What do you get when you get ~150 beer bloggers together for 3 days of tasting, content and networking at a conference? You get over 6000 tweets, loads of photos, tons of amazing beer consumed and logged into Untapped, and an all around good time.
A passion for beer and an inkling to blog about it are the only requirements to join (and perhaps a bit of stamina to get you through the action-packed schedule). We were thrilled to see the great mix of alumni and new attendees this year. Friendships were formed, blog collaborations formed, and great business and networking introductions made.
This post is Part III of our recap series. Want to start at the beginning? Visit Part I & Part II
Below is a summary and collection of tweets from attendees of the conference from Saturday, July 27tth where it was an action packed day of content, a lunch hosted by the National Beer Wholesalers Association, Live Beer Blogging, a magical experience at Harpoon Brewery, and Beer Social.
Content
We got started early with a look at the Current State of Beer Blogging followed by an Industry Beer Blogger Panel, a clinic on the mechanics of beer pouring provided by Heineken, and concluded with a Social Media session after lunch. A lot of great tips on blogging were shared, insights into how bloggers can best leverage their relationships with the industry, and we all learned that when you’re talking about beer, it really is all about the foam.
State of Beer Blogging Report
@beerbloggers #bbc13 and her we go for the first presentation on The State of Beer Blogging! pic.twitter.com/L34aE1Dwp4
— NCBeerGuys (@Ncbeerguys) July 27, 2013
Motivation to make money off beer blogs is pretty small. 89.1% do it for passion or want to turn a related job #BBC13 @Beerbloggers — Elspeth Payne (@Elspeth_Payne) July 27, 2013
Industry Beer Blogger Panel
Wanna follow the path of Cambria from @TheBruery and tell my fave brewery that they need to hire me for social media & blogging. #BBC13
— Nora McGunnigle (@noradeirdre) July 27, 2013
#BBC13 Industry Panel w/@Brewgasm of @OskarBlues, @TheBruery, @Schlafly & @WoodchuckCider http://t.co/LuGFijKfm1 — Stone Brewing Co. (@StoneBrewingCo) July 27, 2013
I wish more breweries were as active with us, the people, as these guys are #BBC13 — Hipster Brewfus (@HipsterBrewfus) July 27, 2013
Mechanics of Pouring Beer
“Think big, act little.” -Franck Evers, @Heineken Global Draught Master #BBC13
— the Craft Beer Girl (@theCraftBeerGrl) July 27, 2013
Enjoying a session with Frank Evers from @Heineken @Heineken_US #heineken #bbc13 @beerbloggers pic.twitter.com/SJfjKhEHT9
— Benjamin Moore (@ActiveBeerGeek) July 27, 2013
“The foam is the conscience of the beer” #bbc13 — Carla Companion (@beerbabe) July 27, 2013
Social Media Best Practices
The secret to social media success?! IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CONTENT! #BBC13
— Chad’z Adventures (@Chad9976) July 27, 2013
Cross-pollination across social media platforms engenders engagement. What an eye-opening discussion! @DrinkCraftBeer @tamremullins #BBC13
— Raising the Barstool (@RTBarstool) July 27, 2013
@drinkcraftbeer is right: Content is king. Social tools and analytics can help you find what content to share! Keep that in mind #BBC13
— Devin Mason (@devinmason) July 27, 2013
National Beer Wholesalers Association Beer Pairing Luncheon
With all the thought provoking content, we all needed a little nourishment so mid day we headed upstairs in the Boston Park Plaza Hotel where the NBWA hosted a beer pairing lunch. Local cuisine was paired with beer from across the country.
Beers from Coast to Coast as part of the lunch festivities @beerbloggers sponsored by NBWA #bbc13 pic.twitter.com/nyVVjfqaY2
— NCBeerGuys (@Ncbeerguys) July 27, 2013
I think the bitterness from the IPA nicely complemented the sweetness from the Gazpacho. Yummy! #BBC13 — Raising the Barstool (@RTBarstool) July 27, 2013
Paired with a rocking Crab Cake. #Lunch #BBC13 — Drinking a Stateside Saison by @stillwaterales — http://t.co/E4ktCau0Pn #photo — Duke Geren (@Dukester) July 27, 2013
Barbecue skirt steak and @lagunitasbruhws Wilco Tango Foxtrot. #bbc13 pic.twitter.com/6b8GXVlReh — Clare Goggin Sivits (@beergoggins) July 27, 2013
Boston cream pie + @AllagashBrewing black = amazing. Good choice. #bbc13 pic.twitter.com/U5vupXOLc2 — Benjamin Moore (@ActiveBeerGeek) July 27, 2013
Live Beer Blogging
We had to get creative this year on how to best execute the Live Beer Blogging portion of the event, and luckily for everyone that our friends at Burke Distributing allowed us to come in and hold the event in their wharehouse! All the participating breweries were a part of the Massachusetts Beverage Alliance and World Class Beer, and it was fun to be in the space, taste regional craft beer, and meet with the various brewers. Live Beer Blogging is fast, and is intended to provide bloggers with as detailed of an introduction about a beer and its brewery in 5 minutes as possible. The event is only 50 minutes, so that means a blogger is introduced to 10 different beers over that time.
