There's been a lot of snark about PR in the beer industry lately, and it's no surprise. A lot of it is coming from a world that's at odds with the values of craft beer. And the learning curve for anyone entering the beer world from another industry can be pretty steep—even counterintuitive at times. Politics, revolutions, "millennials" and all that.
Instead of beating a dead horse about PR practices, we decided to create a space for open and candid conversation with a couple of groups that are new to the industry, representing communications professionals from all over the country. Getting together in the GBH studio, we did our best to tell the story of beer and its many dividing lines, but also the important places where it comes together. We shared the odd and evolving history of GBH as a voice in that world. And we tried our best to help PR professionals understand the way in which we like to tell stories, and have stories told to us.
There were a lot of learnings in both directions. Cheers to everyone who made it a great session. And here's hoping we get to do this again.
—Michael Kiser