San Diego – With 600 brewery owners and staff, a trade expo with dozens of exhibitors, and a conference lineup filled with educational opportunities, the California Craft Brewers Association‘s (CCBA) Spring Members Conference in San Diego was a successful event for education, networking, and business development. The conference spanned three days with special events including brewery tours, a welcome reception at Stone Brewing Company Liberty Station, a taco dinner at Societe Brewing, and educational opportunities for beer industry stakeholders from across the state.

Kicking off the bi-annual conference, CCBA Executive Director, Tom McCormick introduced the CCBA board and offered an overview of the industry’s legislative landscape in the state. Each year the CCBA manages a full plate of proposed policy changes and regulatory oversight concerns. Thankfully, California brewers have numerous craft beer legislative champions representing constituents at the capitol. As the nation’s eldest brewers guild, the CCBA has been building and maintaining these critical relationships for thirty years now. Craft brewers’ formidable voice in Sacramento speaks volumes to their success at fostering these strategic relationships and is evidenced by the continued momentum made to the benefit of small brewery businesses.

One of the CCBA’s most impressive strengths is their ability to rally member brewers for grassroots advocacy. California’s legislators are often visiting breweries in their home districts, learning in real-time what it means to be a small business and a small brewery. The CCBA developed an excellent “How To” guide to help their members send an invitation to their legislators’ offices and other helpful tips to make the visit a success.

Next on CCBA’s fundraiser lineup is Mammoth Bluesapalooza in Mammoth Lakes August 1-4, which includes the annual Festival of Beers and Brewers Reception. This is a major CCBA fundraiser, and a massive amount of fun – if you haven’t been, check out the lineup and grab tickets today.

The month after that, CCBA will also be hosting the craft beer community in Long Beach, September 12-14, for the fifth annual CA Craft Beer Summit. This is the signature event for the West Coast beer and brewing communities, bringing together thousands of craft brewers, hospitality professionals, beer distributors, and beer lovers with the largest beer festival on the West Coast: The Summit Beer Festival. Learn more about this year’s Summit activities, speakers, seminars, exhibitors, and more here.

The CCBA is an immense resource to not just brewers in California, but also a mentor to brewers guilds across the country. Follow them on social media and keep an eye on what they’re up to next on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.