Last year, the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) was held in Washington D.C. They were expecting some 8,000 participants, but in the end, the number was closer to 10,000. Not all of the hoopla was directed at the conference alone. Many were just beer enthusiasts happy to ride along as breweries, pubs and restaurants featured craft beers in different ways. The event was a smash and it’s not expected to be any less of a party here in Colorado April 8-11 at the Colorado Convention Center with an expected crowd of 10,000 or more. In short, it’s an early Great American Beer Festival.
Unlike the Great American Beer Festival held annually in Denver in the fall, the Craft Brewers Conference is solely open to professionals and not open to the general public. The conference brings together brewers, marketers, suppliers and equipment makers, among other professionals of the craft beer industry. It’s become a yearly must for many brewers. It’s unique in that no other conference in the world is solely focused on just the craft brewers and their needs. Moreover, the event is an international affair bringing brewers and the wider beer industries from all around the world. If you are a Brewer's Association (BA) member and interested in attending, online registration ends on March 28.
What? Italian Craft Beer?
This year, the event may mark a special moment in the history of the beer world. Italy, who so often is not associated with craft beer, will be coming into its own at this year’s conference as several Italian craft beer producers will be attending. Giovanni Campari from Birrificio Del Ducato, Italy’s most awarded brewer will be attending. Also attending will be Bruno Carilli owner and brewer of Toccalmatto. Carilli has been part of the overall beer scene, mainly in the industrial sector. But after years of working for the big beer companies he set out on his own and became a major push for the third generation of Italian craft brewers. His hoppier styles are changing the Italian palate. Perhaps the father of collaborations, Carilli triggered many brewers in Italy to follow suit. But none of this would have been happening if it weren’t for one of the originators of the movement, Agostino Arioli owner/brewer of Birrificio Italiano. So important was Agostino to the movement that he added a new word to the Italian lexicon—birrificio. The real word for brewery in Italian is birreria, a word which leaves a connotation of industry. Agostino twisted the word by adding the suffix ficio which in some ways applies to something more suitable to food, like paneficio for bread makers. Birrificio has become the standard word relating to craft brewing.
Since its conception in 1996, Italian craft beer has been growing exponentially and in the last five years Italian craft beer exploded on the beer scene, reaching as far as Japan in the east, Australia in the south and making a splash here in the US. Winning several acclaimed world beer awards, the Italians are beginning to turn some heads. This year’s conference is especially important. Every two years, the CBC hosts the World Beer Cup, often referred to as the Olympics of craft beer competitions since only one Gold, one Silver and one Bronze are awarded for each of the 95 categories. It’s not a surprise then that two of this year’s beer judges are Italian, Anna Managò and Lorenzo “Kuaska” Dabove.
Kuaska is probably the most important piece of the Italian craft beer movement. A long aficionado of beer, Kuaska had been traveling the customary beer circuits of Belgium, Germany and England for some time before Italy began to move into the picture. From the first days of the birth of the craft beer movement in 1996 in Italy, Kuaska became their messiah, leading them to brew better beers. As an Italian beer judge, he was critical in not only trumpeting the quality of brewers and their beers from his country, but more importantly in helping them develop some of the finest craft breweries in the world.
Denver’s Beer and Butter
For Denver, this isn’t just another beer festival; it’s our beer and butter. Colorado is such an important part of the craft beer movement worldwide, a keystone to the entire craft beer world. It’s no coincidence that the annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is held here in Denver. Like this April’s Craft Brewers Conference, the GABF is organized by the world’s most important craft beer institution, the Brewers Association headquartered in Boulder.
Through April 8-11 Denver will be bubbling with beer nerds from around the world. They will be thirsty to try our local and world renowned craft beers, hungry for Denver’s avant garde local foods and excited to be amongst some of the world’s greatest beer fanatics, Coloradoans. So come join the party and meet some of Italy’s renowned brewers as they become the toast of the town.
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