The Virginia Craft Beer Seminar Series is a quarterly professional development resource for brewery owners, sales & marketing professionals, and brewhouse team members. The series focuses on regulatory, operational, and sales/distributional issues and resources that help members reduce costs and increase revenue. Held in coordination with the Brewers Association, events feature local and national experts. 

This year, the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild is taking a road trip to give members across the Commonwealth the opportunity to attend the series! Can't join us on June 9? Upcoming seminars will be held at the following locations: Charlottesville on September 8, and Richmond on December 1.

PROGRAM

2 - 2:45 PM | KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

Where's the Profit? How to (Actually) Make Money Selling Your Beer in 2025
Julia Grubbs, Small Batch Standard

2:45 - 3:30 PM | REGULATORY COMPLIANCE GUIDANCE 

VA ABC Update: Event Licenses Limitation
SAC Marc Haalman, VA ABC & Brett Vassey, VCBG

A Regulatory Guide to Beer Distribution
John Szymankiewicz, Esq., Partner, Beer Law Center

Utilizing the Virginia Beer Distribution Company in Distributed Service Territories
Dakota Rust, Executive Director, VBDC

3:30 - 4:30 PM | PRODUCTION, OPERATIONS, AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 

Building Profitable Tasting Rooms and Customer Experience
Brian Faivre, COO, New Realm Brewing Co. & Mitch Steele, Brewmaster, COO and Co-Founder, New Realm Brewing Co. and BA Technical Committee Co-Chair

4:30 - 5 PM | SALES, MARKETING, BRANDING, AND DISTRIBUTION 

Craft Beer Tourism: Leverage Marketing, Craft Beer State Tourism Plan, Beer Trails, Logo Usage
Laura Messer & Staci Martin, Virginia Tourism Corporation

2025 Virginia Craft Beer Cup & GABF: Competing and Leveraging Awards for Sales

5 - 5:10 PM | CLOSING REMARKS

5:10 - 6:30 PM | BEER TASTING/SHOWCASE 

Network with select retail buyers, VBDC staff, & guild members.