Last week saw Good Beer Week celebrated in Melbourne, and the Cryer Malt trade hub at BeerDeluxe was once again a focus for the brewing industry with a number of important trade discussions taking place.

Among the panels was an update from the Independent Brewers Association. Apart from being a general update from the IBA to its members, this panel stood out because of some of the key data that was revealed.

It has always been hard to quantify the size and growth of the craft and independent beer industry but the IBA has pulled together some meaningful data that gives us a clearer picture of where the craft industry sits in Australia.

This week on Beer is a Conversation we catch up with IBA Chair, Jamie Cook, to dig a little deeper into the numbers

A PowerPoint presentation was prepared for the presentation and you can download it here.

We also discuss the upcoming BrewCon and The Indies, and the key dates are listed below.

• Indies entries open – 24th May 2019
• Brewcon tickets go on sale – 7th June 2019
• Indies entries close – 30th June 2019
• Indies judging –1st – 2nd September 2019
• Brewcon and Trade Show commences – 4th September 2019
• Indies Awards night – 5th September 2019

Brews News’ coverage of the Trade Hub was made possible by Kegstar: We own kegs, so you don’t have to.