To encourage AIChE members to meet locally, and to tap their collective creativity, AIChE’s Young Professionals Committee launched the AIChE Beer Brewing Competition for local sections. The third annual competition takes place on November 10 at the 2019 AIChE Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL.
We took a moment with Bill Liechty of Team MMAIChE, the grand prize winner of last year's competition, to chat about why they participated, how it impacted their local section, and the benefit of participating.
Why did you participate in the competition?
Chemical engineers receive a lot of technical training relevant for beer brewing. The part that attracted me about the ABBC was the chance to brew with other chemical engineers and ultimately to compete against other brewers with a similar technical background.
How has the competition impacted involvement in your local section?
The competition was a great way to encourage involvement and networking within our local section. Following the competition, our team gave a seminar on the beer brewing process to the local section and brought along samples of the winning beer to share. The meeting was a hit and we hope to make it an annual occurrence!
What value or benefit did you receive by participating in the competition?
The feedback from the Beer Judge Certification Program judges is a great way to improve the quality of our recipe design and brewing process. There have been times when we were surprised by the judges’ comments, but we always take away something to tweak for the next iteration of that recipe.
Additionally, it is fun to see how other teams have approached their beer brewing process. Brewing good beer is part science and part art. Fortunately, the field of chemical engineering is full of bright and creative people skilled in the science and art of brewing, and learning from these people helps our team improve.
2019 AIChE Beer Brewing Competition
AIChE local sections from the continental U.S. are invited to assemble brewing teams within their sections. Teams will brew up to three varieties of beer and develop a poster on the chemical engineering behind their brews. Section brewmeisters will then compete head to head in a taste test and poster session at the Annual Meeting. Don’t forget to register to compete by August 9, 2019.
Learn more about the AIChE Beer Brewing Competition and register.