Top Picks for Events During the Craft Brewers Conference

The Craft Brewers Conference, a week-long education and networking event for those in the craft brewing industry, is happening this year in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, from Tuesday, May 3rd through Friday, May 6th.

While the industry peeps will be attending seminars all day during the week, the real fun is happening in the evening when we the public can all celebrate craft beer together with all the industry types who will be in town.

With that in mind, there’s a lot going on—way more than we could list—so we picked some of our favorites each day for you to check out. If you want to see everything else that’s going on, Bryan Kolesar is putting together a completely insane comprehensive list of every event he can find. Also keep an eye on the Events page over at PhillyTapFinder, where they’re compiling draft beer lists for many of the events.

Craft Beer Conference Highlights

Monday, May 2

• Flying Dog and Yards Brewery at Percy Street Barbecue, 8 p.m.-10 p.m.: Join Percy Street Barbecue as they host an after party on night one of the CBC. Both Yards and Flying Dog will be on tap, and Percy Street will serve snacks including BBQ fries, deviled eggs, and spiced pecans.
• Pink Boots Society/CBC Kick off, Strangelove’s, 5 p.m.: Strangelove’s will be pouring an entire draft line of women-owned, brewed, or represented beers. A proceed from every beer sold will go to the Pink Boots Society, an organization that empowers women in the craft beer industry to advance their careers through education.

Tuesday, May 3 

• 2SP and Bagby Brewing at Coeur, 5 p.m.-8 p.m.: Two of the most awarded craft brewers in the county—Bagby Brewing’s Jeff Bagby and 2SP Brewing’s Bob Barrar —are pouring 13 of their favorite beers at Coeur. Check out the full info here.
• Bell’s Eccentric Café Experience: City Tap House Logan, 11 a.m.: Bell’s Brewery is taking over City Tap House and transforming it into The Eccentric Café, the brewery’s Kalamazoo food joint. The menu for the day will be signature dishes from the café and there will be 30 Bell’s brews on tap. Some Bell’s rarities will also be poured throughout the day. Philly Tap Finder has more info here.

Wednesday, May 4

• Brew Talks with Dogfish Head, World Café Live, 4 p.m.- 7:15 p.m.: Brewbound introduces a special edition of Brew Talks, an educational networking event for craft brewers and executives of the top craft breweries in the country. The event will include two panels, including a one-on-one conversation with Dogfish’s Sam Calagione. Doors will open at 4 p.m., and tickets are based on donations starting at $10, with 100 percent of the proceeds going towards The Brewers of Pennsylvania. For more information on the event, including the panels, registration, and agenda for the night, head over here.
• Tasting Class with New Belgium Brewery’s Lauren Salazar: Monk’s Café, 2 p.m.: New Belgium Brewery’s wood cellar manager Lauren Salazar will speak about blending barrel-aged sour ales and then lead a tasting through six New Belgium brews. On top of that, you’ll get a free glass of Fat Tire, courtesy of New Belgium, and Monk’s Café will serve small plates of foods including cheese, tempeh, and kimchi. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, April 19 at 11:30 a.m. and seating is limited, so be sure to call Monk’s at (215) 545- 7005 to reserve a spot. For more info, go here.

Thursday, May 5

• Victory Brewing Company’s Amber Waves, The National Museum of American Jewish History, 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.: 27 craft breweries around the country present samples of their amber-colored brews, proving that beers of the same color can taste very different. Each brewery will showcase art specifically commissioned for the event for a silent auction that will benefit the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are $35 each. To see the list of participating breweries, learn more about the Mural Arts Program, and purchase your tickets, go here.
• Ancient Ales with Dogfish Head Brewery, Penn Museum,  6 p.m.-8 p.m.: Join Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione and Penn Museum’s Patrick McGovern for a tutored tasting event of Dogfish Ancient Ales, particularly Midas Touch. The event is sold out, so hopefully you were able to grab a ticket!
• Iron Hill Takes Over The Industry, The Industry, 8 p.m.: Iron Hill will have all 25 of their 2016 World Beer Cup entries on tap, including previous WBC winners Golden Child, Honeytripper, The Cannibal, Vienna Red Lager, Russian Imperial Stout, and Grodzinski.

Friday, May 6

• The CBC week wraps up with the World Beer Cup ceremony, sometimes known as “the Olympics of beer competitions.” That night, over 1,000 breweries from around the world will compete for awards in over 90 style categories. Some will take back a gold award, some will take silver, and some will take bronze, but only a select few will take home a Champion Brewery Award. The event takes place once every two years, and is not open to the general public. To learn all about the World Beer Cup, check out their website.
• “Officially Unofficial Awards Show After Party Award Show at Varga Bar, 9:30 p.m. to latenight: Of course, it isn’t a ceremony without an after party, so Varga Bar is hosting their very unofficial award show and after party along with Firestone Walker, Terrapin, and Weyerbacher. Philly Golden Pretzel Awards will be given out for categories such as “Best Name with a Philly Reference” and “Best Beer Pun.” Of course, there will be plenty of beer and as importantly, it will be a good time.

So, there you have it. Our picks from an insanely long list of things happening next week—good luck deciding where to go, and stay tuned for updates.