Beer with a Scientist to focus on how microbiology is used in making whiskey

April 5 in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 29, 2017) — The next Beer with a Scientist event will be led by Kevin Smith, a distillery manager for Brown-Forman Corporation, who will discuss how microbiology is used in making whiskey and address the challenges of preserving these skills in an era of advanced technology.

Smith will explain how modern yeast handling practices and industrial equipment for distillery sanitation allow for improved consistency, quality and sensory character of new whiskey. He also will describe how individual yeast strains affect a whiskey’s flavor.

“Fermentation science goes beyond the microbiological aspects related to yeast, lactic bacteria used in the sour mash process and the control of microbial contaminants,” said Smith. “Other biological processes we must wrangle are grains, grain quality and the enzyme systems in malted barley, which are critical to breaking starches in grain down to metabolizable sugars.”

The event begins at 8 p.m. on April 5, at Against the Grain Brewery in Louisville. A 30-minute presentation will be followed by an informal Q&A session.