Over 10,000 craft brewers, suppliers, and manufacturers are in Minneapolis this week for the 39th annual Craft Brewers Conference & Brew Expo America at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The event includes the World Beer Cup 2022 awards ceremony, which will be livestreamed on Thursday.
"We take the conference all over the country to showcase great craft beer cities," said Ann Obenchain, Marketing Director with the Brewers Association. "The Brewers Association chose Minneapolis because of its long standing history of beer. The state of Minnesota is home to 228 active breweries and they provide nearly 5,000 direct jobs. It's the Land of 10,000 beers because across the state there's been a five-fold expansion of craft breweries over the past decade."
It's the first time ever that the conference has been held in Minneapolis and it's the largest conference to hit the convention center since 2019.
Obenchain says that breweries continue to recover from the pandemic, which formed them to either close or switch to a to-go model.
"Some of them got federal aid, while others did not," Obenchain added. "Now they're back open and hiring is still a challenge. Draught beer is returning as restaurants are returning and baseball games are on. It's a very hopeful time."
The conference is not open to the public, however, there will be special events throughout the week featuring special conference-themed beers.
Monday began with brewery tours. Workshops and other educational opportunities will also take place through Thursday, when the conference wraps-up for the week.
A full list of events can be found here.
