Bitchin' Brews Beer, from a woman's point of view

More than women and beer bloggers.

Here's my version of the recap of the first annual Beer Bloggers Conference in Boulder, CO. I know it's a little late, but this is the first day I could sit down with a beer and write, and really, who blogs without drinking?

The conference took place over November 5-8, 2010; 2.5 of the most beautiful days I think Boulder may have ever seen. They certainly were some gorgeous, sunshiney, beer-drinky days to me. The kickoff on Friday by Zephyr tours Allan Wright led immediately to some non-stop beer drinking and writing. Appearances by Ray Decker, the general manager of The Kitchen, Greg Koch of Stone Brewing and Jay Brooks from the Brookston Beer Bulletin certainly were appealing and interesting, but I guess there was nothing that generated more discussion than the Women in Craft Beer session. Is the beer industry sexist? Do women need to be marketed to differently than men? Should we be bothered when we're referred to women? Ladies? Girls? Wenches? Sweeties? Honeys?

Honestly, I don't care.

Sure, marketing to men and women is different. Companies have spent thousands (maybe millions) of dollars studying the difference between marketing to the sexes. Take Unilever - Axe and Dove are marketed completely differently (and effectively) but they're owned by the same company. Do men want to feel good about themselves when they shower? Sure. Do women want men falling over them after they lotion up? Probably. But would that marketing style make you buy the product? Judging by the fact that Unilever chose to not market those products that way, probably not.

But, women in craft beer isn't what I wanted to talk about (unless we're talking about me). I want to discuss two of the best things I experienced at the Beer Bloggers Conference. The "Night of Many Bottles" and Beer "Speed-Dating." I tried out so many beers that I had never heard of and probably will never get another chance to check out. Other than the great sessions about beer and food pairing and SEO, these two sessions stand out as something that I think should have been on my bucket list.

The Night of Many Bottles - every registrant was encouraged to bring a six pack of beer that is unique to their hometown. A six-pack may have been too much, maybe next year we encourage one or two 22's instead. There were beers from Alaska to England to Florida to Nevada. Avery kicked in a massive selection and one particular beer was available for a live, online tasting. BeerTapTV.com received one of the 12 "End of History" beers from Brewdog over in Scotland. Near the end of the night they went live online and discussed & tasted the beer. Then once they were done, a select lucky few, received a small taste too. As far as beer goes, I don't think it was great. As far as a tasty adult beverage is concerned, I thought it was pretty remarkable. However, more importantly than the taste of the beer is that it comes in a dead squirrel. The bloggers had more fun playing with the squirrel than drinking it. See the #bbc10 Flickr group for more of what I mean.

Beer "Speed Dating" - on Saturday 12 breweries shared 12 (technically 13, thank you New Planet!) to a room of giddy bloggers. While brewery spokespeople talked up the beer and passed out educational material, we drank. And we typed furiously. And we drank some more. And we typed. The room was louder than a bar on a Friday night and we were all having a great time! I had beers that I couldn't even imagine - tasty gluten-free beer? - and beers that I'd had only once before and loved - thanks again Great Divide! By the end of the speed drinking session we all continued to discuss and take photos and share thoughts on the day. All I heard was how fantastic this conference had been.

I have never met a greater group of people, even if we all didn't get along the whole time. And I would be down to drink with anyone at the conference again. Stop by Durham, NC some time and I'll take you out for a drink.