winery is the creation of Charles and his family. Its focus is to turn heirloom apple varieties into fine sparkling wines.

Annette May
Annette is the midwest regional division manager for B. United International, importers of an extensive portfolio of world class beers and sakes by breweries committed to producing hand-crafted styles according to quality and tradition. She has extensive knowledge of beers that goes beyond just her company's portfolio, and she has paid particular attention to matching beers with food.

Tom Nickel
Tom is the Head Brewer for the Oggi's Pizza and Brewing Co. chain and Leftcoast Brewing Co. He also owns O'Brien's Pub in San Diego, a 20-tap alehouse, and writes for the Southwest Brewing News. Along with Tomme Arthur, he founded the San Diego Strong Ale and Real Ale Festivals, both in their sixth year. Tom was a Medieval History major at Yale, where he was voted "most likely to drive a beer truck."

Garrett Oliver
Brewmaster and Vice President for Production. A native New Yorker, Garrett is widely regarded as one of the leading brewmasters in America. He co-founded the New York City Homebrewers Guild in the mid-1980's and later left his job with a prestigious Manhattan law firm to become an apprentice brewer at the Manhattan Brewing Co., the first brewpub in New York City. He joined Brooklyn Brewery in 1993 and designed the new brewhouse in Brooklyn. Garrett has judged the Great American Beer Festival and the Great British Beer Festival, and is widely sought as a speaker about brewing and beer styles. He founded the New York Area Small Brewers Guild. He has written for All About Beer, Cigar Aficionado and other publications. He is co-author of The Good Beer Book, published by Berkeley Press. Garrett was featured in an "Emeril Live!" segment and is the American Dairy Association's spokesman on matching beer and cheese.

Charlie Papazian
Charlie is the president and founder of the Association of Brewers, circa 1978. He is the author of the best selling book on homebrewing, The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, and has also authored: Homebrewers' Companion, Homebrewers' Gold, and The Best of Zymurgy. He graduated in 1972 from the University of Virginia with a bachelor of science degree in nuclear engineering.

Jeff Renner
Jeff has been brewing since about 1973, all-grain since 1980, and is a founding member of the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild. He is also an accomplished baker, a frequent contributor to the HomeBrew Digest and a recognized
expert on cereal mashing and pre-prohibition Classic American Pilsner style beers.

Joel Reiman
A native of Minnesota, Joel received a B.S. from the University of Minnesota and a M.S. in Meat Science at the University of Arkansas. Worked for The Ozark Mountain Smokehouse in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a small specialty processor of smoke meats and for Hickory Specialties, a manufacturer of natural "liquid smoke" products. Currently employed for Griffith Laboratories in Alsip, Illinois as a Food Scientist designing seasoning blends for the meat and food industries.

Bill Ryan
Bill is the assistant brewer at the award-winning Flossmoor Station Brewing Company in Flossmoor, IL. In his partnership with head brewer, Todd Ashman, Bill has pioneered the practice of barrel aging. But don't let that fool you - he has crafted some incredibly hoppy beers, too!

Lucy Saunders
Lucy Saunders' first AHA Conference appearance was in Milwaukee in 1992, speaking with panelists Fred Eckhardt and Candy Schermerhorn on pairing specialty cheese and craft beer. She is the editor of beercook.com and author of hundreds of articles about beer and food, and cooking with beer. Her book, Cooking With Beer, was published by Time Life Books in 1996 and is available from amazon.com. She has a degree in Old & Middle English literature, a certificate in web design, learned baking and pastry at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, apprenticed with pub chefs in London (at the famed White Horse on Parsons Green) and Brussels, and attended the Siebel Institute. She also collects beer glasses and cookbooks, and enjoys sampling new brews.

Ken Schramm
The author of The Compleat Meadmaker, recently released by Brewers Publications. He is a husband and father of two from Troy, Michigan. He has been brewing and making mead since 1987, is an avid fly fisherman and home orchardist, and makes a mean cherry pie.

Fred M. Scheer
Fred was born and raised in Germany. At the age of 15 he started an apprenticeship as Brewer and Maltster. In 1976 he completed his studies to become a Brew- and Maltmaster at the world-renowned Doemens Academy in Munich. Since then he has worked all over the world in Breweries, small and large. In 2000 he started with BOSCOS Nashville Brewing Co. as their Braumeister.

Giles Schnierle
Giles Schnierle is the owner of Heartland Trading Company and The Great American Cheese Collection (773-779-5055), and has been involved in the Slow Food philosophy for over fifteen years. Schnierle has naturally encouraged small producers to stay small and continue to market their products. Schnierle says, "Being a part of the Slow Food movement has allowed me to connect with other people who are moving toward the same goal. Slow Food encourages small producers that they can make a living by growing locally. Furthermore, I have recognized an increase in the market and interest for local products in the past year." Schnierle distributes local and nationally originated produce such as cheeses, flour, and grains, primarily to Chicago-area chefs.

Jeff Sparrow
Can generally be found brewing up some type of Belgian-style ale, one of which recently won a gold medal at MCAB V. A homebrewer since 1990, he is a BJCP master judge and has judged at the Great American Beer Festival, is a past president of the Chicago Beer Society and writes for publications such as Brewing News and Zymurgy. He considers frequent trips to Belgium necessary to keep his body properly innoculated.

Matt Stivarius
Matt has been involved in the meat Industry for 11 years, starting out as a sanitation worker for a small meat plant, learning every aspect of the business with hands-on experience. He now works for Griffith Laboratories as a Senior Food Scientist in Protein Seasonings.

Gordon Strong
Gordon Strong has brewed over 80 batches of beer, judged in over 80 competitions, and has graded more than 200 BJCP exams. A member of the DRAFT club in Dayton, Ohio, he is an AHA Liaison, a BJCP Grand Master judge, and a BJCP Associate Exam Director. He has spoken previously on Belgian Dubbels at the MCAB IV conference.

Chris White
Holds a doctorate degree in biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego. He is the president of White Labs Inc., headquartered in San Diego, CA. He founded White Labs Inc. in 1995 as a yeast and fermentation laboratory for brewers and winemakers. He is also part owner of Cold Creek Publishing Co., producer of 'BrewMaster, The Craft Beer Game' and 'The Craft Beer Quarterly.' Chris is a member of the American Society for Brewing Chemists and the Master Brewers Association of America, as well as a lecturer in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at the University of California, San Diego.

Lisa White
Lisa holds a B.S. in Cell & Developmental Biology from the University of California, Davis, and conducted post graduate studies at University of California, San Diego. She conducted research in cell division and protein-protein interactions. Lisa has been the Laboratory Director of White Labs Inc. since 1997.

Dave Wills
Dave Wills attended Oregon State University, earning a B.S. in General Agriculture in 1980. In 1982, he went to the USDA Hop Research Farm in Corvallis, OR looking to find some hop plants, and saw his first green hop. He started Freshops in 1982.

Richard J. (Rick) Wilson
After serving as an entertainer in US Air Force Special Services, received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Worked as process development engineer for Nalco Chemical Co. and later as sales rep. for the Chemical Div. of Borden. Founded Chicagoland Winemakers, Inc. in 1971 and is current CEO.