The Virginia Craft Newsmaster July 2021

Dear VCBG Members, The last 16 months have been a challenge for the independent craft beer industry. However, as the industry recovers, members have reported all across the Commonwealth that craft beer consumers are back in record numbers. So, the VCBG is pivoting its member services to help return to a new normal. We are bringing back the Virginia Craft Beer Cup Gala (August 16) and adding a 10th Anniversary Celebration to make it the biggest live event this year. If you have not already registered for the Gala, see the registration information in this newsletter. This will be the centerpiece of the 2021 VA Craft Beer Month. Come celebrate with your friends and sample amazing Virginia craft beer. We also want to highlight your VA Craft Beer Month events, so please send event information to Kaitlyn at kcrow@vacraftbrewersguild.com to promote on our social media and website. Speaking of events, we are also hosting the Virginia Craft Beer Conference on July 26-27. This year's VA CBC is virtual and modular, so you can register and attend the sessions you want. We have amazing national speakers on Diversity and Inclusion, as well as technical experts on topics ranging from yeast management to wage compression. Be sure to take a look at the agenda, because there is something for everyone in this year's event. Due to the generosity of sponsors and Associate Members, this year's VA CBC is also free of charge to all VCBG members. We are also excited to announce that the Virginia Blue Ribbon Craft Beer Fest will take place this year at the VA State Fair! We will be moving to a new venue inside Meadow Event Park - Meadow Hall/Mansion. This move will give us a VIP location close to the concert stage, and we are working with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to offer a food pairing happy hour this year. We are also announcing that the Farm Brewery Committee has completed their work to create a VCBG Farmhouse Ale/Saison collaborative beer. Details will be distributed to members that wish to participate and it is our goal that every participating member will serve their collaborative beer at this year's Virginia Blue Ribbon Craft Beer Fest. In addition to helping increase market share for members through introducing non-craft beer drinkers to our members' products, we are always working on regulatory and legislative matters. A few that are critical this year include COVID-19 regulation reform, a Temporary Distribution Agreement with a Virginia Beer Franchise Act waiver, legalizing CBD ingredients in beer, improving distribution performance for beer sold by breweries, and developing a new VCBG Guide to VA Beer Distribution. If you are interested in these topics, please join the Government Affairs Committee to help finalize these regulations and resources. In fact, our priorities are now detailed on a new webpage and this year's "2021 Legislative Last Call Report" is available here to review. We have also been busy working on new ideas to showcase the multitude of talent within our membership. So, we are announcing two new programs: 1) The new, improved WestRock Packaging Innovation Challenge; and 2) Label Art Competition. We realize that great craft beer requires outstanding packaging and recognizing that hard work is important. We have worked with the WestRock team to completely overhaul the packaging innovation challenge. We have also been working with a new partner to create a competition for labels, logos, and packaging art. This competition will be ready later in Q4 2021. Meanwhile, the VCBG team will continue to provide member services intended to help you make money or save money. For example, the property and casualty insurance program actually paid a dividend to participating members last year! If you have not explored the VCBG Member Benefits programs available to you, please contact Kate Kapottos to schedule a meeting. In closing, I have heard encouraging feedback from members across the Commonwealth about the future of independent craft beer in Virginia. We made it through this pandemic and, though we still have some persistent issues to manage, such as a tight labor market, the economic crisis is behind us. Thank you for your tenacity and inventiveness. I also want to thank you for helping us make the VCBG's 10th Anniversary a success. I look forward to seeing everyone at the VA CBC and Virginia Craft Beer Cup Gala & 10th Anniversary Celebration! Cheers! Brett Brett A. Vassey VCBG President & CEO

