The WBC Connect 2020 Main Stage is sponsored by
Opening Speaker
Pete Kraemer, Chief Supply Officer, AB InBev
As a fifth-generation brewmaster, Pete Kraemer has spent the last 31 years turning his passion for beer and quality ingredients into a career at AB InBev. He leads brewery operations, R&D, supply chain, quality assurance testing, and product innovation spanning 230 breweries and 700 distribution centers around the world.
Closing Speaker
Keith Villa, CERIA Brewing Co.
Keith is a third generation Coloradan, whose higher education began with an undergraduate degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. This made him well suited for his first job out of school in 1986, conducting research on yeast and fermentation for Coors Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado. In 1988, Keith and his wife, Jodi, traveled to Belgium where Keith earned a Ph.D. in brewing science from the University of Brussels; a degree held by only a handful of people in the world.
Keith created Blue Moon Brewing Company in 1995 as an operating unit of Coors, which later became MillerCoors. Blue Moon’s Belgian White, garnished by a Valencia orange slice, grew to become the number 1 craft beer brand in the U.S. During this time, Keith became a well-known brewmaster in the industry, appearing in Blue Moon TV commercials, hosting beer dinners, serving as a celebrity and judge at beer competitions, and appearing in numerous brewing articles.
Now retired from MillerCoors after 32 years, Keith and Jodi are focusing on the next stage in their careers – the creation of non-alcoholic craft brews which are available nationally, and non-alcoholic craft brews infused with THC that offer consumers a socially acceptable and responsible way to enjoy cannabis. These infused products will be offered by their CERIA (rhymes with “area”) Brewing Company and sold first in Colorado, then to other states where the use of recreational marijuana is legal.