Start planning your trip to Craft Beverage Expo now (Portland, Nov. 7-9)

Craft beer makers have no shortage of educational resources on the market. Well, let’s see. There’s the Brewers Association, Beer Institute, American Brewers Guild, American Society of Brewing Chemists, Master Brewer’s Association of the Americas, Siebel Institute of Technology and World Brewing Academy and universities from Kalamazoo Valley Community College to Oregon State University. And all those paid certifications from Cicerone to Prud’homme.

Whew. Had to take a break.

Another cool non-profit-type organization is the Craft Beverage Education Association (CBEA), dedicated to helping members from the wine, beer, spirits, cider and mead industries navigate the business of “craft beverage post-production.” We like that niche (packaging, trademarks, labels, distribution, exporting, TTB compliance, digital marketing and ever onward). The CBEA’s annual event is already in full planning mode. Craft Beverage Expo (CBExpo) will return for its fourth annual conference in Portland November 7-9 at the DoubleTree by Hilton.

Each year, CBExpo attracts professionals from across the craft beer, wine, cider, mead and spirits market for three days of education sessions and presentations from all those expert types. CBExpo also provides some solid networking opportunities, bringing together artisan beverage masters from all segments to connect and collaborate — not just all your beer buddies — which makes it cool. There’s also an expo floor with exhibitors showcasing products and services. From the press release:

“We’re excited to move CBExpo to November and to a new, vibrant city,” says Kellie Shevlin, Executive Director of Craft Beverage Expo. “Because Portland truly exudes the craft culture, it’s a natural setting for CBExpo and our unique combination of the boutique wine, beer, cider, spirits and mead segments.”

Of note: Oregon has 702 wineries, more than 50 distilleries and the Portland metro area alone enjoys 105 craft breweries. This should bring a cool draw to this show, making it a unique opportunity to hobnob with one of America’s greatest beverage meccas. Registration will open in the beginning of March. Prospective speakers can begin submitting their presentations for consideration on January 18; the deadline for receipt is March 3. That is all.