The Brewers Association (BA) is now welcoming the submission of educational session proposals for presentation at the 2027 Craft Brewers Conference® (CBC).
Please read the information below in full before submitting a proposal.
Download a PDF copy of the Proposal Submission Guidelines.
Educational Program Overview
The CBC educational program is designed to provide attendees with actionable takeaways that improve production operations and business performance.
The educational program at CBC has three main goals:
- Connect: Foster relationships and peer learning through interactive and experiential formats that strengthen both individual businesses and the industry as a whole.
- Educate: Deliver world-class knowledge and practical skills, presented by trusted industry experts, that address key topics affecting current craft beverage producers.
- Inspire: Spark new ideas, highlight opportunities, and motivate meaningful progress in the craft beverage industry.
CBC is designed for professionals across the entire beverage alcohol community. This includes brewers, distillers, cider makers, mead producers, and others involved in beverage alcohol production and business. It’s an industry-only event, not open to the public.
The majority of CBC attendees are in production and/or business operations roles: head brewer/brewer, director of operations, owner, CEO, general manager. Additionally, CBC has a significant number of attendees in sales roles: sales manager, director/head of sales. Other notable attendee groups include roles in marketing and hospitality.
For CBC 2027, we will prioritize content focused on helping breweries…
- Increase demand for their products by:
- Bringing more people into their taproom
- Rebuilding local demand
- Supporting off-premise sales
- Implementing effective marketing strategies
- Manage their expenses and increase margins in the form of:
- Labor
- Raw material costs
- Insurance
- Utilities
- Improve their production and operations related to:
- Beer quality
- Packaging
- Scheduling
- Inventory
- Equipment upkeep
- Process efficiency
Although we are seeking proposals that are tailored to one of these topic priorities, we will consider other topics that are highly relevant and meet our selection criteria.
We plan to have varied session room and stage formats at CBC 2027, set up strategically for specific session types and time slots. In the proposal form, submitters will be asked to select the type of session that best fits the vision for their proposed content. Included in the table below are the session type options, along with their preliminary room/stage setup and suggested time slots.*
| Session Type | Room/Stage Setup | Suggested Time Slots |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional lecture or thought leader presentation | Large session rooms with theatre seating for 500+ attendees | 60, 75 or 90 minutes |
| Moderated panel discussion or fireside chat | Large session rooms with theatre seating for 500+ attendees | 60, 75 or 90 minutes |
| Interactive workshop / walkthrough / “How To” session | Medium-sized session rooms with classroom-style seating for ~300 attendees | 60, 75 or 90+ minutes |
| Roundtable or group exercise | Medium-sized session rooms with banquet-style seating for ~300 attendees | 60, 75 or 90 minutes |
| Hands on activity / sensory experience | Medium-sized session rooms with classroom-style seating for ~300 attendees OR Stage within the exhibit hall with classroom-style seating for ~65 attendees | 45, 60, 75 or 90 minutes |
| Networking activity | Stage within the exhibit hall with banquet-style seating for ~65 attendees | 45 minutes |
| Case study or brand story | Stages within the exhibit hall or other public space with casual seating for ~25-30 attendees | 30 minutes |
| Research poster presentation | Stages within the exhibit hall or other public space with casual seating for ~25-30 attendees | 30 minutes |
| Audience Q&A | Stages within the exhibit hall or other public space with casual seating for ~25-30 attendees | 30 minutes |
| Product or service demonstration | Stages within the exhibit hall or other public space with casual seating for ~25-30 attendees | 30 minutes |
*Session types, room and stage setups, and time slots are all preliminary and subject to change.
CBC attendees highly value conference education with firsthand experience, data, and research-based insights and actionable takeaways. We prioritize accepting sessions with visual content and/or hands-on or interactive elements over panel discussions that do not include a presentation.
Proposal Submission Guidelines
In order for a proposal to be reviewed, it must be fully complete and submitted via the online proposal form before the call for proposals closes. Proposals will be reviewed and selected on a rolling basis.
Key dates:
- The call for proposals will close on October 30, 2026 OR earlier, if schedule is filled
- Submitters will be notified of their proposal decision by December 18, 2026
As the CBC call for proposals is a rolling process, it is in your best interest to submit proposals early if possible. We will continue to accept proposals through Friday, October 30 or until we have filled the educational schedule, whichever comes first. No additional submissions or changes will be accepted after the call for proposals closes.