Fatty Bampkins #bbc13 https://t.co/5brQiJJRwi — Brian (@SeacoastBevLab) July 27, 2013
Have you ever seen such a pretty sour beer? #craftbeer #bbc13 pic.twitter.com/wQ84PqVUxe — Local Beer Blog (@ackleydg) July 27, 2013
Beer! #BBC13 @brbeerscene @dustinldavis , @activebeergeek https://t.co/vZoF6QZr4f — Jay D. Ducote (@biteandbooze) July 27, 2013
Had a great time at #BBC13 Live Beer Blogging event. Thanks #BurkeDistributing, @WorldClassBeer, & @WCBMass pic.twitter.com/mzR3GIHzFQ — Pensacola Beer (@PensacolaBeer) July 27, 2013
Photo: Speed blogging yesterday. It was a blast to meet new brewers, try their beer and have fun. #bbc13 (at… http://t.co/TBFWk8cuYR — Benjamin Moore (@ActiveBeerGeek) July 28, 2013
Harpoon Brewery Dinner
Wow! What a night at Harpoon! Not only did we get to try the beer that they specifically brewed for us as voted on by us, but Harpoon’s hospitality, the spread of spectacular beer and food pairings, and setting within their new brewery truly made this one of the weekend’s top highlights.
.@harpoon_brewery for #BBC13 Tour, Tasting, and Dinner! pic.twitter.com/tik4OZMRLo — Pensacola Beer (@PensacolaBeer) July 27, 2013
Rich Doyle of @harpoon_brewery welcomes #BBC13. ‘We got started because we’re beer lovers. We wanted great beer.’ pic.twitter.com/ZfnYPznsFm — Dogfish Head Brewery (@dogfishbeer) July 27, 2013
Imperial White IPA from @harpoon_brewery brewed specifically for us @beerbloggers! Awesome brew! #BBC13 — Brian (@BaronVonHatch) July 27, 2013
@harpoon_brewery #bbc13 what a great start to the evening at Harpoon Brewery pic.twitter.com/CWpl2hUzyV — NCBeerGuys (@Ncbeerguys) July 27, 2013
Photo: Next up for an epic Saturday is @harpoon_brewery #bbc13 #bbc13harpoon (at Harpoon Brewery) http://t.co/nlQPBXhgIE — Benjamin Moore (@ActiveBeerGeek) July 27, 2013
@harpoon_brewery ‘s valiant attempt to push the limits of the deliciousness we can handle. #bbc13 pic.twitter.com/XFIwEaGr4q — Draft Picks (@DraftPicks_) July 27, 2013
Thank you @harpoon_brewery you may have outdone yourselves tonight and that is tough to do #BBC13 #BBC13Harpoon pic.twitter.com/AmYHs5ylIP
— Ryan Jansen (@thirstynobeard) July 27, 2013
Dear, @harpoon_brewery – Your hospitality tonight is unparalleled. Food & beer is amazing. Thanks for generously hosting #BBC13. I love you.
— Schlafly Beer (@Schlafly) July 27, 2013
Beer Social
The night ended back at the host hotel with Beer Social – an event where 9 breweries came and poured for all us well into Sunday. The intention of the event was not just an exercise in beer tasting, but everyone was encouraged to engage on various social media platforms. In addition to a Twitter stream, there was a Google Plus Hangout, Facebook posts, Instagram pics, etc. What it really ended up being was a great way for people to meet and network with each other and with the breweries.
Nick from @RogueAles holding down the table at #BBC13 Beer Social @beerbloggers pic.twitter.com/UKcuGVmzXs — Craft Brewers Mass (@CraftMass) July 28, 2013
We have an XL “Drink Local” Florida Beer shirt for the next person that comes to the table! Get your FBC on! #FBCsharethedrink #BBC13 — Florida Beer (@FLORIDABEER) July 28, 2013
Tonight’s a reminder that beer people are good people. Great night at #bbc13
— Norman Miller (@RealBeerNut) July 28, 2013
Just had a surreal beer geek experience. Ray Daniels just poured me a beer. #bbc13
— Beer Makes Three (@BeerMakesThree) July 28, 2013
Stuff getting weird on the #BBC13 Google+ hangout. GREAT job by @2Beerguys keeping it together. A true pro, ladies and gents.
— Lee Movic (@leemovic) July 28, 2013
In true BBC fashion, many of us continued to taste the beers provided to us until the hotel told us our time was up and it was time to leave the room. Sleep was a necessity, albeit for only a few hours until we were to meet in the same room at 9:30am. You can read all about Sunday’s events in Part IV.