The Independent Brewers Association has taken the decision to cancel plans for this year's industry conference. BrewCon was due to take place in Perth after returning for a first time post-Covid on the Gold Coast in August last year (pictured above).
However, the independent beer world's annual awards, the Indies, which also returned as an in-person event after three years in which it was streamed online, are still going ahead. Both judging and the awards ceremony will take place in Perth.
More information in the media release below.
Media Release: BrewCon Announcement - And the hits just keep on coming for Australia’s Independent Brewers
As the industry continues to face significant challenges, and the forecast for the next 12-18 months not looking any more positive, the Independent Brewers Association (IBA) has decided to cancel BrewCon for 2024.
“We are doing all we can to get relief for Australia’s indie brewers but with many of stakeholders facing the most challenging times in history, many just don’t have the discretionary spend available to attend the conference this year,” said IBA CEO Kylie Lethbridge.
“Although we are, sadly, getting used to postponing events as a result of the pandemic, we were buoyed by the fact that we were finally able to run BrewCon in 2023. But it is a significant commitment and takes everything we’ve got from a financial and human resource perspective to ensure its success. Cancelling any commitment made to our members weighs heavily on us, but we must make the best decisions for them and for the overall future of the IBA.”
Instead, we will be working on gaining support for our federal advocacy requests, state-based strategies, releasing relevant and timely resources and seeking alternate forms of income so we are able to continue to support our nearly 600 members across the country.
We are also pleased to announce that the Australian Independent Beer Awards (aka The Indies Awards) will still go ahead in 2024. We will judge the Awards in Perth and will hold the in-person presentation ceremony in conjunction with the West Australian Beer Association’s annual conference on 2 August. This will also be live streamed for those that want to celebrate in brewpubs or taprooms around the nation.
More information will follow in the coming weeks on opportunities to participate in the Awards.
