INWArtisan Grains Conference Keynotes!

Aaron MacLeod (HARTWICK COLLEGE CENTER FOR CRAFT FOOD AND BEVERAGE)

Aaron MacLeod has been involved with malting and brewing quality testing and research for 14 years and is currently the Director of the Hartwick College Center for Craft Food and Beverage. The Center provides quality testing for beer and brewing raw materials including barley, malt and hops.  Aaron was previously a chemist in the Canadian Grain Commission’s Grain Research Laboratory where he provided quality assurance for malting barley grown in western Canada and conducted research on factors affecting malting barley quality and quality measurement methods.  Aaron is also a member of the Technical Committee of the American Society of Brewing Chemists and presents frequently on topics related to malting and brewing science and quality testing methods. Aaron earned his B.Sc degree in chemistry from the University of Western Ontario.

Joel Williamson (The Grain Shed/LINC MALT)

Joel grew up in his family's rose-growing green house south of Spokane, walking around on stilts under two acres of glass. Joel studied theatrical lighting design at Eastern Washington University, and toured with theatre companies in LA before landing back in Spokane to work in city government and nonprofits. He earned his MBA in Sustainable Systems from Bainbridge Graduate Institute at Pinchot University with an emphasis on Finance and Entrepreneurship. He now oversees LINC's craft malting operation as Master Maltster. In 2018 he co-founded The Grain Shed cooperative, a bakery and brewery in Spokane's South Perry district that uses 100% locally grown grains. Joel enjoys quality time with his wife Lauren, and their dog Stanley.