Government Affairs News Legislative & ABC Brewery Issues ICYMI: 2021 VCBG Last Call Legislative Report The 2021 VCBG Last Call Legislative Report, analyzing all bills from this year's regular and special session, was distributed at the VCBG Government Affairs Committee meeting on April 12 and posted under the "Advocacy" dropdown on the VCBG website. You can view it here. CBD Ingredients The VA ABC has rejected our petition to develop regulations that would allow for the intrastate sale of CBD infused beer. The VCBG has requested Governor Northam assist by inserting budget language allowing for the sale of CBD ingredients in beer during the August Special Session of the Virginia General Assembly. We argued that this is a competitive issue and would give independent craft brewers the opportunity to produce a premium product that would both help with economic recovery and provide local CBD producers with steady customers. Temporary Distribution Agreement Nearly 100% of the requests over the past two years for distribution regulation changes have been centered around "delivery" of beer that has already been sold by the brewery, not the traditional distribution agreements. So, the VCBG legal counsel, staff, Government Affairs Committee, and Leadership Council have been working to standardize a Temporary Distribution Agreement that exempts both parties from specific provisions of the VA Beer Franchise Act, thus, making the agreement a "delivery" oriented agreement. Once the final language has been approved, the VCBG will request the VA ABC review it so that it can be used broadly by all members. COVID-19 Final Permanent Standard §16VAC25-220 Update: Please review our Bulletin & Alert explaining the results of the June 29th meeting of the Virginia Safety & Health Codes Board, in which they issued a written statement ending the mask mandate and social distancing for vaccinated people in the workplace. The Virginia Safety & Health Codes Board will meet again in August to discuss proposed amendments to the COVID-19 Final Permanent Standard. The VCBG will continue to provide updates as developments occur.

Marketing & Tourism News Events and Activities The VCBG is in full planning mode, finalizing details for the two-day virtual Virginia Craft Beer Conference and combined Virginia Craft Beer Cup Awards Gala & 10th Anniversary Celebration. We are also launching the annual Marketing & Tourism Survey to help us track trends and prepare regulatory, legislative, and market solutions to help you grow craft beer sales in the Commonwealth. 2021 VCBG Marketing & Tourism Survey Your feedback is critical. Please complete the survey by July 30, 2021. To access this confidential survey, click here. Virginia Craft Beer Cup Gala & 10th Anniversary Celebration The Virginia Craft Beer Cup Awards Gala, Trade Show & 10th Anniversary Celebration will take place on August 16th from 5PM-9PM at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery - West Creek. Breweries that submitted three beers to the Cup Competition will receive 2 complimentary tickets to attend - all additional tickets can be purchased here. Thank you to all VCBG Members that contributed to the expansion of independent craft beer over the last 10+ years. Also, a special thanks to our VCBG Associate Members for their sponsorship and financial support that make these events possible. Check out this year's Gala sponsors and exhibitors: Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsor

Wristband Sponsor

Exhibitors

The Guild would like to give an extra special thanks to this year's Gala Platinum Sponsor, WestRock. They will be facilitating the WestRock Packaging Innovation Challenge again this year. Details regarding this year's competition are available here, and additional details will be shared at the Gala on 8/16.

Quality & Operations News Improving Craft Beer Quality, Training, and Best Practice Sharing

2021 Virginia Craft Beer Conference July 26 & 27, 2021 | 9:30am - 4:30pm Register today for the virtual 2021 Virginia Craft Beer Conference! Prepare to spend two days learning best practices from expert speakers on topics ranging from yeast management to talent development to diversity and inclusion management.

Register for the FREE Conference

We're excited to welcome Brewer Association's Dr. J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham for our first ever Diversity & Inclusion Session. She will be presenting "Fans, Hands, and Brands: Strategies and Tactics for Being Inclusive and Building Diversity in Craft Beer" at 2PM on July 26 - mark your calendars! The full conference schedule and session descriptions can be found here.

