AGENDA

Note: All sessions are at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott unless indicated. Agenda is subject to change. See below the agenda for details on each agenda item.

OPTIONAL PRE-CONFERENCE EXCURSION IN CHICAGO
Thursday, July 12, 2012
6:00 PM           Meet at Goose Island Clybourn Brewpub in Chicago for dinner
8:00 PM           Chicago pub crawl organized by local bloggers Jess Murphy and Kristin Stroud

Friday, July 13, 2012
8:30 AM           Depart Chicago by bus for Indianapolis
12:00 PM          Lunch and tasting at Lafayette Brewing Company en route
1:30 PM            Depart Lafayette for Indianapolis

OFFICIAL CONFERENCE AGENDA
3:00 PM            Registration & Trade Show
4:30 PM            Introduction by Julia Herz of the Brewers Association
5:00 PM            Keynote Speech – Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery
5:45 PM            Live Beer Blogging
7:00 PM            Walk to dinner at the Tomlinson Tap Room

Saturday, July 14, 2012
9:30 AM           The Three-Tier System
10:30 AM         Networking with Local Breweries, Distributors, and Retailers
11:30 AM          International Beers in the US
12:30 PM          Lunch with the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company
2:00 PM           Connecting to Beer Consumers Via the Web
3:00 PM           Comparative Beer and Glass Tasting with Spiegelau
4:15 PM            Depart for Indiana Microbrewers Festival
6:30 PM            Depart festival for World Class Beverages dinner at their warehouse
9:00 PM            Return to hotel

Sunday, July 15, 2012
9:30 AM            Taking It to the Next Step
10:30 AM          Creating a Beer Event
11:30 AM           Keynote Speech with Randy Mosher
12:15 PM            Wrapup & Bottle Swap
12:30 PM           Conference Finish

CHICAGO EXCURSION
Registered attendees of the conference have the opportunity to join a pre-conference excursion in Chicago. Attendance is limited to 50 people. For an extra $20, you get a beer dinner at the Goose Island Clybourn Brewpub, an evening brewpub crawl organized by local bloggers Jess Murphy and Kristin Stroud, bus transport on Friday from Chicago to Indianapolis, and lunch and tasting at the Lafayette Brewing Company en route. You will need to plan to arrive on Thursday in Chicago and depart on Sunday from Indianapolis. Please see the Chicago Pre-Conference Excursion blog post for details.

• Goose Island Dinner: We will meet at 6:00 PM Thursday at the Goose Island brewpub in Clybourn in Chicago. You must be registered for this optional pre-conference excursion to attend at an additional cost of only $20 for the dinner, pub crawl, bus transport to Indy, and lunch en route. Full Chicago excursion details are online.
• Chicago Pub Crawl: Thursday 8:00 PM. This will start at the Goose Island Clybourn brewpub and finish at the Howard Johnson Downtown Chicago hotel. We will be renting a party bus to take us around (slight additional cost on the spot) and will visit Piece Brewing, Haymarket Brewing, and Revolution Brewing, three great local breweries. Full details on the Chicago Brewpub Crawl are online.
• Friday Lunch at Lafayette Brewing Company: We will bus from Chicago to Indianapolis and stop at the Lafayette Brewing Company for lunch and a tasting en route.

KEYNOTE SPEECHES

• Introduction by Julia Herz of the Brewers Association / CraftBeer.com: Julia kicks off the conference for us every year, providing a fact-filled and informative view of the craft brewing industry in the US. We’ll be treated to her insight again this year.
• Keynote Speech With Garrett Oliver: Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewery will give a speech on The Matrix: Reality, Facsimile, Technology and the Beer Culture.
• Keynote Speech With Randy Mosher: Randy has worn many hats in the world of beer, from press writer to brewer to teacher to brand designer. Now finishing up his fourth book, Randy has a wide array of experience and knowledge to share.

CONTENT SESSIONS

• The Three-Tier System: Hear from a wholesaler, a retailer, and a brewer about what is good and what is bad in the three-tier system. Panelists are Dan Kopman from Schafly Brewing, Jim Schembre from World Class Beverages, and Jordan Huber from retailer Beer Sellar.
• Networking with Local Breweries, Distributors, and Retailers: Craft brewers and other beer companies can be a beer blogger’s best friend. From free samples to off the cuff conversations about brewing, knowing and working with your local beer companies is a great way to stay active in the local beer scene. Panelists are Jay Ducote from the blog Bite & Booze, Neal Taflinger from Sun King Brewery, and Tiffany Adamowski from 99 Bottles.
• International Beers in the US: Learn from several importers and distributors of international beers on their view of the US market and the benefits and difficulties of selling here. Panelists include Herb Heneman from Tenth & Blake, Jim Blockinger from Merchant du Vin, and one more panelist to be confirmed.
• Connecting to Beer Consumers Via the Web: Learn from representatives of Taphunter, Pintley, and the upcoming BeerBloggers.com websites about how consumers are connecting to beers via the web and how bloggers can participate in this Web 2.0 transformation of the beer industry. Panelists include Tim Noetzel from Pintley.com, Melani Gordon from Taphunter.com, and Elle Potter from the Beer Bloggers Conference and the upcoming BeerBlogger.com community website.
• Taking it to the Next Step: Learn from three bloggers who have taken the next step, moving from blog to writing a book, getting a job in the beer industry, or getting paid to write for the print press. Panelists include Brady Whalen who went from blog to job, Win Bassett who gets paid to write and is executive director of the North Carolina Brewers Guild, Evan Benn from the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and Mike Besser who went from blog to paid writing gig.
• Creating a Beer Event: Now that you blog and have some local connections, how about creating a beer event in your community? Learn from bloggers who have done just that. Panelists include Eric Steen from Focus on the Beer, Rebecca Milette from Girls Pint Out in Boston, and Cathy Clark from Brewtiful.

DINNERS AND OTHER EVENTS

• Friday Dinner: Friday evening’s dinner will be provided by the Brewers of Indiana Guild and held at the Tomlinson Tap Room at the Indianapolis City Market. TomTap (as the locals call it) features 16 Indiana draft beers available at any one time and we’ll have the pleasure of a number of local brewers joining us for dinner.
• Saturday Lunch with the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company: Leinenkugel’s will share a sampling of its broad array of beers, focusing on its popular Big Eddy line-up, including Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout and Big Eddy Wee Heavy Scotch Ale.
• Saturday Indiana Microbrewers Festival: The Brewers of Indiana Guild will be providing us tickets to the 17th annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival. The festival takes place in Broad Ripple Village, an arts and entertainment district on the city’s north side, and will feature over 50 brewers from across Indiana and around the Midwest. This will be your chance to meet the Indiana brewers and taste some of the hundreds of beers that have elevated Indiana’s reputation in the national beer scene.
• Saturday Dinner at Monarch Beverage: Indiana is a major part of the beer industry as a whole including one of the largest beer/wine warehouses in the country, Monarch Beverage, with over 1 million cases of beer inside at any time and one of the world’s largest installations of the Vertique™ automated warehouse systems. We’ll have the chance to eat dinner in and tour this facility.
• Identifying Beer Types: During this event you’ll learn to taste and identify what is unique about various types of beer. We’ll have the use of special Spiegelau beer glasses and be led through this by an expert. This is a great opportunity to learn new information or test yourself on what you already know.
• Live Beer Blogging: This is the signature event of the Beer Bloggers Conference, in which you’ll taste and review 10 different beers in 50 minutes.
• Bottle Swap: Bring a six pack of your favorite local beer. We’ll set out all the beers on the last day and you can then take home six beers brought by fellow attendees. It’s a great way to try new beers!