Join the CCBA for an update on all association efforts, activities, legislative priorities and leadership as we move into 2021.

In the past several years, the alcohol beverage industry has seen a sudden diversification of products within and outside of the beer industry. Hard seltzers, ciders, craft distilled spirits, hard kombuchas, non-alcoholic beers, and other beverages have come on tap and on store shelves. For craft beer brewers, this can mean new opportunities (as well as competition). Our panel will discuss this recent development, the licensing and legal issues involved in diversifying into other beverages, and the practical and business considerations in launching a new non-beer beverage brand.

As the seltzer and “non-alcoholic” beer markets continue to grow, craft brewers are looking for solutions to produce these products with the highest quality standards. Membrane Filtration is the latest technology being utilized by craft brewers of all sizes to meet this demand. Join GEA and guest speaker Casey Harris (Brewmaster from Topa-Topa Brewing Company) to review this technology. Casey will give you a brewer’s perspective, as well as his experience testing his own beers though GEA’s membrane filtration process.  

Join this breakout discusion group to talk directly with other brewery staff on best practices to address social media challenges, increased communication and engagement, and managing the "new normal" on your marketing platforms. Come ready to be on-camera, on-mic and share your thoughts and ask questions of your peers!

Relationships matter now more than ever. This presentation will explore what Crosby Hops has learned over the last eight months of uncertainty and what we are doing to put our brewing partners in a stronger position.

Send your marketing department to this seminar to learn the dos and don'ts of marketing alcoholic beverages including: social media best practices, event licenses, loyalty programs, co-branding with retailers, tasting events at on or off premise retailers and consumer contests or giveaways. Bring your questions!

2020 has taught us to be prepared to rapidly reposition our business models to ensure survival, but many of us are wondering if our decisions are making financial sense as we look to the future. How do we understand the data before us to ensure we're making a positive impact? Join Audra as she demonstrates the key areas of focus from each of your financial statements and offers pragmatic and empowering guidance with your financial decision-making as our business environment continues to evolve. How should I calculate my efficiency and liquidity? Where should we focus now that cash is tight? This session was created for the non-financial brewery owner to help you sort through all the data and utilize Excel's capabilities for building simple models you can update quickly to understand your brewery's position and future direction.

Locally, regionally and globally, 2020 has unquestionably been an unprecedented year. A global pandemic brought the world economy to a standstill, social isolation millions more and, to date, has cost at least a quarter of a million Americans their lives. Layer on historical wildfires, civil unrest and a deeply divided electorate and truly we are wrapping up a year like no other. JB Shireman returns to the stage to discuss how all the “spheres of influence” among the various tiers of total beverage have been effected to date and, most importantly, discusses where we are headed as an industry and why he believes it’s the most exciting time ever in beverage history. Join this seminar if you are mapping, evolving and planning for the future of beverage, your business and the industry at large.

Join other brewery managers and employees for a frank and open conversation on how to improve and expand gender diversity in the brewing industry. Come with questions, ideas, feedback and be ready to share in this small-group, open discussion.

Our understanding of the complex synergies between yeast and hops is in it's infancy. What is Biotransformation? How do yeast aroma compounds produced during fermentation amplify, mute and change the perception of hoppy character in a beer? We will cover the current understanding of these yeast and hop interactions and an approach we have taken to alter yeast character for a new application in hoppy beers.

Over the next couple of years every business in California with five or more employees, (including part time), will need to make a Retirement Plan decision for their company. Michel Faircloth will walk you through what Cal-Savers is, your options and more. There will be time for Q&A as well

Join CCBA Board of Directors to toast Tom McCormick and thank him for the 15 years of support, contributions and advocacy he has provided to the craft brewing industry. Bring a beer and join this virtual celebration of Tom’s incredible work on behalf of the CCBA and more than 1,000 craft breweries across the Golden State.

