The Brewers Association (BA) sounds-off as the most passionate voice for craft brewers in the United States - defining craft brewers as small, independent and traditional. The BA has grown from humble beginnings into a rich and fertile organization, creating a firm foundation in support of a brewing community that, at one time, nearly met the Grim Reaper. Because of tireless passion, the Brewers Association presents a treasure chest of events for both brewers and beer enthusiasts: the Craft Brewers Conference, BrewExpo America, The World Beer Cup, Savor: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, and the Great American Beer Festival.

The BA landscape includes the American Homebrewers Association and craftbeer.com, and publishes The New Brewer, Zymurgy, American Craft Beer Guides, The Brewers Association Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery, The Draught Quality Manual, The Brewers’ Resource Directory, and Beer Style Guidelines. In active support of American craft brewers, the Brewers Association has stepped into the world of Government Affairs, building understanding about the complex, creative world of craft brewing, and creating strong relationships that promise to implement favorable legislative action for brewers across the country.

At the 2010 Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America in Chicago, Illinois, beer professionals had the opportunity to attend seminars and panel discussions on more than 50 topics of interest over the 4-day event. The level of networking was high as they milled about, exploring new equipment and ingredients, gleaning advice from more experienced mentors, and assessing the ROI on new products and services.

The 2010 event included the World Beer Cup Competition, making the landscape even more resplendent with international faces. Below is a gallery of some of the famous beer-industry faces that dotted the sea of brewers.

Horst Dornbusch and Elva Ellen Kowald
Horst Dornbusch and Elva Ellen Kowald of Cerevisia Communications settle in for the much-anticipated Keynote Speech by Congressmen DeFazio and Neal.

Hans-Peter Drexler and Sylvia Kopp
Brewmaster Hans-Peter Drexler of Private Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH, well-known collaborator (with Garrett Oliver) of Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen Weisse talks with Journalist Sylvia Kopp of Germany

Phil Farrell and his Original Chicken
Phil Farrell, Grand Master Homebrewer of Atlanta, Georgia serves a refreshing Rock Bottom Beer to the original, beer-posing Chicken, now bronzed for infinite preservation.

Steve Hamburg and Monica Mandrutiu
Steve Hamburg, Beer Consultant and member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Beer Society, shares beer hospitality with Beer Judge Monica Mandrutiu of Ursus Breweries of Romania.

Lisa Woolsey-Jones, Marty Jones and Sean Wilson
Musician and Journalist Marty Jones chills-out with his wife and best friend, Lisa Woolsey-Jones and Sean Wilson of Fullsteam Brewery of Durham, North Carolina.

Sylvia Kopp and Dr. Wolfgang Stempfl
Beer Journalist Sylvia Kopp talks beer with Dr. Wolfgand Stempfl Management headmaster and Genussakademie Chemistry, Sensory Analysis faculty at Doemans e.V, Germany

Lucky Monk Crew with Sue at the Field Museum
The crew of The Lucky Monk Burger, Pizza & Beer Co of South Barrington, Illinois means serious business in the shadow of Sue, the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex found, to date.

Megan Parisi, Julian Herrington and Beer Fox Carolyn Smagalski
Megan Parisi of Cambridge Brewing in Cambridge, Massachusetts laughs with Julian Herrington, former 15-year Brewmaster at Shepherd Neame, England’s oldest brewing firm, and current Brewmaster at Meantime Brewing of London and Beer Fox Journalist and Author Carolyn Smagalski of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Carolyn Smagalski, Charles Finkel, Shuna Mitchell, and Roseanne Finkel
Beer Fox Carolyn Smagalski meets up with Charles and Roseanne Finkel (in red) of Pike Brewing, Seattle, Washington and Shuna Mitchell, illustrator and travel writer of the UK, and advocate of Suntory.

Beer Fox Carolyn Smagalski, Congressman Richard Neal (D-MA), and Jim Koch
Beer Journalist and Author Carolyn Smagalski talks with Congressman Richard Neal and Jim Koch, Founder of Boston Beer Company of Boston, Massachusetts, USA at the Craft Brewers Conference Opening Session at the Sheraton Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Alex Amarotico with Standing Stone Brewery buds
Alex Amarotico of Standing Stone Brewery of Ashland, Oregon at the Craft Brewers Conference Opening Ceremonies of the Craft Brewers Conference with his team.

Vinnie and Natalie Cirluzo
Vinnie and Natalie Cirluzo of Russian River Brewing Company of Santa Rosa, California at the Craft Brewers Conference 2010 in Chicago, Illinois, USA

Otmar Weingarten, Norbert Schmidl, Conrad Seidl, Ramier Schramm, and Stefan Stang (in front)
Otmar Weingarten, Managing Director of the Association of German Hop Growers, shares his Bavarian hospitality with Norbert Schmidl of bier.pur, Ingolstadt, Germany; Conrad Seidl beer writer from Vienna, Austria; Ramier Schramm of Heineken, Switzerland; and Stefan Stang of Private Brauereien Bayern e.V and founder of the European Beer Star International Breweries Competition.

Steve Wilson and Garrett Oliver
Steve Wilson of Canada pauses with Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, New York, and Author of The Brewmaster’s Table.

Watch for more Famous Names and Faces from the Craft Brewers Conference 2010.

Cheers!