Craft Brewers Talk Shop at First Craft Beverage Expo

Can folks from the worlds of craft beer, artisanal wine and craft spirits get along, learn from one another and grow successfully together? The organizers of the first-ever Craft Beverage Expo are betting on it, and it all starts here at the San Jose Convention Center with a comprehensive trade show and conference taking place this week, through Thursday, May 8.

The inaugural Craft Beverage Expo provides workshops and resources, not on how to make tasty libations, but on the more common threads of marketing, business development and regulation. The conference aims to unite the entire craft beverage industry, showcasing the latest best practices pertaining to everything post production, from bottling to marketing to distribution, as well as recent developments in government regulations.

There are 24 workshops, more than 150 exhibitors and plenty of networking opportunities over the three days. The breakout sessions include: “Social Media 101: The What, How, and Why of Networking in a Regulated Space”; “Packaging Your Brand: Balancing Form, Function, and Scalability”; “Marketing on a Shoestring”; “Distribution 101: Finding a Distributor for Your Product”; “Managing Your Distributor”; “Stacking Licenses: Making the Transition from One to Multiple Craft Commodities” and “Are Your Ads and Marketing Programs in Compliance?”

Expect a strong craft beer presence. Brooklyn Brewery’s co-founder Stephen Hindy moderates the opening general session “Craft as Community–A Brooklyn Case Study,” while Lagunitas Brewing Company’s founder, Tony Magee, participates in the closing general session “Innovation: Evolution, Revolution and Moving Craft Forward.” One particular session sure to be popular is entitled “Entrepreneurial Triumph: Lessons Learned from Pioneers of the Early Revolution” and features notable craft beer figures Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River Brewing Company), Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada Brewing), Hindy (Brooklyn Brewery) and Rob Tod (Allagash Brewing Company).

[This post was shared on SanJose.com.]