The strong rebound of Asia’s premium beer industry was plain to see from the huge turn out at SEA Brew 2022, Asia’s premier Conference and Trade Fair for the craft brewing community, held recently in Bangkok, Thailand, after a 3-year hiatus.
With a theme of “Finding your Advantage Through Innovation” a much-needed post-pandemic boost was delivered to almost 700 brewers, distributors and global industry suppliers, a growth of almost 20% on the last in-person show in 2019.
The show featured more than 28 presentation sessions and workshops across 3 conference tracks covering Ingredients, Brewhouse Operations and Sales & Marketing. SEA Brew’s trade fair also featured an engaging “Innovation Zone” that hosted in-person discussions with the keynote speakers as well as live product demonstrations & sampling.
Mazen Hajjar (Hawkers Beer, AUS) presented a keynote address on ‘The Art of Nimble – Brewing into the Future’
Combining expert knowledge sharing, engaging interactive sessions and networking for both the formal 2-day programme and the evening social sessions, delegates walked away with invaluable insights and much needed new connections to propel their brewing and distribution operations forward through targeted innovation.
“We’re delighted with this year’s turnout and response to our move to a more interactive programme. The opportunity for industry experts and suppliers to help brewers with the problems they are facing on a daily basis will be invaluable to them as the industry expands in the coming years” said event founder Charles Guerrier.
More than just a conference of course, the SEA Brew Trade Fair continued it’s year-on-year increase allowing more than 50 of the worlds leading suppliers to present all manner of offerings. Booths featured new raw ingredients and expert advice on how to use them, as well as technological advances in beer production, packaging and dispensing.
SEA Brew 2022 Trade Fair
As any regular SEA Brew attendee will tell you, the numerous opportunities for engagement and interaction are what makes the show truly unique. Beyond the lively Q&A sessions, a host of hands-on, experiential opportunities were conducted.
Among the most popular were the sensory sessions was the highly engaging “Build-A-Beer Workshop” with Colin Wilson, Managing Director of Totally Natural Solutions, that focused on the use of hop extracts in beer. A sampling session also introduce the Barth Haas “Inspiration Range” of products using hops in non-traditional beverages.
This year’s Lallemand Brewing/Siebel Institute of Technology sensory session focussed on identifying bio-transformation flavours as well as off-flavours.
The final session of the formal programme, the ever-popular Experts Panel, once again gave the audience a chance to quiz the best and brightest on some of the more pressing issues facing the industry. This year’s panellists included: Charlie Papazian (Former President of the Brewers Association, USA), Mazen Hajjar (Founder/CEO of Hawkers Beer, Aus), Narihiro Suzuki (CEO/President of Isekado Brewery, JPN) & Chris White (CEO of Whitelabs, USA).
Of course, it wouldn’t be a SEA Brew without the informal social sessions and this years’ highlight would be the SEA Brew 2022 Welcome Party presented by Fermentis. A growing tradition held the evening before the show that eases delegates into the coming two days. This year an entertaining live band set the scene for the convivial conference atmosphere and provided the ideal start to a successful show.
Last but by no means least, the Friday evening of the conference saw the presentation of the winners of the 2022 Asia Beer Championship. A lively audience enjoyed the naming of the best brews of 2022 – a total of 115 awards were handed out including this year’s Champion breweries of Asia and the Champion Beer of Asia for 2022 which went to China’s Trueman Brewery for their Haihe River Gose.
Singapore’s Brewerkz brewery team celebrate winning Champion Medium Sized Brewery of Asia
During the closing words Guerrier took the opportunity to announce the rebranding of the show from 2023 to Brew Asia, the new name reflecting the growth of the annual gathering which now sees delegates travel from all corners of the region to attend the conference and trade fair.
Brew Asia 2023 will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on the 19th & 20th October. Attendees can look forward to more of the latest industry innovations, best-practice insights, opportunities to share and exchange ideas and make new connections all geared towards helping Asia’s rapidly expanding craft beer market.
