Towards the end of last year the Brewers Association (BA) reached out and asked us to take part in a panel discussing exporting beer to the UK at the infamous Craft Breweries Conference (CBC), this year in Philadelphia. The BA is an American body that helps promote independent US beer and an organisation we have worked closely with over the last few years as we have brought in more and more amazing beer from across the Atlantic. Aside from our own expertise on import, we were asked to bring someone along from the on-trade who could talk first-hand about selling US beer to consumers and we could think of no better man than Doug Fitzgerald from M&B. Not only is Doug responsible for beer in one of the UKs largest Pub Co’s, but he has also worked for Goose Island and InBev, so he’s been on both sides of the table. All this, coupled with his love for American beer (especially bourbon barrel-aged stout) meant he was the perfect partner to bring stateside to talk US beer in the UK.

Over there, myself and Doug were to be joined Qurban & Peter from Crafted Imports, our export partner in the US, along with Josh Fruchtman from Allagash Brewery for our panel on Selling U.S. Craft Beer in the United Kingdom. After a few calls refining our presentation, we were off to Philly in late April to talk beer at one of the biggest craft beer events in the world.

As a seasoned CBC pro, I had left it to Qurban to plan our diary and plan he did. In the weeks leading up to the event I seemed to be getting daily calendar invites to meetings and events dotting around Philly with some of the best breweries in America. The trip was shaping up to be a busy one.

After touching down and getting our event passes, we were off to the BA’s Welcome Drink at the Pennsylvania Convention Centre. Here we were able to meet lots of the event attendees and enjoy a much-needed beer with them after a long flight. Then, it was off to the evening events at Human Robot tap room and Doom for the Widowmaker.

The next day was looking just as busy with more meetings, catch-ups and events. I was starting to get worried I wasn’t going to have enough free time to run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, just like Rocky or eat a Philly Cheese Steak. However, I did manage to achieve both these goals in between meetings: panic averted.  That evening Harpoon, Deschutes, Tired Hands and Other Half were all hosting parties as we cabbed in-between events, meeting new people and trying lots of wonderful beers. It wasn’t long before the Jet Lag kicked in as I stood drinking a pilsner at Other Half’s Philly outpost and decided it was time for bed before our seminar the following day.

The 5 of us all meet for breakfast bright and early on the following morning through the slides one final time and get the flow nailed down. Then, we were off to CBC for the main event: Selling U.S. Craft Beer in the United Kingdom. The motivation behind the talk was to discuss the continued appetite for good quality US beers in the UK despite the economic headwinds. Whilst we no longer need to look to the US for hop-forward beers, given the standard and quality closer to home, there is a desire to explore new beers and take inspiration from the country that birthed the craft beer revolution. From seeing the standard stateside and how “craft” and independent beer play such a large part of their daily consumer culture, I think we can take plenty of inspiration from the US market. The 45-minute discussion went by in a flash, followed by a Q&A session from the audience. It was so refreshing to see the engagement and desire from so many great breweries to get their beer over to the UK.

Seeing the craft beer scene in America just shows how much more growth we can achieve in the UK. The quality, volume and innovation in US craft beer is still miles ahead of the UK and hopefully we can continue to bring their amazing beers over the pond to help inspire and refresh our local beer scene.

If you're interested in exploring our American imports, follow the link to our Preorders Page so you can keep up to date with our next shipments.

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