Brewers Association Stewardship Report – Craft Beer Program

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With the publication of our 2013 Stewardship Report, the Brewers Association is highlighting some particular areas of interest regarding the organization’s endeavors and accomplishments on behalf of members in 2013.


The Brewers Association (BA) recently published the latest Stewardship Report. This report serves as a summary of Brewers Association board, committee, staff and member activities in the 2013 calendar year. A main focus of the BA in 2013 was craft beer education for consumers, facilitated by the Craft Beer Program. In 2013, the Craft Beer Program worked to educate the public and support member breweries by sharing information on small and independent craft brewers through member programs, data dissemination, seminars, tastings and media relations. 

CraftBeer.com 

CraftBeer.com provides the inside scoop on the U.S. craft beer movement. The site offers numerous resources for enthusiasts and retailers. It is home to “The Mother of All Beer Weeks,” American Craft Beer Week®, Support Your Local Brewery program, CraftBeer.com’s annual list of Great American Beer Bars, CraftBeer.com’s Beer 101 Course and has the most extensive U.S. brewery finder and cooking with craft beer online recipe database.

Over the course of 2013, CraftBeer.com saw more than 1.6 million visits, a 21 percent increase from 2012. It also had over 3.1 million page views and has 30,000+ Facebook followers and 26,000+ Twitter followers.

Website Update

In 2013 we incorporated a cleaner look and design with more visual posts, Google+ integration and an improved brewery locator. We also created a new section called The Beverage, updated the Style Finder, improved news and Calendar and—most importantly—the site’s new responsive design looks beautiful on mobile and tablet devices. 

Marketplace Presentations

The Craft Beer Program conducted tastings and presentations for beer lovers, distributors, retailers and journalists to further their understanding of craft brewers and emphasize craft beer and food pairings. Presentations and tastings: Beer Bloggers Conference, Beverage World Magazine’s The Beverage 

Forum, Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines, Colorado State University, Craft Brewers Conference, national Beer Wholesalers Association Conference, Great American Beer Festival®, NY Bar & Wine Show, SAVORSM: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience and more.

American Craft Beer Week®

American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) has grown nationwide to provide a platform to celebrate our country’s beer culture and small and independent craft brewers. In 2013, the program saw more than 1,000 posted events in the official ACBW calendar and celebrations happening in all fifty states. Additionally, American Craft Beer Week’s Facebook page exceeded 55,000 likes. CraftBeer.com continues to collect and promote more than 50 other U.S. beer weeks.

Media at BA Events 

The Craft Beer Program coordinated with the BA marketing and events departments to provide credentials to more than 500 journalists at key BA events, including Craft Brewers Conference, GABF and SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience.

Statistics and Media Relations

We annually publish statistic releases that share vital information on the craft brewing segment. The Craft Beer Program also hosted desk-side and on-premise tastings for journalists throughout the year. Our media relations agency, The Rosen Group, sends seasonal craft beer samples to top tier journalists four times per year.

Media List for Brewery Members

Up-to-date media lists containing thousands of beer, food, wine and business contacts are available to U.S. brewery members in the BrewersAssociation.org Members-Only area. Each brewery member can request one state list, as well as the national list, once per year. 

Craft Brewer Pavilions

The BA organized a craft brewer pavilion at the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s bi-annual trade show in Las Vegas. Thirty craft brewers served their craft beers to wholesaler attendees. 

To find more highlights of BA activities in 2013, see the full Stewardship Report online.