UPDATED: Florida Craft Beer Summit announced for August 2016

NOTE: Originally scheduled for March 2016, this event has been rescheduled for Aug. 31 to Sept. 2. The post has been updated to reflect this.

A conference tailored specifically to the Southeast’s craft beer professionals has been announced for March in Sarasota, the first of its kind in Florida.

Helmed by Jeremy Joerger, founder of JDub’s Brewing Company in Sarasota, the Florida Craft Beer Summit, aims to “team existing and future craft beer professionals together in an effort to further individual business goals and better the Southeast craft beer industry as a whole,” according to a news release.

Brewers will have the chance to meet with regional distributors and retailers, other brewers and “personalities” to “learn new technical and strategic practices to promote quality in individual breweries,” the release said.

Exhibitors and sponsors are invited to participate.

Among the highlights:

• Bart Watson, chief economist of the Brewers Association, will speak on the “Craft Beer State of the Union.”
• Joey Redner of Cigar City Brewing in Tampa will lead a presentation on preparing for brewery expansions.
• Monica Hawes from the Florida Department of Business and Regulation will discuss “What You Need to Know.”
• Other sessions scheduled include lab essentials, financial planning tips, brewery-specific accounting, promoting your brewery and working with the media, marketing to Latinos and, in what sounds really interesting and informative, “Why You Shouldn’t Open a Brewery” by Joerger and Bob Sylvester, founder and head brewer of Saint Somewhere Brewery in Tarpon Springs.

The conference will take place Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 at the Hyatt Regency in Sarasota.

For the complete schedule and more information, or to register, go to floridacraftbeersummit.com. Organizers say the website will be frequently updated.

FLORIDA BREWERY MAP AND LIST

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