VIRTUAL CONFERENCING: MAJOR BEER EVENTS GO ONLINE

For years, the What's Brewing Community Events Calendar has been without question the most comprehensive listing of beer events in BC. Year after year, it has averaged over 100 events per month, and close to 1500 per year. The onset of COVID lockdown in 2020 was an immediate threat to its relevance. However, as the brewing community found its footing, the Calendar soon featured a brand new category: Virtual Events.

Most such events are simple videoconferences hosted by a brewery, but larger events can go virtual as well. Case in point is the Canadian Brewing Awards & Conference (CBAC), held annually in late spring. The 2020 event was to take place in Victoria, and its loss was a disappointment to many in the BC community.

The crew from Gibsons Tapworks 'virtually' accepting an award during the CBAC 2020 Internet broadcast

Rather than take the year off, Ontario-based CBAC organizers TAPS Media adopted a masterful idea: pre-recorded "virtual acceptance" celebrations. Reaching out to their nationwide brewery constituency, they convinced soon-to-be award winners to submit personalized video clips and spice up what would otherwise have been a monotonous awards list recital. In November, the Ontario Brewing Awards followed suit. Here in BC, the BC Craft Brewers Guild is set to present their fourth BC Craft Brewers Conference in early February, and they've also decided to go virtual. Ken Beattie at #BCBeerCon 2019 This prompts the question: how does a virtual conference work, and what's behind the scenes? For this we had a word with Ken Beattie, Executive Director of the BC Craft Brewers Guild.

Q&A With Ken Beattie

Q. We understand that the 2020 conference was moved to February 2021 for reasons that predated the coronavirus. Can you tell us more about the original plan and venue for the 2021 event?

After the 2019 conference we knew we had to move our location as the building was scheduled for destruction. Therefore we began to look for a new venue that could offer us a muti-year location for our conference. Also, we are required under the Society Act to hold an AGM within 6 months of our year-end, which is December 31st, so it made sense to find a time in the first quarter of 2021. Our plan was to hold the conference in February in New Westminster at the Anvil Centre. At this moment we are discussing dates there for 2022, as it suits all we require.