The European Beer Bloggers Conference 2014

I’ve just booked my place for the European Beer Bloggers Conference which is taking place in Dublin, Ireland on the 27^th and 28^th of June. This will be the first EBBC outside the UK. Ireland is in the beginning of a craft beer boom with new breweries popping up every year, so this is an exciting time to be visiting the country.

Whilst this is the fourth such event to be held, it will be a first for me and I have to say I’m really looking forward to it. Actually, it will be one of two firsts; as my attendance at the conference will mark my first visit not just to Dublin, but to the Irish Republic.

So what exactly takes place at the EBBC, and is it like many of my friends will say, just an excuse for a piss-up? Well although I haven’t been to one of these events before, I think I can safely say there will be more than a few pints drunk over the course of the conference. But looking at the agenda there’s also some serious, but still fun-sounding, stuff to do. For a start, it's a good opportunity to meet and befriend like minded people; people who you may already talk to regularly via social media, or even your own blog. Even better though is the chance to spend some time with them, enjoying a few beers together in a great pub in an unfamiliar town, exchanging information and generally getting to know people better.

The Beer Bloggers Conference therefore promises to be a festival of great beer, good food, great pubs, and the chance to make useful contacts and new friends. The conference seminars should also be useful, and will help to improve your blog and increase the number of hits it gets.

For those thinking of attending, and for those who are just plain nosey, here’s the agenda. 

Thursday, June 26, 2014
7:00 PM          Optional Pub Crawl of Dublin departing from the conference venue and led by beer blogger Reuben Gray of The Tale of the Ale

Friday, June 27, 2014
12:30 PM        Registration and Expo
2:00 PM          Conference Opening
2:10 PM          History of Beer in Ireland
3:10 PM          Welcome to the World of Irish Beer
4:10 PM          Panel of Irish Craft Brewers
5:10 PM          Break
6:30 PM          Dinner, Brewery Tour, and Tasting at St. James Gate hosted by Guinness & Smithwicks

Saturday, June 28, 2014
10:00 AM        Social Media Best Practices
11:00 AM        Keg versus Cask versus Bottle versus Can
12:30 PM        Lunch hosted by Pilsner Urquell
2:00 PM          Search Engine Optimization for Your Beer Blog
3:00 PM          Video on Your Beer Blog
4:00 PM          Conference Content – coming soon
6:30 PM          Dinner provided by Franciscan Well Brewery with keynote speaker Shane Long
9:00PM           Evening Party with Carlow Brewing Company

Sunday, June 29, 2014
10:00 AM        Post-Conference Excursion (details t.b.a)

Dinner at the Guinness Brewery in St. James' Gate should be really exciting. The brewery is steeped with history and the opportunity to have a dinner there should be an unforgettable experience. The pre-conference pub-crawl also looks good.

If you’re a blogger and are thinking of coming, then you need to act quickly. If you register before the 31st of March (today), then you pay a discounted registration fee of €95.00. Depending on the numbers booking, you may qualify for a refund on this fee as Molson Coors, who are one of the event sponsors, are offering €95 stipends to the first sixty Citizen Beer Bloggers who register for the conference. To receive the stipend, you must qualify as an active beer blogger and actually attend the conference. Funds will be disbursed at the conference. In addition you are also required to write two blog posts about the conference, which shouldn’t be hard.

Obviously there are travel and hotel costs involved as well to attend the conference, but these can be reduced by booking flights and accommodation in advance.  Hopefully I might see some of you there.