We are pleased to announce three panels to be held on Saturday, August 20 during the Beer Bloggers Conference in Portland. The panelists are both local and national and all have a wealth of experience to share. The first two panels are designed to encourage citizen bloggers to work more with the beer industry while the second has a focus on Portland itself. Details are below.
The agenda is still being set and further sessions will be announced soon. If you have not yet registered for the conference, please do so today!
Panel: Learning From Industry Bloggers: The focus of the Beer Bloggers Conference (and, indeed, the beer blogging community in general) is on what we call “citizen bloggers”, those not associated with a brewery or other business. However, at the same time there are hundreds of “industry bloggers” writing about or simply connected to a specific business. This panel will talk about how industry bloggers use their blogs to promote their specific business, gain customers, and enhance their own communities, all with an idea towards learning things we Citizen Bloggers might be able to apply. We will hear from Ryan Ross from Karl Strauss, Michael Busman from New Belgium, and Matt Van Wyk from Oakshire Brewing in Eugene, Oregon.
Panel: Working With Your Local Brewery: If you ever blog about your local breweries and their beers, it makes sense to have a good relationship with them. This might include getting on their PR list, being invited to special beer dinners, and being told first about new brews in production. In fact, this method of “blogging local” can be a great way to establish a niche and community for your blog. We’ll hear from four people who are heavily involved in brewery-blogger relations: Bill Manly, Communications Director from Sierra Nevada; Ashely Routson, who parlayed her blog Drink With the Wench into a job in the beer industry; brewer Ben Edmunds from Breakside Brewery in Portland; and Ben Love, head brewer at Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland and President of the Oregon Brewers Guild.
Panel: Lessons From Portland as a Beer (and Beer Blogging) City: Portland is considered one of the greatest beer cities in the United States and, indeed, in the world. According to the Oregon Brewers Guild, there are 40 breweries operating in Portland, more than any other city in the world. And according to the Complete List of Beer Blogs on this site, there are at least 22 citizen beer blogs we know about in the Portland area. What makes Portland such a great beer (and beer blogging) city and how can you improve the situation where you live? We’ll hear from local bloggers Jeff Alworth from Beervana, Lisa Morrison from Beer Goddess, and Ezra Johnson-Greenough from The New School Brew Blog.