Join Me At The Central European Brewers Conference
I have some exciting news to share: I’ve been invited to give the keynote speech at this year’s Central European Brewers Conference in Budapest. I’ve never visited this city routinely described as one of Europe’s most beautiful, so I’m psyched. Outside of Bohemia, moreover, the region doesn’t get the attention it deserves, and I was dazzled by the beer and beer culture I found on visits to Vienna and Kraków in 2019. It will be great to report back what I found in February and shine a light on the region.
Central European Brewers Conference
Budapest, January 24-26, 2024
Tickets - early bird pricing available through December 15
I’m going to be speaking on a topic dear to my heart—how culture manifests—but the talk will have a special focus on why that’s relevant to individual breweries. The speech will explore how, in deepening beer culture in a town or region, one creates the infrastructure for long term health in an industry. In other words, if you want to make your own brewery thrive, do it by building a thriving beer culture. Since most small breweries throughout the world follow the model of American craft brewing, I will use examples from the United States to illustrate the point. (Though longtime readers know that occasional nods to places like Bavaria, Bohemia, and Belgium may crop up.)
Here’s the official text:
American craft beer has ignited a global resurgence in small-scale brewing. Yet certain regions have produced more successful breweries, more interest in beer, and cultures that truly support brewing — through good times and bad. How did Southern California, Central Colorado, and Western Oregon build such deep beer cultures, and what lessons do these examples contain for other places?
If you’re at all interested in attending the conference, I’d encourage you to join us. It is a smaller event, which means you’ll have real access to the folks on the ground, including luminaries like Evan Rail, who is the conference MC; see the list of speakers at the links above. The conference also has European Craft Beer Cup, so breweries can look into that as well. I’ll be traveling through Prague on my way there—I mean, how could I not?—but I plan to stay in Budapest for a few days afterward and I’ll certainly be available to grab a beer and chat while I’m there. Indeed, meeting folks is one of the main benefits to me for attending. I look forward to seeing you in Budapest!