Science Cafe NH will host an event to tie in with its new location at Killarney’s Irish Pub in Nashua, The Science of Beer and Brewing.

The science of brewing is one of the oldest acts of chemistry and is expected to provide an invigorating discussion for scientists and home brewers.

The Science of Beer and Brewing discussion will run from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, at Killarney’s Irish Pub in the Holiday Inn, Nashua. Attendees are urged to show up early.

The panelists for this discussion offer a variety of brewing backgrounds. Panelists include Tom O’Connell, North America director of Brewing at Anheuser-Busch; Stan Hutchings, chemist, researcher and wine maker and beer brewer; and Michael Fairbrother, Moonlight Meadery founder and mead maker. Also participating will be Rob North, Brew Free or Die president who has repeatedly been named Brewer of the Year in the competition of New England homebrewers.

O’Connell, originally from Brookline, graduated from University of New Hampshire with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He has held a variety of positions in the brewing industry and is the North American director of brewing at Anheuser-Busch based in St. Louis, Mo. O’Connell’s responsibilities include managing day-to-day brewing operations at 18 North American Anheuser-Busch Inbev Breweries – 12 in the United States and six in Canada.

His current role involves monitoring the quality of the raw materials, the brewery’s process control and integration of new and emerging brewing technologies.

Hutchings received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from Stevens Institute of Technology. He spent his professional career in the pharmaceutical industry at Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., in Nutley, N.J. He retired from paid chemistry in 2005 and moved to Walpole. He has planted a number of varieties of hops in recent years and is attempting to grow warm weather grapes in a cold climate. Hutchings makes his wine and beer from commercially available raw materials.

Fairbrother, of Londonderry, has been making mead since 1995 and is a three-time Mead Maker of the Year. Fairbrother produces more than 60 varieties of mead at Moonlight Meadery which is distributed to 23 states.

North began as a home brewer in the late-90s making wine. In 2007, he realized he could make beer at home using the same ingredients that professional brewers use – malt, hops, yeast and water. He has brewed more than 140 batches of beer, mead and cider. In 2008, he joined Brew Free or Die, New Hampshire’s oldest and largest home brew club, and has been the club’s president since 2012. From 2009-12, North has won dozens of medals at the New England Regional Home Brew Competition and was awarded Brewer of the Year, four consecutive years. North’s “American Rauchbier” also beat out hundreds of entries from across New England to win the Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Competition, earning him the opportunity to have his beer served at Gillette Stadium for the 2010 New England Patriots season. He now helps organize and judge local and national home brew competitions. He is in the planning stage of opening his own brewery and
restaurant.

Science Cafe New Hampshire is a grassroots effort to encourage informal but science-based discussion of issues important to New Hampshire. It was started in 2011 by two science fans, Dan Marcek and Sarah Eck, with no funding or sponsorship.

Science cafes have been around for decades in Europe, where educators, scientists and enthusiasts began mixing socializing with topical discussions. The format has become more popular in the U.S., featuring university professors discussing their work while relaxing in restaurants or bars.

A chance encounter between Marcek and Hopkinton resident Eck resulted in the cafes. Eck, a recent Dartmouth College graduate and newly minted biochemist with a doctorate degree, was looking for venues where she could talk science with kindred spirits.

“I always wanted to start something like this,” Marcek said of the cafe series. “But I didn’t have the time when I was working and traveling a lot. After I was let go, I got busy on it.”

Over time, cafe topics have covered a range of areas, including climate change, vaccines, biomass energy, Lyme disease, light pollution, nanotechnology and digital privacy.

Though a relatively new venture, growing interest in the Science Cafe has inspired fledgling venues in the Seacoast area, at Dartmouth and at Plymouth State University, Marcek said.