Virginia Craft Brewers Guild Quality & Safety Certification The Virginia Craft Brewers Guild Quality and Safety Certification (VCBGQSC) addresses the need for quality and safety training in the craft brewing industry. This online and multi-media training and assessment focuses on requirements needed to ensure a safe working environment, and an understanding of the required quality and tasks needed in a brewery to meet Good Manufacturing Practices for Craft Brewers (GMPCBs). Contact MSI Workforce Solutions Coordinator Jody Steele if you’re interested in incorporating the VCBG Quality & Safety Certificate into your employee training.

Farm Brewery News Plow to Pint Issues This year, the Committee is focusing on increasing agricultural product sourcing for members, contract growing arrangements, the identification and branding of beers made with all-Virginia ingredients, and the evaluation of distributing farm beer through the VA Winery Distribution Company. The Committee is also responsible for the annual Blue Ribbon Craft Beer Fest at the State Fair of Virginia. Excitingly, The State Fair will be held in 2021 from September 24 - October 3! We are working on a new venue - Meadow Mansion - and a VIP Food Pairing area this year. Additional details will be shared at this year's Virginia Craft Beer Conference.

Member Benefits Feature VCBG Brewery Insurance Program Underwritten by FCCI and administered exclusively by Bankers Insurance LLC, the VCBG Insurance Plan (VIP) offers comprehensive coverage and flexible options tailored to meet the specific needs of the craft beer industry. This powerful benefit provides: A comprehensive risk assessment, covering your business’s risk management procedures and insurance policies. Bankers Insurance provides these services at no cost or obligation, utilizing a consultative approach that educates members on key exposures and uncovers gaps in existing policies. An entire suite of manufacturer’s insurance products that includes liability, property, workers compensation, business auto, and all others. A group dividend plan based on the combined loss experience of the participating members. Designated local service teams for claims, risk control, and underwriting. Preferential pricing for members of all sizes, in addition to extensive management tools normally only available to the largest manufacturing operations. In 2020, FCCI announced its first dividend payment back to participants of the Brewers Premier program. That's right - our Brewery Insurance Program paid participating members this year! To learn more, view FCCI's Press Release.

New VCBG Associate Members Show some love for the new Associate Members who have joined the Guild in 2021. Find contacts for these businesses and more in our Craft Beer Services Directory!

LD Carlson Category: Ingredients Check out LD Carlson here.

Wyeast Laboratories, Inc. Category: Ingredients Fausto Yu-Shan, Technical Product Support Manager, will present "The Use of Tanal A for Haze Formation in Beer" from 11:30am - 12:00pm on July 26th during this year's virtual Virginia Craft Beer Conference.

Blue Label Packaging Company Categories: Packaging Solutions; Branding Check out Blue Label Packaging Company here.

Prairie Malt Category: Ingredients Prairie Malt will exhibit at the Gala, Trade Show & 10th Anniversary Celebration.

Express Labels Category: Packaging Solutions Express Labels will exhibit at the Gala, Trade Show & 10th Anniversary Celebration.

Pro Refrigeration, Inc. Category: Beer Systems, Equipment & Supplies Pro Refrigeration, Inc., will exhibit at the Gala, Trade Show & 10th Anniversary Celebration.

White Labs, Inc. Categories: Ingredients; Training Erik Fowler, Education & Brewery Experience Manager, will present "Creative Yeast Ideas for Utilizing R&D and Pilot Systems" from 12:30pm - 1:30pm on July 27th during this year's virtual Virginia Craft Beer Conference. White Labs, Inc., will exhibit at the Gala, Trade Show & 10th Anniversary Celebration.

Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. Category: Ingredients We're excited to have Mike Killelea, a former Chair of the Guild and current Brew East Division Manager of Briess, join us during this year's virtual Virginia Craft Beer Conference for the 10th Anniversary Celebration Session on July 26th from 9:30-10am.

Craft Kettle Brewing Equipment Category: Beer Systems, Equipment & Supplies Craft Kettle Brewing Equipment will exhibit at the Gala, Trade Show & 10th Anniversary Celebration.

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