Deep Liquid Creates First Artificial Intelligence Platform for Craft Beer

Company brings AI services to small batch craft beer industry via collaboration with US Nola Brewing and New Bohemian Brewing

NEW ORLEANS, LA. (May 31, 2022) — Deep Liquid, co-founded by Denham D’Silva, Dr. Jamie Sherrah and Dr. Simon Lucey, recently launched its first AI-generated beer, “The Rodney AI IPA,” in Australia. The beer is a result of the company’s mission to expand AI to small and medium businesses, while engaging customers to ensure this technological revolution is beneficial for the entire community. Now, the company is partnering with Nola Brewing and New Bohemian Brewing for collaborations in the U.S. — bringing the art of AI craft beer to historic New Orleans. The AI Blonde Ale will be released at a Launch Party at Nola Brewery on June 20th to coincide with CVPR, the world’s premier computer vision event.

“Initially, I was quite terrified of the trend,” admits D’Silva, co-founder and CEO of Deep Liquid. “I had started a craft brewery with a focus on quality. However, I soon realized awards don’t make for a viable business. Independent craft brewers unable to scale were going to struggle to create the efficiencies needed to remain competitive. I feared for the fate of small producers like me, and the public, who benefit from a broad range of craft producers.”

D’Silva who had a previous position as Regional VP for Merrill Lynch says he was aware consolidation would hit the beer industry. “I had seen it while I was an investment banker, smaller and mid-sized companies, unable to reach economies of scale, struggled and were often take-over targets.”

By stroke of luck, or fate, D’Silva had a beer with Dr. Lucey at a start-up incubator. Also a beer lover, Lucey shared D’Silva’s concerns about the industry — but Lucey was much more optimistic about the opportunity of AI. Dr. Sherrah, a colleague of Lucey’s and a beer lover as well, soon became involved. Together, they formed Deep Liquid to serve as a solution to global supply issues and to ensure small and medium local producers remain competitive. Deep Liquid’s platform brings the entire community into a conversion — and what better way to start a conversion about AI than over an AI generated beer?

“I’ve been very fortunate to work at some of the most prestigious institutions, on the cutting edge of AI research,” says Lucey. “The chance to help direct a company with a goal to spread the thoughtful application of Machine Learning to SMEs and the broader community was too compelling an opportunity. I wanted to be part of this journey.”

Deep Liquid was formed in 2022 to maximize this opportunity to provide critical easy-to-implement AI services to capture and unlock the value in SMEs collective data. Rather than replace humans, Deep Liquid augments human resources to remove guesswork to optimize labor. The company’s mission has struck a chord with many, including AI pioneer Rodney Brooks who put his name on the 1st AI beer.

“I was excited by this project as it fits with what I am passionate about — creating AI applications that make our lives and jobs better. What I love about Deep Liquid is how their service doesn’t seek to replace but serves humans,” says Brooks, former professor and director at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and creator of AI inventions such as the Roomba, who has been at the forefront of making AI more accessible. “With a critical worker shortage, it has never been more vital we find ways to make every worker more productive. This is the only way we increase quality of life.”

“AI at its best augments the finest human qualities. It’s great that Denham’s brewing contacts have literally put in a can an example of how AI can positively impact human art and creativity,” says Dr. Sherrah. “The brewers have told me the recipe benefited from the AI’s ability to access millions of data points and dynamically integrate real time consumer feedback. What is very exciting is this has applications across many industries.”

But how does it work? Named for Brooks, “The Rodney AI IPA,” for example, has a QR code that encourages customers to review the beer. This process provides valuable customer engagement with the brewery as well as data to be processed in real-time to suggest recipe adjustments. By leveraging Deep Liquid’s AI platform, the research and development process is significantly more robust and efficient.

“The neural network allowed us to get “Rodney v2” into market 70% faster,” says D’Silva, adding, “I’m also confident it’s improved market performance was thanks to Deep Liquid’s AI augmented research and development.”

This initial beer was an experiment between The Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) and Barossa Valley Brewing (BVB), founded by D’Silva. AIML is currently ranked third in the world for Computer Vision research (CSR rankings) and ranked among the top 10 AI research institutions in the world. BVB is the current Champion Australian Small Brewery (SA National Beer Awards 2021). AIML and BVB worked in partnership to create a neural network capable of developing a beer.

About Deep Liquid: Deep Liquid was formed in 2022 to maximize this opportunity to provide critical easy-to-implement AI services to capture and unlock the value in SMEs collective data. The opportunity does not aim to replace humans, rather Deep Liquid augments human resources to remove guesswork such that labor is optimized. Deep Liquid’s AI platform produced the first AI beer, The Rodney AI IPA, in Australia in 2021 and is set to launch a new collaboration with Nola Brewing Company in New Orleans, New Bohemian Brewery in Santa Cruz and Hit Cat Brewing in Taiwan in summer 2022. For more: deepliquid.ai.

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