Nielsen CGA will use the latest in consumer and sales research to show how the On Premise is being affected due to the COVID pandemic. We will take a look at California as a whole and then break the state down into 3 regions to show distinct consumer and sales data. From the consumer side, we will explore overall demographics, willingness to spend, On Premise occasions, category and brand preferences and the effect of COVID on each consumer group. For sales, we will look at various metrics around total sales, time of day spends, to-go and takeout, category and brand velocities and craft vs macro beer check trends. All of the insights will look at California consumers as a whole, then funnel down to the CA beer consumer and CA craft beer consumer.

Beer labels must include certain information based on how they are formulated and where they will be sold. This session, presented by two TTB Malt Beverage labeling specialists, covers all of the mandatory labeling information for malt beverages as outlined in the labeling regulations and the relevant TTB rulings. We will also tell you the top label and application errors that we see and give you tips on how to avoid them!

Join Josh, Brian and other industry veterans for an open forum discussion on relevant tips for working with your supplier and distributor business partners. This forum will focus on building and developing relationships after the end of the "honeymoon period" to benefit both partners.

What are the best practices to improve the QC of your canning line - whether your own line or a mobile partner? This small group platform will raise questions, ideas, concerns & discussion topics related to packaging for off-premise consumption. Come ready to be on-camera, on-mic and share your thoughts and ask questions of your peers.

Whether it’s a tart cherry saison, a citrus-infused IPA or a coconut porter, adding fruit to beer is as much of an art as it is a science. Join Toni Speyer, US Manager West of Boiron Americas, as she explores the types of fruits to use, best times to add them to the beer, suggested dosage amounts, and how to get great results. Presented by Boiron Americas

Advertising on social media can be free, highly effective, and a major tool for any brewery. But it doesn't come risk-free. Dinsmore IP attorney April Besl takes you through some of the major legal pitfalls of social media marketing. Learn what you need to do know to do it the right way and avoid takedowns or worse, your account being taken down.

Presentation Topics include: • Yeast propagation overview • Benefits of propagating your own yeast • Tips and considerations during propagation • mbt Brautechnik Prop-Bit pre-propagator • Christian Gresser primary yeast propagators • Yeast monitoring with ABER

Have you made a commitment and embarked on the journey toward improved diversity and inclusion outcomes but find your efforts to be disjointed and running out of steam? In this talk, Dr. J guides attendees through building a comprehensive strategic plan for inclusion, equity, and justice (IEJ) work; creating a responsibility structure to foster accountability and transparency; and addresses the challenging realities of implementation. Key takeaways: Provides guidance for strategic planning in IEJ. Details three types of IEJ responsibility structures that can be scaled for use at breweries of all sizes. Introduces the Crafted For All Commitment as a means of kickstarting actionable IEJ work.

If you're not leveraging technology to manage your brewery, you're going to fall behind. There are so many tools available to help you increase sales, communicate better, streamline production processes, and grow your business. In this panel discussion, we're bringing together breweries to talk about what software solutions they can't live without, what to look for in a potential vendor, how to plan and budget for new tools and more. The session will cover everything from accounting software and communication tools to POS systems and business management solutions. Key takeaways: Advice for choosing software - questions to ask partners, things to consider Case studies on how technology has helped other California brewers grow their businesses Firsthand experience with a variety of tools to help other brewers choose the right partners

Join this panel of industry leaders for a candid discussion on how they are working to evolve to meet a "new normal" in every aspect of business planning.

Tax planning is always important, but in an election year it can be even more critical. We will highlight tax planning considerations at the Federal level in addition to important changes coming to the craft brewery-based businesses. Now might be a good time to model how any potential changes or proposals could impact your business and personal finances to help you plan next steps. For example, if you think tax rates might increase or the market might fluctuate, there might be value in looking at how it could affect selling your business, real estate, or changing your entity structure. Join Kirk Faris, Tax Senior Manager, Moss Adams, who specializes in tax compliance and transaction planning for business entities in a broad range of industries with a focus on craft beverage companies and their owners.

Come ready for an open discussion among executives, brewery owners and managers on leadership principles and best practices for improving internal DEI programs and your own operations.

In this session we will quickly overview the different methods to produce low alcohol beers with a focus on biological methods and most especially the use of alternative yeast. We will discuss different microorganisms and present Fermentis new yeast strain SafBrewTM LA-01 for the production of low alcohol beers.