The call for proposals for educational sessions at the 2026 Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) is now open.
NEW: Rolling Selection Process
This year’s call for proposals is a rolling process, meaning we will review and accept proposals as they are submitted rather than all at once at the end of the submission period. That means that it is in a speaker’s best interest to submit proposals early if possible.
We will continue to accept proposals through Wednesday, October 1 or until we have filled the educational schedule, whichever comes first. No additional changes or proposals will be accepted after the call for proposals closes.
All proposals will receive a selection decision by Friday, November 28, 2025.
2026 Submission Details & Guidelines
- Content Requirements: Educational sessions at CBC are expected to provide actionable takeaways for attendees to help improve their businesses. Proposals should clearly outline the skills and knowledge that attendees will learn from the presentation, with a particular focus on the potential return on investment (ROI).
- 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 event website and in the conference program and mobile application to promote the session.
- In the submission form, you will be asked to answer questions regarding the proposed time slot, format, and content level for your seminar. Your selections to these questions will be considered preferences and subject to revision if accepted.
- Be prepared to provide contact information, a short biography, and a headshot for ALL proposed speakers associated with each proposal. 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 are subject to review and approval.
- This submission form also includes separate questions for researcher presentation proposals. To learn more about the CBC Researcher Presentation session format, please see the final section of this page below.
- Supplier Submissions: Attendees have clearly expressed the sentiment that they prefer not to attend supplier-generated presentations that only explore one specific product, technology, or solution in the educational tracks at CBC. Suppliers wishing to present specific information on their products or services should consider a sponsored seminar. Proposals from suppliers 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 customer representative as a speaker/s.
- Submission Maximum: Individual submitters (or supplier groups) are limited to a maximum of 3 proposal submissions total. Any additional proposals beyond the third submission will be automatically rejected.
- Panel Limits: Due to time and space constraints at the live event, we have decided to establish a speaker maximum of 4 panelists per panel and up to 1 moderator (note that a moderator is optional and not required in roundtable-style discussions)—that means no proposal should include more than 5 total speakers. Additionally, 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 seminars, we will allow up to 2 maximum speakers from the same company.
- Novel Content: Attendees at the Craft Brewers Conference come from all over the country and around the world. We will prioritize selection of proposals for seminars that have not already been presented at other events.
- Proposal Edits: 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.
- CBC Seminar Subcommittee: All educational proposals are reviewed and recommended for selection to the Brewers Association (BA) by the CBC Seminar Subcommittee, a group of BA members selected annually as industry experts in their fields.
- Content of selected sessions are subject to revision by the CBC Seminar Subcommittee.
For questions or for more information about the submission guidelines, please contact MacKenzie Staples.
Information for Accepted Speakers
- Review & Selection Process Timeline
- Proposals will be reviewed and selected on a rolling basis
- October 1, 2025 (or earlier): Call for proposals closes
- November 28, 2025: All proposal decisions sent to submitters
- Seminar Deliverable Timeline*: Selected speakers are required to follow a deliverable timeline (listed below) to prepare their content leading up to CBC. All deliverables will be reviewed by the CBC Seminar Subcommittee and feedback will be provided to presenters. Presenters are expected to make suggested changes to their seminar 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.
- January 14, 2026: Session content outlines due
- February 27, 2026: Presentation drafts due
- April 8, 2026: Onsite presentations due – No changes allowed onsite
- April 20-22, 2026: Craft Brewers Conference 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- *Exact deliverable timeline subject to change
- Speaker Registration and Travel: All accepted speakers will receive a full complimentary registration for the event (note that speaker registration is non-transferable). However, all speakers are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses. We recommend booking your hotel early as they do tend to sell out. ConferenceDirect is the official housing provider for CBC 2026. Through this partnership, we have negotiated the best possible rates at the conference hotel. Book with ConferenceDirect here.
- Speaker Fees and Honorariums: Selected speakers for CBC are provided with a full complimentary conference registration in lieu of a speaker fee/honorarium.
For questions or for more information for speakers, please contact MacKenzie Staples.
Researcher Presentations
In addition to full educational session proposals, the CBC 2026 Seminar Subcommittee is also accepting proposals for researcher presentations. If you are submitting a proposal for a researcher presentation, please read the instructions below before submitting a proposal.
The CBC Researcher Presentation session is a unique session with a particular format unlike others at the conference. This session will include a series of succinct presentations presented by individual researchers followed by an interactive poster session enabling attendees to directly engage with the presenting authors. The presentation style is inspired by the Ignite strategy for science communication, where a concise yet impactful narrative, lasting approximately five minutes, is coupled with auto-advancing slides.
Similarly, the poster template provided for this session diverges from the conventional approach, incorporating science-backed principles for a fresh design. This design emphasizes brevity, allowing the key takeaway message to shine. By adopting this approach, researchers can dedicate less time to poster creation and more time to meaningful conversations with attendees.
While these innovative formats may challenge researchers to recalibrate their science communication strategies, they promise to enhance information sharing both within and beyond their immediate fields, all in an engaging and inventive manner.
The CBC Researcher Presentation session is appropriate for those who are investigating specific testable questions with the goal of accumulating knowledge and advancing the field of brewing science. Suggested topics for this seminar should be technical in nature. Examples of technical topics include those related to beer quality, ingredients, safety, food safety, sustainability, and sensory.
Researcher presentation proposals will be reviewed and selected by the CBC Seminar Subcommittee and accepted speakers will be asked to follow a similar deliverable timeline to the one listed above.
For questions or for more information about the 2026 Researcher Presentation session, please contact Katie Fromuth.
