It’s that time of the year. Spring is here, Easter break is near and in Philadelphia, it’s time for beer. As in Craft Brewers Conference; affectionately known in our industry as the CBC.
Unlike any other conference that caters to the beer industry, the CBC is the most widely attended and most complete offering for the craft and specialty beer category. This year, the 22nd annual CBC will be held in Philadelphia April 13-16th.
The conference will be unique this year in that it is the first CBC since the Association of Brewers and Brewers Association of America joined forces late last year to create the new Brewers Association. The BAA held its final conference in November of last year.
Otherwise, the event will look very similar to past conferences, including multiple tracks of speakers and panels and a two day trade show where vendors to the industry show their wares. One new addition this year will be a series of seminars specifically on export opportunities for craft brewers. The BA will have an Export Development Program Beer Station (booth #224) on the trade floor for those who wish more information about the exports seminars and the BA’s efforts to promote export opportunities..
And of course the events and parties alongside the conference will be abundant and most certainly well attended. It starts early this year, with a pre-conference party at the Stoudt’s Brewing Company on Tuesday evening. The BA will once again host its annual Welcome Reception the next evening, usually one of the most jovial of the events as many industry friends and comrades greet for the first time at the conference.
A new twist on the party circuit this year will be a nightly “Brewers Late Night Hangout” at the Independence Brewpub. Surely not to be as wild and crazy as the ‘ol Larry Bell late night suite parties of the past, but a place to gather for those wishing to socialize into the morning hours; which tends to be many at this conference.
The folks at Craft Beer Quarterly will be hosting a hospitality all day on Friday which is billed as “a place to meet your friends, relax after a long night, or discuss a seminar over Happy Hour.” It will be open from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm.
For a complete listing of events, parties, talks and all of the conference details, visit beertown.org.