While I was at the (first ever) Beer Bloggers Conference, held this year in the fitting location of Boulder, Colorado, words of wisdom were flying around like refills at free beer night… or something. People were talking the talk.

It was a stellar conference, I met stellar people (fellow bloggers and beer pros alike), and tried a ton of stellar beers.

I’ll kick off my string of follow-up posts with a few of my favorite Talking Pints from the conference:

“The driving force for writing about beer must be the passion for the beer”

Jay Brooks of the Brookston Beer Bulletin, (paraphrased) discussing inspirations (Day 3)

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“Beer is this.”

Greg Koch of Stone Brewing, spreading his arms wide to indicate the massive scope of the craft beer world (Day 2)

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“The term ‘beer’ is beer bongs and frat boys—and that’s not why we’re in this room”

Julia Herz of the Brewers Association, discussing stigmas of beer from the past and definitions of the present and future (Day 1)

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“It all came down to one day, when I said ‘I think I want to write a blog.’ And my mentor responded: ‘Stop thinking.’”

Ashley V. Routson a.k.a. The Beer Wench (via Twitter), discussing what got her started on what became Drink With the Wench (Day 3)

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“It’s easier to join a conversation than to start one”

Jason Cormier of Room 214, discussing social media strategies (Day 2)

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“Successful communities are fun.”

Holly Hamman of BlogFrog (Day 2)

(Ed note: good thing ours is beer, right? She goes on to say that in successful communities everyone knows your name… Cheers, I think this community was made for success)

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“More people are getting into beer than wine”

Julia Herz, sharing her wealth of knowledge on the swiftly growing craft beer industry (Day 1)

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“If you appreciate wine, you can appreciate beer”

Michael Jackson a.k.a. The Beer Hunter (as told to NPR in 1991) c/o Julia Herz (Day 1)

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“Eat more than you excrete”

Jessica Draynor of DRAFT Magazine, quoting general words of wisdom to make the point that we need to be well-informed (Day 1)

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“I’m nothing if not verbose”

Jay Brooks, after being complimented on his prolific beer blogging career (Day 3)

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“You are the brand, not the blog”

Erik Boles of BeerTapTV, discussing strategies for making your blog what you want it to be, in a successful way (Day 3)

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“It’s hard to find the female voice”

Tamre Mullins of Girls’ Pint Out, discussing women bloggers in the craft beer world during the controversial Women and Craft Beer panel (Day 2)

Additional feedback on this controversy can be found here and here. While it was almost painful as viewpoints clashed, it proved to be a wellspring of conversation throughout the event… a few more words on that to follow.

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“If you’re going to chick up your blog, chick up your blog”

Erik Boles, discussing on personal preference (feminine or not) and follow-through (Day 3)

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“Don’t pink-ify outreach to women”

Ginger Johnson as quoted by Julia Herz, during the Women and Craft Beer panel (Day 2)

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“Don’t be afraid to be controversial”

Anne Fitten Glenn, (paraphrased) discussing blogging and getting noticed, locally (Day 3)

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“I think the only way to win in beer marketing is offend everyone!”

Peter Kennedy of Simply Beer (via Twitter), as words were flying during the heated Women and Craft Beer panel (Day 2)

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“This is not that complicated”

Greg Koch, in regards to the earlier debate that arose re: treating women beer bloggers as “women bloggers” vs. non-gendered bloggers (Day 2)

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“The perfect fire extinguisher is a pint of [Oskar Blues] Gordon”

Ray Decker from local restaurant The Kitchen, talking about pairing beer with spicy foods (Day 1)

(Ed note: he was not referring to the Women and Craft Beer panel “fiasco,” but I thought this quote applied nicely, and segues into the food theme)

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“Women have better palates”

Sebbie Buhler of Rogue Ales on why women are easy to embrace in the world of tasting beers (Day 2)

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“A beer list with purpose”

Ray Decker, discussing the thoughtful beer options (Day 1)

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“It’s the essence of beer”

Erik Peterson of Bull and Bush Pub and Brewery, of his Colorado-distilled Liquid Brain Beer Brandy (see, it’s literally the essence), which was crystal-clear, woody, and smooth during the lunchtime tasting of his wares. It was later referred to as “beershine,” which I adore.  (Day 2)

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“Everything we make already has a home”

Dan Weitz of Boulder Beer Company, mid brewery tour, as he discusses where their beer will go (Day 2)

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“If you like our beer that’s not a compliment to us, it’s a compliment to you”

Greg Koch, being an Arrogant Bastard, perhaps, but also exhibiting the kind of confidence we should have in our blogs and beer writing (Day 2)

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“It’s a good ‘morning beer’”

Justin Patti of New Belgium Brewing, about the Lips of Faith La Folie, whose tartness mixes well with orange and pomegranate juice optimizing it for a beermosa (Day 2)

(Ed note: as does the Breckenridge Brewery Agave Wheat, which served as our “morning beer” on Day 3, yum!)

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“I like the plastic bottles because they don’t make noise when I accidentally drop them”

Made-up guy from an animated video by Holly Hamman (Day 2)

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“I’m a low talker”

Jason Cormier, readjusting his mic and kicking off his talk with a Seinfeld reference, which I loved (Day 2)

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“Legislation and practicality often do not meet—and by ‘often,’ I mean 99% of the time”

Greg Koch, discussing beer laws (Day 2)

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“I don’t write about things I don’t like. There’s too much good beer out there to write about.”

Jay Brooks, discussing differing personal viewpoints on voice, theme, and covering beer in blogs (Day 3)

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“All of the women on out bottles are real”

Sebbie Buhler, noting the Rogue Ales bottle art, in which she’s featured prominently (Day 2)

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“Language isn’t supposed to make sense, it’s supposed to be understood”

Greg Koch, during one of several debates in the conference—there was a perfect disagreement throughout BBC10 as everyone offered different theories and ideas, final answer: there’s no right answer.

 

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