We accept proposals from:
- Producers across the beverage alcohol community who are subject matter experts and have direct experience in the proposed topic area
- Suppliers across the beverage alcohol community who are subject matter experts and have direct experience in the proposed topic area
- Subject matter experts from food and beverage membership organizations, educational institutions, or media and insights firms
- Subject matter experts in topics relevant to small business owners
Supplier Submissions
- Supplier proposals for traditional Education Sessions are welcome when balanced approaches and solutions to industry issues are presented and they do not reference specific products or services by name.
- It is highly recommended that supplier submissions include a brewery or other producer/customer representative as a speaker/s.
- Suppliers wishing to present specific information on their products or services should consider a Supplier Education Session or Sponsored Session. Contact our Business Development Team to learn more about these sponsorship opportunities.
We select session proposals based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to:
- Content is directly related to at least one of the 2027 topic priorities or a related topic with similar/adjacent goals.
- Content is relevant to today’s craft beverage industry and the CBC target audience.
- Content has not been presented widely elsewhere or is new or unique to the CBC target audience.
- Content provides timely, practical and actionable takeaways that attendees can implement directly to improve their production and/or business operations.
- Session type—including format and time slot—is creative, appropriate, and impactful in an in-person learning environment.
- Content is devoid of overt and covert commercialism (except in the case of pre-approved Supplier Education Session content).
- Session incorporates audience engagement; interactive or hands-on activities, take-home handouts, templates, or resources; and/or other experiential elements.
- Speaker/s have public speaking experience or demonstrate ability to present professionally in an educational setting.
- Speaker/s are knowledgeable, engaging, and have direct experience with the proposed topic.
- Proposal is well-written and meets overall submission guidelines.
Content: All proposals will be asked to provide a title, description, and learning objectives, as well as answers to questions regarding the session type, time slot, target audience, and topic areas.
- The content submitted in each proposal should accurately reflect the proposed presentation content itself.
- If selected, the title, description, and learning objectives will be used on the public event website and in the conference program and mobile application to promote the session.
- Any changes to the session content or details after a session has been accepted are subject to review and approval by event staff and the CBC Working Group.
Speakers: Be prepared to provide contact information, a short biography, and a headshot for ALL proposed speakers associated with each proposal.
- “TBD” is not an acceptable response on the submission form and your proposal will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.
- Do not submit a proposal for a speaker without their permission.
- Speaker additions or changes are not permitted after a session has been accepted, except in the case of approved extenuating circumstances.
- Any necessary speaker changes or additions are subject to review and approval by event staff and the CBC Working Group.
Individual submitters (or supplier groups) are limited to a maximum of 5 proposal submissions total. Any additional proposals beyond the fifth submission will be automatically rejected.
- Due to time and space constraints at the live event, we have established a speaker maximum of 4 panelists per panel and up to 1 moderator (note that a moderator is optional and not required). That means no proposal should include more than 5 total speakers.
- We prefer to accept panel proposals with well-rounded speaker representation. Please avoid including more than 1 speaker from the same company in panel-style presentations. For lecture-style sessions, we will allow up to 2 maximum speakers from the same company.
- Session types that are intended for time slots of 45 minutes or less should not include more than 2 speakers total.
You can begin filling out the proposal form and save at any point for completion at a later date. However, once a proposal is submitted, you will no longer be able to make additional changes.
NOTE: It is highly recommended that you keep a copy of your proposal content and speaker information in a Word document or other external file in case of any errors during the submission process.
Before you submit your proposal, please make sure:
- That you and/or your proposed speakers have pre-established authorization from your/their employer (if applicable) to present onsite at CBC 2027 in San Antonio, Texas.
- That you/your speakers have travel expenses covered.
- That you/your speakers agree—if accepted—not to cancel other than for medical or family- emergency reasons. Submitting and agreeing to speak is a professional commitment to be taken seriously.
Only the submitter (known as the Proposal Contact) will be notified of the proposal submission. The proposal contact is required to confirm the speaker/s’ interest and availability to present prior to submitting the proposal. If the proposal is accepted, event staff will reach out to the proposal contact and each speaker directly to begin session planning and logistics.
All educational proposals are reviewed and recommended for selection to the BA by the CBC Working Group, a group of BA members selected annually as industry experts in their fields. Content and format of selected sessions are subject to revision requests by the CBC Working Group. All final selection decisions are made by BA staff.
Q: When is the deadline to submit session proposals?
