InnBrew energizes the beer sector
InnBrew, the convention for professionals in the brewing sector in Spain, wrapped up its first edition with positive feedback and a clear desire to continue. The event, organized by Beer Events, took place at La Farga de L'Hospitalet (Barcelona) from Thursday, July 22 to Saturday, July 24. On its opening day, InnBrew welcomed over a thousand visitors. It even received the support of the mayor of L'Hospitalet, Núria Marín, who attended in the afternoon. Up to 35 stands from manufacturers, distributors, and associations gave structure to the event. Attendees were also able to enjoy more than twenty training sessions, talks, and round tables throughout the program.
The following day, Friday, saw the decision and presentation of the Steve Huxley Lifetime Achievement Award. In this third edition, the winner was the English brewer Andrew Dougall, co-founder of the Cantabrian brewery Dougalls, located in the town of Liérganes. Originally from the United Kingdom, the brewmaster arrived in Spain in 1997. Dougall had worked in print publishing until he decided to leave it behind to brew beer. To do so, he set up next to the local spring in the Cantabrian town, with the intention of using that water in his beers. This recognition was decided after narrowing down 47 candidates by a jury of 137 professionals from the brewing sector.
On Friday, the first Meeting of Associations of Craft Beer Breweries in Spain was also held, bringing together the main organizations in the country: GECAN (Catalonia), EGE Euskal Garagardo Elkartea Basque Beer (Basque Country), AECAI (national), Cerveseres Valencianes (Valencian Community) and the Association of Craft Brewers of Mallorca (Balearic Islands). The aim of this meeting was to discuss how to present themselves to the authorities without losing each organization’s idiosyncrasies.
After more than a year of the pandemic, the sector also needs an emotional recovery. In this regard, InnBrew is positioned as the national standard-bearer for beer professionals. The sequel to BBF Pro, which was once the more professional offshoot of the Barcelona Beer Festival, now stands on its own as a sign of the sector’s maturity.
On this point, Mikel Rius, co-director of InnBrew, mentioned that “these days allow us to see that the craft beer sector is mature enough and strong enough to have its own trade fair; therefore, we can already start thinking about the continuity of the event,” and added that “the way to keep growing and to remain in the game is through training, innovation and the exchange of knowledge.”
