2 minute read
BeerX cements itself as the UK’s biggest beer & brewing event with a hugely successful 2023 show
By Neil Walker, SIBA Head of Comms & Marketing
Thank you to everybody who made the trip to Liverpool in March for BeerX UK 2023, I hope you got a lot out of the event, found time to catchup with friends and colleagues over a beer, and maybe even learnt something new or picked up an award.
For a small SIBA Team BeerX is a huge undertaking but we’re incredibly proud of what we have achieved in establishing it as the premier beer and brewing trade event in the UK, and each year we seek to deliver a show which is even better than the year before.
Attendance and feedback
BeerX 2023 attracted 2,002 individual Delegates and a further 655 Exhibitor representatives and guests over the two days, a fantastic achievement given the challenges caused by the rail strikes which coincided with the show. Feedback from Delegates has been excellent, with 93% of Delegates saying they would recommend the show to an industry colleague.
Delegate engagement with the new BeerX app also allowed us to track the most popular sessions at BeerX 2023, helping to inform the kinds of seminars, talks and tastings to include in future years. The top sessions this year were ‘Hands on with British Hops’ (1st), ‘The Cost of Inefficiency in Craft Breweries’ (2nd), ‘Pushing the Boundaries of Beer’ (3rd), ‘Drink Cask Fresh’ (4th), and ‘How to write better tasting notes’ (5th).
BeerX also had excellent approval rates with Exhibitors, with 88% rating BeerX as the UK’s brewing trade show and a huge 94% saying they will be Exhibiting at BeerX again next year.
Sustainable progress
Sustainability is a really important part of how we approach BeerX and with this in mind we launched our new app-based delegate programme and guide this year, putting us on-track for an entirely paperless event in 2024. The app was incredibly well-received and made it easy to navigate the event, view the beer list, highlight seminars you want to attend, or even message fellow Delegates and Exhibitors.
With sustainability in mind we also agreed new three year partnerships with our hugely valued Headline Sponsor Kegstar, Stage Sponsors Breww, Charles Faram and Crisp, and our
Bar Sponsor Konvoy – meaning all of the branding and printed signage for the event will be in use for the next three years. This is another way in which we have reduced singleuse signage for the event, in combination with the excellent digital signage used at Exhibition Centre Liverpool.
Looking to next year
Whilst BeerX may move again in the future we are happy to once again confirm Liverpool Exhibition Centre as being the venue for BeerX 2024, which will take place on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th March 2024.
Liverpool is a fantastic beer destination and the local beer community has really embraced BeerX, with an ever-increasing number of fringe events, tap takeovers and after-parties taking place across the city during BeerX week. We’d like to thank all of the pubs, bars, and restaurants that put on events and support BeerX and look forward to what you’ve got in store for 2024.
From everybody at SIBA, thanks and see you again next year.