CLEVELAND, Ohio – The next time you order a craft beer and hold up your glass, remember to toast Andy Tveekrem.
Tveekrem, head brewer at Market Garden Brewery in Cleveland’s Ohio City, has always been about quality beer. And like veteran brewers, he is well versed in the technical aspects of his craft. And there are many, considering it takes a daily chemistry experiment to brew beer.
Tveekrem recently was named president of the Master Brewers Association, an international organization with about 5,000 members. Tveekrem has been involved since 1994, and over the last several years has been working with the national committee focused on technology. That led to being on the executive committee, where he moved rung by rung into the presidency.
“We exist to educate brewers, keep the technical discussion flowing amongst breweries, and run educational classes,” he said. That means holding instructional seminars on malting, utilities and packaging. The organization publishes books and encourages an interactive forum online.
It is an apolitical body, so it is not about lobbying. It focuses on the technical side of the craft to help as many brewers as possible.
It’s a ‘rising tide floats all boats’ kind of thing,” Tveekrem said.
If a brewer has a problem, the organization’s structure fosters networking, and that problem-solving base helps brewers correct issues that might arise.
While all that might seem distanced from the average drinker, there is a tangible effect.
Craft brewing’s communality is amazing. It is rare in the business world, yet common among brewers. While Coca-Cola wouldn’t talk to Pepsi, “inter-brewer communication” leads to breweries helping each other become better, Tveekrem said. That means the industry becomes stronger. And that leads to – hopefully – a well-made beer being poured into Joe or Jane Sixpack’s pint. With more than 8,000 breweries in the country, it’s no small deal.
Originally, the organization – which has been around since the 1880s – held meetings in German, because many of the participants were immigrant brewers, Tveekrem said. It has headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, with more than two dozen districts throughout the world.
“It’s one of the earliest industrial trade groups around,” he said.
And while the effects of diacetyl and research into linalool might seem like Greek to the average person, the group’s ultimate mission is simply to make sure beer is good. So the next time you hold up a glass with local suds, toast Tveekrem and the Master Brewers Association.
I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Twitter: @mbona30.
Get a jumpstart on the weekend and sign up for Cleveland.com’s weekly “In the CLE” email newsletter, your essential guide to the top things to do in Greater Cleveland. It will arrive in your inbox on Friday mornings - an exclusive to-do list, focusing on the best of the weekend fun. Restaurants, music, movies, performing arts, family fun and more. Just click here to subscribe. All cleveland.com newsletters are free.