New panel discussion at The Crown: What’s Brewing?

March 27th, 2020
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

What’s Brewing is part of our “Understanding Extraction” series at The Crown, which brings experts together from adjacent industries to relate their experience with issues of sustainability, supply chain dynamics, explorations in flavor profiling, and how it all relates to coffee. The idea is to learn from one another; together, we can change the way we handle our product for the better from seed to cup or, in this case, from seed to suds. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to wrangle some of the foremost industry experts from the Bay Area (and beyond) on all things brewing to relate their experiences. I’ll be asking questions related to our challenges securing raw materials locally and internationally, the ebb and flow from commodity to craft, and how coffee and beer work together as a final beverage. And what would a coffee and beer event be without a tasting? Join us at Drake’s Dealership afterwards for beers made by our panelists using coffee from Royal Coffee!

Tickets are free, but space is limited!

Here’s a little bit about our panelists:

Lauren Price:

Lauren Price is a brewer and professional fermentation practitioner. Whether it’s craft beer, kombucha, or wine, Lauren is tackling it with her new project @mindscapefermentations along with her partner Lauren Zehnder. She graduated from UA Birmingham with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Distribution, and continued her education in California, graduating from the UC Davis Master Brewers program. With years of experience using adjuncts as a brewer, Lauren brings knowledge of how to incorporate new and exciting ingredients to the fermentation process.

John Gillooly:

John Gillooly is the Brewmaster at Drake’s Brewing Company, and has been in the beer industry since 1995. He’s done stints at Dogfish Head, Trumer, and Speakeasy, and a number of others. In the beer industry, John needs no introduction. He’s brewed nearly every style of beer under the sun, and is an industry treasure. His vast experience with both primary ingredients and adjuncts is bound to inform the discussion – and that’s an understatement.

Lester Koga:

Lester Koga is Co-founder and Head Brewer at Barebottle Brewing Company. From beginnings as an avid homebrewer, Lester has built a company that tackles brewing, winemaking, sodamaking – and Lester even roasts coffee himself. Barebottle supplies the recipe of every beer they make on the packaging, and offers homebrew classes at their Bernal Heights brewery. Freely sharing information is something inspiring to all of us at The Crown!

Derek Gallanosa:

Derek Gallanosa is the Head Brewer at Moksa Brewing Company, where he wears many hats including membership, sales, and social media. A powerhouse beyond experience in the brewery, Derek edifies himself in all things beer, and has even taught Craft Beer Marketing as part of UC Davis’ Continuing and Professional Education program. Also an avid coffee lover, Derek is widely considered to be one of the best pastry beer brewers in the country. If you haven’t had a pastry stout with coffee, you haven’t lived…

Michael Meier:

Michael Meier is the Head Brewer at Berkeley Brewing Science, a provider of specialty yeasts passionate about developing the next generation of brewer’s yeast. A certified Sommelier and Cicerone, Michael has worked in the wine and beer industries for more than 15 years as a buyer, Sommelier, and as Lead Brewer at Heretic in Fairfield, among other things. He has a deep knowledge of how yeast contribute to the flavor profiles of our fermented beverages by interacting with the constituents of a brew: Michael is also a graduate of the UC Davis Master Brewers Program.