Beer writers from around the country are headed to Asheville this weekend for the Bee Bloggers and Writers Conference. The conference includes a visit to the Oskar Blues brewery in Brevard.(Photo: Citizen-Times photo)
Asheville's famous brew scene will get some serious national attention this week as a big crowd of beer writers gathers here for a weekend-long conference.
The sold-out Beer Bloggers and Writers Conference based at the Four Points Asheville hotel will feature both national and local guests including Kim Jordan, co-founder and CEO of New Belgium Brewing, and Julia Herz of the Brewers Association, which represents the craft beer industry.
More than 150 beer writers from across the country will participate in the conference, said Allan Wright of the conference producer, Zephyr Adventures and Taste Vacations. Previously, the conference visited such cities as Portland, Oregon; San Diego; Boulder, Colorado and Indianapolis.
Asheville got the nod because of its booming craft beer community, Wright said. "You can plop these conferences anywhere in the world, but the attendees like to experience the local beer," said Wright. Conference topics this weekend include "The Past, Present, and Future of Asheville Beer," "The World of Blogging" and "Building Craft Beer Brands." Bloggers will also visit such breweries as Oskar Blues in Brevard and Sierra Nevada in Mills River.
The bloggers "are not only into beer but they are into discussing it and having a voice" said Wright. "Social media is giving them the opportunity to do that. It's citizen journalism."
The conference includes "a lot of beer," but it's not just an excuse to drink, Wright said. "This is a a professional conference, not a drinker's conference," he said. "Everyone who comes is fairly committed" to writing about beer, he said.
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Source: Beer bloggers headed to Asheville
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