The Latest Buzz From The 2017 Craft Brewers Conference

The 2017 Craft Beer Conference, a  four-day industry-only gathering of craft beer professionals which is currently taking place in Washington DC is always an awesome hang and great way to take the beer business’ temperature. 

And here’s some of what’s been going on…

This Year’s CBC Is Ginormous

If craft beer has reached some sort of saturation point you wouldn’t notice it, by the number of attendees at this week’s CBC.

This year’s conference seems larger than ever, and even though the Brewers Association has estimated that at least 14,000 industry professionals would be attending, the crowds that packed yesterday’s opening Keynote presentation was overwhelming and we’re guessing that this CBC could prove to be a record-breaker.

The Opening Keynote

One of the smart things the BA has done at this year’s CBC is to make the morning Keynotes a two day event. The CBC is a huge sprawl of activities with people swarming this way and that – and keynote is that one time when potentially everyone is in the same room. So if you’re looking to catch up with friends (or apologize for last night’s drunken missteps) this may be your best opportunity.

Tuesday’s opening keynote presentations consisted of welcoming remarks that touched on the current state of the industry by the BA’s Bob Pease and Paul Gatza and Board Chair Rob Todd.

And while those brief presentations were appropriately upbeat, they all seemed to acknowledge in their own ways that storm clouds could be gathering for an industry that’s been on a roll for over a decade.

Representative Peter DeFazio the founder of the House Small Brewers Caucus then took to the stage to welcome attendees to DC.

Finally, Alison Levine, an accomplished mountain climber, explorer and leadership consultant, hit the stage like a rock star for the morning’s official keynote presentation – and although you can tell she’d given this talk many times before it was still exceptionally entertaining.

How can you not but be wowed by a woman who has actually climbed the highest peak on every continent, served as the team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, and skied across the Arctic Circle to the geographic North Pole?

And even as her talk seemed to meander on occasion, in its effort to tie her experiences the craft beer industry, she commanded the stage and was damn good speaker.

 CBC Awards Awarded

Yesterday also saw a number of industry awards handed out. Odell Brewing’s Winnie Odell was on hand to present the Brewer’s Association Recognition Award for significant achievement to Russian River’s uber-deserving Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo who were equally gracious when they took to the stage.

And Colorado’s Elite Brands had their whole team on stage to accept their award as the Craft Beer Wholesaler of the Year.