By Roger Bull of Jacksonville.com

Jacksonville’s stature as a beer city will get a boost next year when it will host hundreds of brewmasters from around the country.
The Master Brewers Association of the Americas will hold its annual conference here Oct. 7-19, 2015, bringing 500 brewers to the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.

“I think it’s pretty awesome,” said Luch Scremin, co-owner and brewmaster at Engine 15 Brewing Co. in Jacksonville Beach, who was part of the process of luring the group here.

“I was stoked we were even in contention. I think we bring such a great variety to it. We have local breweries and brew pubs that are part of national chains. We even have a macro brewery on the Northside, so we really represent American brewing.”

Scremin said it started when Laura Kowalksi and her husband walked into Engine 15 one night for a beer. She works at the Hyatt and had been talking with a smaller affiliated group, American Society of Brewing Chemists, about coming to Jacksonville. She and Scremin started talking, he got involved and wrote a letter talking not only about Jacksonville’s beer scene, but about the need for education.”

The conference is primarily a technical convention with brewmasters meeting and talking about how to brew better beer.

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