The Return on Investment of CBC 2022

For a vast number of current and aspiring beer professionals, the annual Craft Brewers Conference hosted by the Brewers Association is THE go-to industry conference for all things beer-related. It’s four full days of seminars, workshops, and social networking events, plus a seemingly endless trade show floor ripe with vendors enthusiastically waiting to sell you everything from gaskets and exotic hops to insurance and glycol systems. Most attendees return home with swag bags full of branded goodies and heads full of ideas. But what’s the true return on investment (ROI) of attending the Craft Brewers Conference when it comes to growing the bottom line of your brewery business? If you or your team didn’t attend the conference, this will give you some insight into what was missed and for those that did attend, some ideas for how to revisit sessions and take advantage of all that was offered to help you optimize the business side of your brewery.

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Boys Are From Märzen Podcast | Dr. J Nikol Jackson-Beckham

In Episode 62 of the “Boys Are From Märzen” podcast, Kindsey Bernhard is joined by Dr. J Nikol Jackson-Beckham, the Brewers Association Equity & Inclusion Partner.

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Brewers Association Survey: As States Reopen Optimism Grows

The Brewers Association recently published the results from their third COVID-19 impact survey, aimed at gauging the state of the craft brewing industry. While things are far from rosy, as states begin to loosen restrictions, many craft brewers are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

The previous survey in April found that nearly 60% of breweries surveyed expected to be out of business in three months or less if conditions did not change. Fast forward seven weeks and this most recent survey finds that nearly 82% of breweries in the survey are either very or somewhat confident in their ability to remain open through 2020. Read More

The First Sip: Life After COVID-19

With more time to watch movies and shows, I’ve been reevaluating the importance of entertainment and imagination. One movie I’ve been thinking about is Big Fish—particularly the end where Albert Finney and Billy Crudup envision how “the story ends.” The ending they come up with is a bright visualization—a jubilant, cheerful scene where the son carries his dying father to a pond through a long stretch of smiling faces. As they walk down the hill towards the pond, the father gets a standing ovation from the dozens of quirky people who made up his remarkable (if exaggerated) life’s story.

Sometimes those kinds of visualizations are fun distractions—a daydream to pass the time. But sometimes visualizations are a coping mechanism, pure survival. It’s not news that we’re missing a lot right now. And when we miss things, it’s easy to let our minds wander and dream about what may come. So that’s exactly what we’re going to do. With the help of some lovely folks in the craft beer industry, we’re going to close our eyes and imagine what it’ll be like on that first day back to life.

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2020 SAVOR Tickets Go On Sale February 18th

It’s that time of year again. The Brewers Association’s 13th annual craft beer and food pairing event, Savor, will be making its return to Washington, D.C. on May 5th. Tickets for this don’t miss event go on sale February 18th for Brewers Association and American Homebrewers Association members, and February 19th for all non-members. Three different ticket tiers will be available for purchase: general admissions ($139), premium ($179) and VIP ($249). Be sure to mark the date down in your calendars to get your tickets!

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Why CBC Returned to Denver in 2019 and CBC 2020-2022 Locations

As the Brewers Association (BA) gears up for this week’s Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) we decided to catch up with the governing body of craft beer to dive deeper into their decision to move this year’s conference from Indianapolis to Denver, just months before GABF will once again be held in the same city. Ann Obenchain, Marketing Director for the Brewers Association, spoke with PorchDrinking.com about this year, and the years to follow.

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Event Recap | The 2018 GABF Jameson Caskmates Brewery Partner Program

Some argued that the Jameson Whiskey presence at GABF may at first seem almost hypocritical, given the Brewers Association stance on companies such as Anheuser Busch InBev (ABI). As a writer who full-time covers both spirits and beer, I can confidently argue that one should never confuse the two industries. As liquids, they may be similar. They are not industry siblings, however, but instead distant cousins. Moreover, whereas companies like ABI seek to confuse the marketplace, actively targeting craft beer drinkers and even paying fines for unfair practices, Jameson has never hidden from its name and the distillery consistently champions and collaborates with craft breweries, both in the U.S. and Ireland.

