NBWA Engages with Beer Bloggers at Annual Conference

The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) was proud to serve as one of the sponsors for the 2012 Beer Bloggers Conference which took place this month in Indianapolis, Indiana. The third annual conference was an opportunity for beer bloggers, beer writers, industry bloggers and other beer and social media professionals to gather from across North America and beyond to meet, learn, taste and share.

NBWA Communications Director Kathleen Joyce attended the conference to interact with the bloggers in attendance and learn more about how beer industry issues are being discussed online using social media.

“The Beer Bloggers Conference is a great opportunity for those who write about various aspects of the beer industry to meet face-to-face with industry members and other beer lovers with whom they regularly communicate online,” said Joyce.

A special feature of this year’s conference included a tour of Indiana beer distributorship Monarch Beverage Company, organized by the company’s specialty craft division World Class Beer, which was among the conference sponsors. Most blogger attendees had never seen the inside of a beer distribution warehouse.

“The tour of Monarch Beverage gave attendees a firsthand look at the role that beer distributors play and how they support choice and value by helping thousands of labels of beer get to market for consumers to enjoy,” Joyce added.

Panel discussions touched on topics ranging from the three-tier system – featuring a brewer, distributor and retailer – to planning a beer event and how to network with local brewers, distributors and retailers.

The 2012 Beer Bloggers Conference attendees also enjoyed sampling beers from a few of Indiana’s more than 30 breweries, as well as some of the 13,000 labels of beer available in the United States that each attendee brought to share during the Night of Many Bottles.

Click here for a list of 1,000 citizen beer blogs that are active in North America today.

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