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.
Below is a summary and a collection of tweets we enjoyed from the Pre-Conference Excursion where 50 BBC13 attendees all met up in Portland, Maine on Thursday, July 25th prior to meeting up with the rest of the conference on Friday in Boston.
Reception at Cabot Creamery
We all met in a charming cheese and retail shop run by the good folks at Cabot Creamery. In addition to tasting through an assortment of fine Cabot cheddars and other cheeses, we got to sample Geary beer brewed locally in Portland.
First pre-event of #BBC13: Creamy Cabot cheese and Geary British-style ales @CabotCoop in Portland, Maine pic.twitter.com/Z2925GhVnL
— Student of Beer (@StudentOfBeer) July 25, 2013
With Portland ME beer legend David Geary at the @cabotcoop Beer & Cheddar reception. #bbc13 pic.twitter.com/N1Zi3z8Jh6 — Candace Karu (@candacekaru) July 25, 2013
#bbc13 At Cabot Cheese with pairings of great cheeses and Geary beers. Like the tomato basil with the London Porter best. — HoppyTrailsBeerNews (@Bob_at_HTBN) July 25, 2013
Is that my pal Dave’s beer I spy next to @cabotcoop cheese? @gearybrewing @beertography #BBC13 pic.twitter.com/54LprijAIv — Brooklyn Beer Bitch (@BKLYNbeerbitch) July 25, 2013
Beer Pairing at Sebago Brewing
If there was a theme to be repeated throughout the entire conference, it was the pairing of exquisite craft beer with amazing foods. We were welcomed by Sebago Brewing Company’s founder, Kai Adams, who was our fun and very gracious host for the evening. Bloggers took over the bar area and enjoyed Sebago beers paired with flatbread pizza, lobster rolls, and pork wings. There were also shrimp shooters!!
With arms wide open, @KaiABrew welcomes 50+ @beerbloggers into his humble abode 🙂 @SebagoBrewing #bbc13 #craftbeer pic.twitter.com/d126t4Puya — Sean Jansen (@2Beerguys) July 25, 2013
A fun surprise was that one of the beers we were sampling was a beer brewed by three of our bloggers!! It was delicious!
Great beer by @beerbabe @ActiveBeerGeek @Chaddah #BBC13 @sebagobrewing http://t.co/ukczmuRdyj — Brian (@SeacoastBevLab) July 25, 2013
Drinking a special @sebagobrewing beer for #BBC13 brewed by local beer bloggers @beerbabe @Chaddah & @ActiveBeerGeek pic.twitter.com/2diW2c0IuC — Nora McGunnigle (@noradeirdre) July 26, 2013
Luvin @SabagoBrewing #bbc13 dinner for @beerbloggers. #Maine #food #craftbeer scene is thriving. pic.twitter.com/TmiDouHUF6 — Julia Herz (@HerzMuses) July 26, 2013
Hefeweizen Shrimp Shooter. Shoot it down the hole! #BBC13 pic.twitter.com/BhcSgFiMmO — The Beeroness (@TheBeeroness) July 25, 2013
Thanks to @SebagoBrewing for a great 5-beer dinner! #bbc13 — Elspeth Payne (@Elspeth_Payne) July 26, 2013
Patriot Craft Alliance Party
After saying our goodbyes and thanks to everyone at Sebago Brewery, we headed over to The Thirsty Pig, which was the location of a party for us hosted by The Patriot Craft Alliance. Here we got a chance to taste an assortment of beers distributed by Patriot Craft Alliance and meet with their crew prior to departing for the night.
@patriotcrftalli is at ©thirstypig and brought some @gooseisland brews, which rocks. #bbc13 — Carla Companion (@beerbabe) July 26, 2013
Not local, but can’t pass on it. Thanks @patriotcrftalli! #bbc13 — Drinking a Bourbon County Brand Stout — http://t.co/MYPWv1Xv1B — Jay D. Ducote (@biteandbooze) July 26, 2013
Cheers @prettybeer! #BBC13 — Drinking a Jack D’Or by @PrettyBeer at @thethirstypig — http://t.co/JsbLybA8gT #photo — Amber L Jansen (@aljpeace) July 26, 2013
Thanks to @PatriotCrftAlli #beer distributors & @TheThirstyPig for hosting #bbc13 attendees! — NBWA (@MrBeerGuy) July 26, 2013
Friday Lunch with Portsmouth Brewery & Smuttynose Brewing Co.
On Friday morning we all boarded a bus, which would be our transport to Boston. On the way, we got to stop in the charming town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and have lunch at Portsmouth Brewery! There was such a great list of Portsmouth Brewery & Smuttynose on tap. Still wondering if there was a blogger that tasted through them all??
@portsbrew on our first tour! Thanks JT! @jlj_love #BBC13 pic.twitter.com/l4OumPFZiN — Amber L Jansen (@aljpeace) July 26, 2013
#BBC13. Nice complexity and balance of malt and hops. — Drinking a Durty (Short Batch #18) at @portsbrew — http://t.co/79IVNNPqE6 — Dustin L. Davis (@DustinLDavis) July 26, 2013
Breakfast menu of beers at @portsbrew in #Portsmouth. Love the Ginga Ninja! #bbc13 #craftbeer #beerventure pic.twitter.com/nk3xFE9IWJ — Heather Erickson (@thisgirlbrews) July 26, 2013
@thirstynobeard loving it @portsbrew #2bg_bbc13 #BBC13 pic.twitter.com/MKs2SyYFjg — Jennifer Jansen (@jlj_love) July 26, 2013
Recipie from the 50’s. Who would have guessed that it would be this awesome! #bbc13… (Cluster’s Last Stand) http://t.co/62clmsrq1U
— Sean Jansen (@2Beerguys) July 26, 2013
Thanks @portsbrew and @smuttynosebeer for the hospitality! Great beer and great beer. I’ll be back! #BBC13 #craftbeer
— Duke Geren (@Dukester) July 26, 2013
Thanks to @smuttynosebeer and @portsbrew for your hospitality (and the awesome food and beer)! Cheers! #BBC13 pic.twitter.com/qyxQUhpcvk
— TNSP Beer Blog (@NSPBeerBlog) July 26, 2013
And that was it! We then boarded the bus and headed to Boston to meet the rest of the BBC13 group and kick things off with the trade show and evening at Boston Beer Company. You can read that summary in Part II.
PS. Yes, yes I have read all 6000+ tweets from last week. Great reading!!