So, to put down a few thoughts regarding the European Beer Bloggers Conference that took place at The Church, Dublin last weekend.

I suppose the burning topic I want to address is: The people that supposedly boycotted the event because there were macros involved. I am not the biggest fan of the macros either; especially if they abuse their position/dominance to gain advantage over the micros. But I will always drink good beer not matter what its source; it’s just usually the macros have had their beer nickle-and-dimed to death by accountants in my opinion. Anyway that’s the topic for another post. In this post I want to discuss why boycotting an event like this just because you don’t like a sponsor was the wrong decision.

#1. It’s the “European Beer Bloggers Conference” not the “European Craft Beer Bloggers Conference”. So that’s all beer, not just microbreweries. And against this, these types of events cost a lot of money to run. The type of money that most micros just don’t have in their budget. Whereas the macros budget more for these kind of events than a micro would turn over in a year. Also I understand that EBBC14 was on the brink of being cancelled; which would have happened if the macros had not stepped in.

#2. As a blogger, are you not the least bit interested in seeing how “the enemy” operates? And take a tour of their lair? Before I get into this, I have to say that I did not attend the Guinness tour; not because of some form of protest but because it was the only time I could spend with my family before they went on holiday. But judging by the reactions from the attendees it was a great night; Guinness really put on a great show and people got to access areas of the St James’ brewery that had been closed to the public for over 10 years. And they got to talk directly to the head brewer and Guinness’s archivist.

#3. Missing an opportunity to engage directly with them. Okay, so you have a beef with the macros; you blog about it; you tweet about it; you shout it from your Facebook wall. But how do you know if the macros are taking the slightest bit of notice? The answer is, you don’t. However if you are stood talking to one of their representatives, it can be pretty much guaranteed that parts of your conversation will be fed back up the line. I mean, what boss does not ask their employees “how did it go?” when they’ve attended some event. It’s even better if you get to talk to one of the PR or Marketing people- these guys live to write (and charge for) reports on events like this.

#4. Lack of “boots on ground”. I see this from two perspectives: First, the fewer people turn up, the more the macros are going to dismiss the group as a whole; strength in numbers and all that. Secondly, and this one is for the missing Irish bloggers- the only way to counteract any propaganda was to have informed locals who can call the macros on their BS if they attempted to pull the wool over people’s eyes. And, more importantly, also be ambassadors for our local craft brewing scene.

Finally, a lot of non-macro people put a lot of effort into this weekend. Against the 2 macros involved, there was 20+ micros that were being represented in some form or other. And then there were all the speakers. And the fantastic venue. A lot of effort. I want to thank Alan, Cindy and Reuben in particular for getting this off the ground and I look forward to next year. And to the boycotters- sorry guys, you really missed out.