After an introduction by Julia Herz of CraftBeer.com / Brewers Association, our lead off panel will be one on The Beer Industry in Tampa and Florida.
This lead panel is always an excellent way for attendees, especially for those from out of state, to get to know the local beer scene. The brewing industry in Florida is booming and getting to know the local scene is a major reason we move the conference each year.
We have three excellent and knowledgeable panelists for this session:
- Joey Redner: Founder and CEO of Cigar City Brewing, which is considered the top brewery in Tampa and one of the best in the state.
- Eric Criss: President of Beer Industry of Florida, the trade association for Florida’s beer distributors (who are also supporting the conference).
- Mark de Note: Writer at Florida Beer News as well as author of two books relevant to the panel: The Great Florida Craft Beer Guide and Tampa Bay Beer: A Heady History.
The panel will be moderated by Gerard Walen of Beer in Florida who is also a long-time BBC attendee and on the conference Advisory Board. Gerard also wrote the book Florida Breweries.