(For my short commentary on Jameson and the spirits industry—vs. the beer industry—see the two paragraphs at the bottom of the story.)
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The Weekly Buzz | April 6 – 12

This was one of those weeks that I allowed my day job to get in the way of my fun beer writing job. I really had to push my Twitter-scrolling finger past its safety limits to get this post out in time. While I grab an ice pack and a beer, you can check out this edition of The Weekly Buzz.
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Trendy Fad or Innovation in Beer? Inside the Curious Case for Hazy IPAs

The craft beer movement in the US has forever changed the definition of beer. The grapefruit and pine flavors of the cascade hop catalyzed a revolution in the late 1970’s that couldn’t be stopped. Brewers revived old styles, improved on current styles, and created entirely new ones at an astonishing speed.

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The Weekly Buzz | March 2 – 8

Since I’m writing this on International Women’s Day, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank all of my strong, creative female colleagues at PorchDrinking. Without them, this humble beer blog would be but a shadow of itself. Their hard work and dedication keeps this train on the tracks, and their fresh points of view help us keep our content fresh and relevant in an ever-changing world. I invite you all to raise a glass to them! Now, here’s some stuff I found on Twitter. This is The Weekly Buzz.
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Corporate Beer is Not Going to Like This

Last week, the Brewers Association sent out a press release announcing that more than “3,000 craft brewing companies—representing more than 6,000 craft brewing locations in the U.S.—have signed on to use the independent craft brewer seal.”

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America Now Boasts Over 6000 Breweries in Operation & More Beer Stats

The Brewers Association published its end of year report this morning announcing that there were over 6,000 breweries in operation across the United States in 2017. That number reflects an increase of over 438 operational breweries since their mid-year report was announced in August, and an increase of approximately 1000 breweries in operation since last December 2016.

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Budweiser’s “The High End” Responds to Brewers Association’s Independent Label

Earlier this week, the Brewers Association announced the launch of a marketing campaign to help distinguish independently owned craft breweries with a special label to raise awareness on a brewery’s independence. Qualifying breweries can utilize the label on product packaging, signage, menus and other marketing collateral.

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Craft Breweries Declare Their Independence with BA’s Official Seal

As the craft beer industry begins to wade through the murky waters of distinguishing itself from other non-craft entities, the Brewers Association has decided to make the distinction even more clear. This morning the Boulder-based national trade organization announced the creation of an official seal to help independently owned craft breweries for qualifying members.

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Event Recap | 2017 SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience

SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience is one of the most premier craft beer events on the East Coast. The Brewers Association, in partnership with the historic National Building Museum, brings forth this incredible event to give beer lovers a chance to meet brewers, find rare delicacies and experience unbelievable combinations that bring new meaning to taste and smell. In our long history of covering this event, PorchDrinking gave me the opportunity to savor a beer festival unlike any other.

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

The BA releases its list of Top 50 Brewers, Mississippi officially allows direct sales to customers at breweries and Maine brewers look to streamline state laws. North, South, East and West – no matter where you live in the U.S., we’ve got you covered on the latest craft beer news. Keep reading to catch the details of these stories and more in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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The Weekly Buzz | December 16 – 22

It’s almost Christmas, but I won’t give you a cheesy Christmas message. I’ll give you something real. This is a sentiment that we can all relate to in this stressful holiday season. Oh… and I’ll give you The Weekly Buzz, too.

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

Oskar Blues launches Pinner 16-packs, AB InBev opens Goose Island pubs in Europe and Almanac ends its canning program. You can’t be the smartest beer nerd at the bottle share if you don’t keep up with the craft beer news. Keep reading to catch the details of these stories and more in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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BREAKING | Number of Breweries in America Tops 5,005 & More 2016 Beer Trends

The Brewer’s Association, the national not-for-profit trade organization for the craft beer industry released a look back on high level trends for 2016 craft beer this morning. The most notable of which includes the fact that America now has a record 5,005 U.S. breweries in operation, with 99% consisting of small and independent craft brewers.

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The Weekly Buzz | November 25 – December 1

The delicious foods of Thanksgiving are behind us, and the darkness of Christmas shopping has enveloped us all. This week started out with three shopping holidays: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. What should I get my dad for Christmas? Does he already have a belt sander? I’m going to turn on my shower, curl up in the fetal position and wait for this all to blow over. You? You can pass your time with the beer news and shenanigans inside this edition of The Weekly Buzz.

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