Who Should Attend

* Citizen Bloggers and Writers who write about beer or the beer industry.
* Industry Bloggers who have a blog related to their brewery or other beer industry business.
* New Media Innovators who work in the world of blogging and social media.
* Beer Industry members who would like to learn about new media or interact with bloggers in attendance.

Cost, Payment, Cancellation, and What is Included

The cost of the conference is $95 for citizen beer bloggers (those unaffiliated with a business or organization), $195 for industry beer bloggers (those whose blog is affiliated with a brewery, retail store, or other business or organization), and $295 for non-blogger participants (industry, media relations professionals, friends and family, etc). We are able to offer a lower price to citizen bloggers and beer-industry bloggers because it is for these folks our sponsors underwrite the conference. Payment is required in advance by credit card. The pre-conference excursion will be an extra price and will include dinner; evening party or pub crawl; bus from Portland, Maine to Boston; and lunch in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

If you must cancel your registration, your payment is 50% refundable through June 26th, 2013 and not refundable after that. Please note you can insure against losing your conference registration fee (and your airplane tickets) by purchasing trip insurance. This is only available for those of you traveling from outside of the conference area and staying overnight.

The conference includes multiple beer tastings, two dinners, and outstanding content. Not included in the conference price are your hotel and transportation to either Boston or Portland and home from Boston.

The Conference Hotel

Our host hotel is the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, billed as “Boston’s luxury historical hotel” and located only 200 yards from the Boston Common park. This is an extremely nice hotel and they are giving us a good rate of $135 for single or double rooms.

To make your reservation, visit their site here and use the access code: BBZA

Portland, Maine Pre-Conference Excursion

The Portland Pre-Conference Excursion is optional and requires you to arrive in Portland on Thursday and depart from Boston on Sunday. It is an awesome opportunity to see three beer cities in the Northeast in one weekend. The excursion is open only to registered attendees of the conference and limited to 50 people. There is an extra cost of $50 for Citizen Bloggers ($100 for all others) that includes a Thursday beer and cheese pairing reception at Cabot Creamery, dinner at Sebago Brewing, a Thursday evening pub crawl or party, Friday bus transport from Portland to Boston, and lunch en route in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at Portsmouth Brewery.

We have a room block at the Clarion Hotel located at 1230 Congress St in Portland for participants of the conference. The rate is $124 + tax and must be booked by June 10th. Phone in reservations only by calling 207.774.5611 and referencing Zephyr or Beer Bloggers’ Conference.

Arrival and Departure

Boston’s Logan International Airport is a major airport with plenty of flights from across the country. The easiest way to get from the airport to the Boston Park Plaza Hotel is via the Silver Line SL1 rapid bus. Purchase a Charlie Ticket from one of the machines in the terminal and take the bus to South Station. From there, either walk the .9 miles to the hotel or take a taxi.

Alternatively, especially if you have too much luggage for a mile walk, you can take the T subway. From your terminal, take the free Massport shuttle buses (Route Nos. 22, 33, or 55 to “MBTA Blue Line”) to the “Airport Station” where you can purchase your Charlie Ticket and board the Blue Line subway to Government Center. From there, board the Green Line to Arlington Station and walk the two minutes to the hotel.

If you are participating in the pre-conference excursion, you will need to arrive to Portland, Maine and depart from Boston, Massachusetts. One option is to purchase an “open jaw” ticket, flying into Portland and out of Boston. In Portland, take bus #5 from the airport to the stop closest to your hotel or simply take a taxi.

Alternatively, you can fly into and out of Boston and take either the Amtrak or bus north to Portland. Amtrak’s Downeaster service departs from Boston’s North Station while the Concord Coachlines leave directly from Logan airport. We’ll provide bus transport back from Portland to Boston as part of the excursion.