There were three keynote addresses scheduled for the National Craft-Brewers Conference and Trade Show in Boston in May 1996, one for each day of the annual conclave for smaller brewers now known best as the Craft Brewers Conference. Charlie Papazian, long-time head of the Association of Brewers behind the conference, would give one of the... View Article
It was odd having a media credential recently at the Craft Brewers Conference—the one place on the planet no actual beer news was getting made. Like any conference, the focus was inward; it’s a place to trade business cards and share info, maybe gather some information about a piece of equipment you’d like to add... View Article
In April 1995, Charlie Papazian, president of what would become the Brewers Association, asked a roomful of attendees at the annual Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) to raise their hands if they planned or wanted to open a brewery but had not yet done so. Most of his audience raised their hands. (My source on this... View Article
(Press Release) BOULDER, CO—Leadership expert and anthropologist Simon Sinek will deliver the keynote address at the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America® (CBC) in Portland, Oregon on April 15. Presented by the Brewers Association, CBC is the industry’s largest gathering, bringing together some 11,000 brewing professionals. Sinek is best known for popularizing the concept of... View Article
This may come as a shock to my many fans and admirers, but I’m not the smartest bear in the beverage business. Or even the beer business, as long as we’re qualifying. Nor am I the best-looking, or the richest, or the tallest, or have the whitest teeth. But there’s one metric I suspect I... View Article
The Brewers Association (BA)—the not-for-profit trade group representing America’s small and independent craft brewers—has concluded the 30th edition of the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) & BrewExpo America.
I walked through the crowd on pint night and someone shouted across the room, “Buy you a beer?” I scanned the group and recognized a member of our festival volunteer team. I yelled back, “No, this one’s on me.” He replied, “You’re always buying. Let me return the favor.” In a moment, beer’s social foundation... View Article
Why Ft. Bragg? Well, Ft. Bragg… we moved to Ft. Bragg from Devon, England. Merle and I met in San Francisco. She’s English. It must have been 1976 when she and I met. And when she figured it was time for her to go back to England to spend some time near her mother, we... View Article
