2019 has been a whirlwind of events! We’ve had a great time catching up with old friends from the beer and brewing community and making even more friends.
The Simpsons Malt team has been all over the world, sampling new beers, discovering new industry trends, and showcasing our premium malts.
Here’s what we were up to this year….
Pivo Bier Ale Expo, Prague
We started the year in style, setting off to Prague for Pivo Bier Ale Expo, a special event hosted over two days in January, just for beer industry professionals.
We got to find out more about the latest in beer production, including specialised equipment and new market trends. We caught up with well-known industry exhibitors, including Anton Paar, Charles Faram and our pals at Murphy and Son, who distribute our malts to parts of the UK.
We attended this event with our fantastic distributor in Czechia and Slovakia, NextHop.
Beer Attraction, Rimini
In February, we landed in Rimini, Italy for Beer Attraction 2019. We checked out the BeerAttraction Lab, a workshop space where courses on tasting and tapping were offered. We also caught some great seminars on craft beer.
We were really pleased to be attending this event alongside our good friends at Ninkasi, who distribute our malts to Italy, France, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Barcelona Beer Festival
In March we attended Barcelona Beer Festival. We got chatting with brewers from around the world, many of whom were competing in the Barcelona Beer Challenge, where over 200 breweries compete to be crowned in their nominated award categories.
We were joined by our knowledgeable distributor to Spain and Portugal, Agronet, who were on hand to support the Simpsons Malt team with malty questions.
Craft Brewers Conference, Denver
In April, we crossed over the pond to Denver, Colorado to attend the Craft Brewers Conference and show off our malts at BrewExpo America, a massive trade show with over 700 brewing industry vendors from the States and beyond. We were exhibiting our malts with BSG, our trusted distributor to much of the US and Canada.
As well as meeting with some clued-up brewers, we caught some seminars on sustainability. We love the passion that our American friends have for brewing and it was great to soak up the atmosphere at this buzzing event.
Sesh Fest, Huddersfield
In May, we headed to West Yorkshire for Sesh Fest – a weekend of good tunes, good food and good beer. Organised by Magic Rock Brewing, who have been a Simpsons Malt customer since 2012, the event had over thirty breweries pulling pints, including Timothy Taylor’s, Beavertown, Siren Craft and Northern Monk.
Great British Beer Festival, London
We were back down south in August for Great British Beer Festival, a mega-festival that celebrates real ales, international beers, real ciders and perries. Over the event, we attended sessions celebrating USA beers, home brewing and even chocolate pairings!
Organised by CAMRA, the event was also host to the Champion Beer of Britain, with many brewers including customers Otter Brewery and Vocation Brewery competing to be crowned brewer of the year.
Craft Beer Calling, Newcastle
We met up with many of our brewing customers at the Craft Beer Calling weekend beer festival in October, organised by Wylam Brewery, a Simpsons Malt customer since 2010. It was great to spend time with so many familiar faces – we tried our best to get through the massive beer selection from over 60 breweries! There was an excellent line up, with the likes of The Kernel Brewery, Verdant, Cloudwater, Lervig, Northern Monk and The Five Points Brewing Company all attending.
BrauBeviale, Nuremberg
We capped the year off with our annual visit to Germany for BrauBeviale, a mammoth drinks industry event with a loyal list of delegates ranging in the thousands.
As well as showcasing our malts, we checked out the latest innovations in the beverage industry from some exciting exhibitors and caught some talks from experts in the drinks sector.
It’s been a bumper year for Simpsons Malt – we can’t wait to find out what 2020 brings us!
Interested in using Simpsons Malt in your beers or whiskies? Learn more about our malts or get in touch with a member of our sales team.