Mar 25, 2026
Brewers Association president and CEO Bart Watson believes the
Craft Brewers Conference works best when it’s “the big-tent event
that everybody is coming to and connecting with.”
On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Watson explained
that he views the largest annual gathering of craft brewers (April
20-22 in Philadelphia) in four buckets:
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Commerce via the BrewExpo trade show, where brewers connect with suppliers and learn about trends;
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Education, with a host of new voices on the speaker roster this year;
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Networking, with a more intentional approach and dedicated sessions;
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And fun.
“CBC should be that week where you do all four of those things,” he
said. “But you come back recharged, energized with new ideas, new
energy.”
The BA’s membership base is primarily made up of brewpubs and
taprooms, making hospitality and customer traffic “the thing that
makes or breaks their businesses,” he explained.
“Craft is gonna win or lose with people wanting to come into
breweries and then having a great experience or not having a great
experience,” Watson continued.
As such, hospitality will be a key theme of this year’s event, and
the BA has tapped restaurateur Will Guidara, author of Unreasonable
Hospitality, to give the event’s opening keynote speech.
“He’s like a hospitality business ‘Ted Lasso,’” Watson said. “He
really brings a spirit and a positivity that is going to be
welcomed in craft right now as people try to lean in, do better,
grow in what’s a challenging time but one where many people are
still finding opportunities to thrive.”
Watson offered more insights in the interview, including the state
of the industry.
Before the interview, Jess and Justin recap a wild week of M&A,
including Molson Coors finally nabbing its spirts-based RTD in
Monaco/Atomic Brands and a flurry of big distributor consolidations
with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Reyes
Beverage Group and Republic National Distributing Company
(RNDC).