Mass Brewers conference
monday, november 2, 2026
The Mass Brewers Guild’s (MBG) Technical Brewing & Business Conference, presented by Allen Craft Beverage Insurance, will return to Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers in Framingham for a day-long series of workshops and lectures.
Held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Monday, Nov. 2, the focus of the day is to learn best practices from industry experts and create meaningful connections with peers within the craft beer industry.
Choose the track that best suits your skillset in the industry - Technical Brewing or Business.
A continental breakfast, lunch, and happy hour are included with your ticket.
Early Bird Pricing — through Oct. 26
MBG Members: $150
Non-Members: $220
Regular Pricing — after Oct. 26
MBG Members: $185
Non-Members: $250
Member Team Package: After early bird pricing ends, MBG members purchasing 3 or more tickets can still access the early bird rate of $150 per person — making it easier to bring more of your team to MBG Con.
Not sure if your brewery or business is an MBG member? Contact Executive Director Katie Stinchon at katie@massbrewersguild.org.
MBG Con is presented by Allen Craft Beverage insurance and also made possible thanks to supporting sponsors Aetna Insurance, Bowditch, Can-One USA, Country Malt, Cove Risk, Evently, Fat Basset Design, Hart Print, Inovar Packaging Group, InTouch, Jack's Beverage Co., John I. Haas, Not Your Hobby Marketing, Pink Boots, Pixels & Pinball, Stone-Leigh Brewery Cleaners, The Richards Group, Title Town Trivia, UCD Law and Zee Company.
These businesses are associate members of the Mass Brewers Guild and help to make our educational programs possible and affordable for member breweries.
Allen Craft Beverage Insurance (formerly GHM Insurance) is one of the top insurers of craft breweries in the country insuring more than 250 accounts. Our knowledge of the brewing industry and network of local, regional and national carriers means we can build a comprehensive and competitively priced program for almost any risk.
Registration & Breakfast
8:00AM – 9:00AM
Keynote Address One:
9:00AM – 10:10AM
SCHEDULE:
Session One:
10:20AM – 11:20AM
Session Two:
11:30AM – 12:30PM
Lunch + Vendor Exhibition
11:30AM – 12:30PM
Keynote Address Two:
2:00PM – 3:00PM
Session Four:
3:10PM – 4:10PM
Happy Hour + Vendor Exhibition
4:10PM – 5:00PM
Early Bird $150-$220
TICKETS
Member and non-member price
General Admission After Oct. 26 - $185-$250
keynote address - beer hall
Sam Calagione
Founder, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Commerce, Creativity, and Community-building
For more than three decades, Dogfish Head has built a brand known for pushing boundaries while staying deeply rooted in its identity and community. In this keynote, founder Sam Calagione explores the three pillars he believes are essential to building a brand that can endure: commerce, creativity, and community-building.
Drawing on lessons from Dogfish Head’s journey through periods of rapid growth, industry disruption, changing consumer tastes, and both up and down economic cycles, Sam will share how these three forces work together to create a resilient business. He’ll explore why commercial success and creative risk-taking don’t have to be at odds, how authentic community can become one of a brand’s greatest strengths, and what it takes to continue evolving without losing sight of what made your company special in the first place.
Part craft beer story and part business philosophy, this keynote will challenge attendees to think beyond short-term trends and consider how they can build brands, businesses, and communities designed not just to succeed today, but to remain relevant and meaningful for decades to come.
9:00AM - 10:10AM
session one - Beer Hall
10:20AM - 11:20AM
Matt Gacioch, staff economist
Brewers Association
The Story of Craft Beer in 2026
This session will provide the national context for the forces shaping craft beer today, paired with a closer examination of where Massachusetts breweries fit within that picture. We’ll explore the economic, competitive, and consumer trends impacting the industry today, while highlighting the areas where brewery owners are able to make meaningful, strategic choices. Attendees will walk away better able to ask the important questions to help shape their business strategies in 2027 and beyond.
session two
11:30AM - 12:30PM
Technical brewing Track - Beer Hall
Tom O’Connell
Chief Supply Chain Officer
New Belgium Brewing
A Place for Everything: Using 5S to Build a Better Brewery
Great beer starts with great processes. In this session, Tom O’Connell of New Belgium Brewing will introduce 5S, a practical workplace organization system designed to improve efficiency, safety, consistency, and productivity.
