1st BATCH OF FILES AVAILABLE NOW!

As the Brewers Assn continues to evolve its large event business, the trade org for small indie brewers will partner with the American Cider Assn to "co-locate" next yr's Craft Brewers Conference and CiderCon, the orgs announced this morn. CBC is scheduled to head to San Antonio next April, where both events will share space and infrastructure, "while maintaining the distinct identities, communities, and educational experiences that attendees value most," the orgs wrote. The move follows shifts to both of BA's marquee events made for 2026, as the org adjusted timing and costs of both CBC and GABF, and is set to move the latter outside and away from the Colorado Convention Center for the first time in decades, among other changes. "A CBC that is static isn't going to work" BA prexy/ceo Bart Watson told Craft Brew News. Org got "good feedback" about changes made for CBC in Philly this past spring, as members "generally liked the new schedule" and pricing changes appeared to help keep attendance from declining further, he shared. Those and other adjustments "moved the show in the right direction," Bart thinks, as org keeps looking for ways to make it more "accessible and relevant" for members and other industry members. "Bringing our members together for community is an important part of our mission," he reminded, so BA has to find new ways to "make it valuable to show up." The BA's hoping next yr's shared event will "get more people in both directions."Opens Oppy for Different, Larger Number of Interactions with "Critical Partners" for Distribs One notable change at CBC over the last decade has been the clear decline in distributor attendance. Once upon a time, the show served as an opportunity to facilitate connections between brewers looking to expand distribution and wholesalers looking to expand their portfolios, Bart acknowledged. But attempting to do that today "wouldn't work." It's not where the industry is any more. There's still "a lot of value in brewers and distributors interacting," Bart knows, it just "can't be the same interaction."And though there are "places where craft is less relevant" than it was, there are also "individual craft partners that are more important than ever," he pointed out, with growing brewers "winning locally, winning with depth." That's true of a number of cider makers as well. So the shared convention could also create more value for distrib attendees as it brings together a large number of "critical partners" to the same space, he figures.Opening Up Shared Oppys for Larger Set of Indie Alc Bev Makers "Independent beverage producers are navigating many of the same opportunities and challenges, from evolving consumer preferences to operational pressures and innovation across categories," Bart said in a prepared statement. "By bringing these communities under one roof, we can create more opportunities for learning, connection, and business growth while preserving the unique culture and purpose of each event," he continued. "This partnership reflects the increasingly collaborative nature of the independent beverage alcohol industry," in view of Christine Walter of Bauman's Cider and bd prexy of the ACA.Bev Convergence is Here, But Not Main Driver; Shared Costs and Infrastructure Ongoing convergence of alc (and non-alc) bev categories is "a piece of this," Bart told us, but "not necessarily the primary piece driving this." It's certainly an opportunity for members to "learn from one another," and "costs and logistics" are also a part of the puzzle. Organizing large events is still "getting more and more expensive," and certain costs of running something like CBC are fixed regardless of the precise attendance, he explained. So in those places where you "pay for scale once," there are clear benefits and savings by bringing in a bunch more folks.Tho plenty of details remain to be worked out, the orgs have already identified a "mix of shared infrastructure and opportunities," where the two events feel a little more like one, while also maintaining "pretty distinct" elements, Bart explained. He thinks of CBC as having 4 key elements: commerce, education, community and fun. And the co-location of CBC and CiderCon offers benefits in each bucket, in his estimation. CBC's trade show has only "gotten more important" and the shared event likely means a "bigger shopping market" for both supplier vendors and producer attendees. It's also "additive" on the education front as some content can easily cross over, addressing areas where markets are converging, for instance.Bart foresees "some separation" still on the community-building and networking side, as it will be important for members of each org to have their own distinct spaces, but there will also be key moments for networking in a bigger tent of small alc bev producers. And of course, the more the merrier. Over the decades, the BA built a "great foundation to evolve this event" further, Bart thinks. So he and the teams at the BA and ACA "think this makes a lot of sense" as one way to build on that base. But "we're going to see if that's true or not," he said simply. It's an experiment and the orgs "want to be flexible" as they continue to adjust to a fast-changing US alc bev biz.

CBC and CiderCon to Convene "Under One Roof" in San Antonio Next Spring, BA, ACA Announce

Publishing Info