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BA board chair and FX Matt prexy Fred Matt had a similar glass-half-full outlook on craft beer and beyond, backed by his company's resilience across generations. Despite ongoing "market challenges, I'd tell you that there's loads of opportunity in the market and we will succeed," Fred said addressing CBC crowd to kick off the closing general session. "I know that because some of my friends on the board remind me constantly that I've been around for a long time," he quipped. That's true for Fred, who's worked in the industry for 30+ yrs, and especially true of Fred's company that "survived and thrived for over 138 years." And "that's not without challenge," he underscored. FX Matt faced "major challenges over the years," from pandemics to prohibition, World Wars, to "the rise of national breweries that tried to wipe out people like us," and "an ever-changing consumer." It's pretty much just "Yuengling and us&hellip;that survived in that period" and maintained independence. FX Matt "embraced passion and hard work and reinvented ourselves continuously" thruout its history, Fred noted. But "our greatest successes" have "come from a relentless focus on delighting our customers and exceeding their expectations&hellip;. When we do that and we're successful in doing that, they keep coming back, and we as a company thrive. When we don't do that, we struggle. We struggle mightily." There will be more challenges in the road ahead for craft brewers, he assured. "But what I see is a passion for beer, a commitment to our communities, an ability to delight our customer," putting extra emphasis on the latter. "What I see is resilience," and "what I see is you," Fred concluded.Ninkasi's "Battle Tested and Ready for the Future"; Jamie Floyd Wins Defense of Industry Award Ninkasi's co-founder Jamie Floyd was awarded this yr's FX Matt Defense of the Industry Award, becoming the 26th recipient of this award featuring standout craft industry vets fighting for indie brewer rights across the country. He was introduced as "a great fighter for our industry&hellip;standing on the front lines of some of the most aggressive tax proposals in the country" in his home state of Oregon, where he helped defeat 6 alcohol tax increase proposals since 2020. He was also a "foundational part of launching the Oregon Beverage Alliance, bringing together breweries, wineries, cideries, distillers and their partners into one coordinated voice."Jamie reflected back on his first Oreg Brewers Guild meeting in 1996, recalling that Deschutes founder Gary Fish "chastised the crowd," telling 'em they're "twenty years behind wine" with "no seat at the table," and it was "going to take years and years to build the coalition we need as an industry." This stuck with him since he already "knew I'd own my own brewery," realizing that "I would need to learn what it took to make sure our legislators knew how important what we do every day is." But OR brewers "now have a seat at the table," evidenced by former Rep Peter DeFazio who previously won this FX Matt defense of the industry award in 2023 for his bipartisan work with Republican Rep Greg Walden to form the Beer Caucus, Sen Wyden and Sen Merkely's work on CBMTRA tax relief, and Sen Val Hoyle also helping "fight the fight with us, beer in hand." Ninkasi's team is "battle tested, and ready for the future," he declared, thanking all who helped it get there. Jamie's one "call to action" was to "write a letter to your state or federal legislator" to stress the importance of "what you do" for your community, and "invite them to your brewery." There's "nothing more powerful," and if you "do it right," one day those legislators will "become your friends," and maybe even your drinking buddies.

Still "Loads of Opportunity" in "Challenging" Times, Sez Fred Matt; "We Will Succeed"

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