Session proposals are due by 11:59 pm EST on Friday, October 30, 2026. Late submissions will not be considered.
Q: When will I hear if my session proposal was accepted?
Submitters will be notified by December 18, 2026.
Q: How do I submit a session proposal?
Review the Educational Program Overview and Proposal Submission Guidelines sections of this document. Then, complete the online proposal form fully and submit it before the call for proposals closes.
Q: Can I make changes after the session proposal submission deadline?
You cannot make changes to your proposal after it is submitted. If the proposal is accepted, you will then be allowed to make changes as approved by event staff and the CBC Working Group.
Q: Does submitting a session proposal guarantee acceptance?
It does not. Session proposals are reviewed based on the selection criteria outlined in these guidelines. Any submissions that do not meet the quality factors will not be selected. In some cases, session proposals that satisfactorily meet these requirements will not be selected due to limited program space and the high quality of competing session proposals.
Q: If submitting a session proposal does not guarantee acceptance, how do I handle asking other potential speakers I want to have present (if I’m not the speaker)?
When organizing a submission proposal, it is important to contact potential speakers, discuss your ideas, assess interest and note the possibility that it may be selected as a session. It is common practice of professional, business trade, and association events to not guarantee acceptance prior to the proposal’s review. It is also industry standard to collect proposed speaker names to make an informed decision during the review process.
Q: What if I am having technical difficulties submitting my session proposal?
Contact MacKenzie Staples at mackenzie@brewersassociation.org. While waiting for a response make sure to use the ‘Pick Up Where You Left Off’ feature to send yourself a link to the proposal to be edited and submitted at a later date.
Q: It’s after December 18 and I haven’t heard anything about my proposal. What do I do?
Status notifications are sent through our online application platform, Map Your Show, and notification emails will be sent from service@mapyourshow.com. Please check your junk and spam mail for a message from service@mapyourshow.com. If you still don’t see anything, please reach out to MacKenzie Staples at mackenzie@brewersassociation.org.
Q: Can I submit a proposal to be a keynote speaker?
No, we do not accept keynote speaker proposals. We reach out to potential keynote speakers directly based on our content priorities and conference theme for the upcoming year. Most of our keynote speakers are recommended or requested directly via our membership.
However, we do accept proposals for featured speakers. If you are interested in being considered for a featured session, please follow the regular submission process and note your interest in the “Notes” field of the Session Details page. Keep in mind that CBC speakers are provided with a complimentary registration in lieu of a speaker fee/honorarium.
Information for Accepted Speakers
All speakers associated with accepted proposals are required to agree to the terms outlined in the Speaker Agreement provided upon acceptance, including acknowledging and committing to important deadlines and requirements, agreeing to follow BA policies, consenting to audio or video recording of their live session, and other related terms.
In order for a accepted session to be considered confirmed, all associated speakers must submit a Speaker Agreement by January 8, 2027.
Selected speakers are required to follow a deliverable timeline (listed below) to prepare their content leading up to CBC. Deliverables are specific to each session type and will be defined at the time of acceptance. Examples of deliverables assigned include PowerPoint presentation, research poster, discussion outline, etc.
All deliverables will be reviewed by the CBC Working Group and feedback will be provided to presenters. Presenters are expected to make suggested changes to their content based on this feedback.
Selected speakers should be aware of the deliverable timeline and able to commit to submit deliverables on time. Selected speakers who do not adhere to the deliverable timeline are subject to removal from the conference schedule.
Session Deliverable Timeline
- January 22, 2027: Deliverable 1 due
- February 26, 2027: Deliverable 2 due
- March 26, 2027: Final deliverables due – No changes allowed onsite
- April 5-7, 2027: Craft Brewers Conference 2027 in San Antonio, Texas
Accepted speakers receive a complimentary All Access registration to CBC. Speaker registration is non-transferable.
Speakers are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses. All speaker hotel accommodations for CBC 2027 must be booked through ConferenceDirect, the official housing provider for the conference. Through this partnership, we have secured preferred rates at the conference hotel exclusively for conference participants.
Accepted speakers for CBC 2027 will receive additional details about hotel accommodations, including an exclusive housing link specifically for speakers. We encourage accepted speakers to book promptly once accepted, as hotel availability is limited and rooms are expected to fill quickly.
Selected speakers for CBC are provided with a full complimentary conference registration in lieu of a speaker fee/honorarium.
Questions? For more information about the call for proposals or speaker policies, please contact MacKenzie Staples.