Drawing on real-world experience from New Belgium’s production environment, Tom will explore how the principles of Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain can be applied to brewery operations of any size. Attendees will learn how thoughtful organization and standardized processes can reduce wasted time and motion, improve communication, create safer workspaces, and make day-to-day production run more smoothly.
Whether you’re managing a large production facility or working with a small team where everyone wears multiple hats, this session will offer practical ideas you can bring back to the brewery to create more efficient systems—and, most importantly, make them stick.
Kary Shumway
Beer Business Finance
How to Install a Brewery Financial Operating System
Your 90-Day Action Plan for Profitability
Learn how to install a simple Financial Operating System that helps owners and managers understand the numbers, set clear financial targets, track meaningful KPIs, and hold productive weekly meetings that turn financial information into action.
What You'll Learn
Steps to build an annual financial plan with clear profit and cash flow targets
Templates to create department-level KPIs that drive accountability
Frameworks to run effective weekly financial huddles that lead to better decisions
Strategies to build a financial culture where every manager thinks like an owner
business Track - fest Hall
Keynote two - Beer Hall
2:00PM - 3:00PM
Adeline Druart
CEO of Lawson’s Finest Liquids
Crafting What Lasts: Lessons from Cheese, Beer and the Business of Purpose
What does a cheesemaker have to teach the craft beer industry about building a business that lasts? Quite a bit, it turns out. Adeline Druart will share her unlikely journey from intern-cheesemaker to President of Vermont Creamery to CEO of Lawson’s Finest Liquids and the lessons she’s learned along the way. Drawing on nearly two decades in specialty cheese, large commodity dairy and her experience leading a craft brewery through a changing industry, she’ll explore the common ingredients behind enduring businesses and brands: purpose, product and people. Through her story and hard-earned lessons from Vermont Creamery and Lawson’s Finest, Adeline will share what it takes to adapt to change, surround yourself with incredible teams, build a brand people believe in, and scale a business built to thrive for decades.
session four
3:10pM - 4:10PM
Technical brewing Track - Beer Hall
Your Main Ingredient: What’s in your Water?
Get some insight from the other side of the tap on one of beer’s most important ingredients: water. David Coppes, retired Water Supply Engineer and home brewer, will kick off the session with a look at the importance of building a relationship with your water supplier and understanding the information they can provide. He’ll cover the basics of water chemistry that can influence beer quality, consistency, and flavor—including how your water profile can change seasonally and what brewers should be paying attention to.
From there, we’ll bring in a panel of professional brewers working with different water sources and systems, from municipal water to private wells. They’ll share the ongoing adjustments, testing, and treatment strategies they use to manage their water and maintain consistency in the brewhouse, along with practical tips and tricks you can put to work in your own brewery.
And this won’t be all talk: we’ll put your taste buds to the test with an interactive sensory component, giving attendees the opportunity to experience firsthand how water chemistry can influence what ends up in the glass.
Attendees will leave with a better understanding of their most-used ingredient—and practical approaches for monitoring, adjusting, and making the most of the water flowing through their brewery.
Julie Rhodes
Not Your Hobby Marketing
S.O.P. It Up: Using a Brand Calendar to Align Sales, Marketing & Taproom Execution
When sales, marketing, taproom events, and product launches all live in the heads of one or two people, it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks. Designed with small teams in mind, this session shows you how to use a simple Brand Calendar to get the plan out of your head and into one shared place.
Learn how to coordinate launches, promotions, social media, events, and wholesale outreach using free or low-cost tools — no expensive tech stack required. Julie will also share practical ways AI can save small teams time, along with important guidance for protecting your business and brand information.
Attendees will leave with an editable Brand Calendar template and a repeatable system for staying organized, aligned, and strategic while wearing multiple hats.
business Track - fest Hall
**SPEAKERS AND WORKSHOPS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE**
Thank you to our generous sponsors!
