The Rhode Island Brewers Guild highlights numerous 2024 wins
RI brewery trade group achieves several successes across its areas of focus
Newport Beer Festival wins Best of RI, Rhode Island Brewers Conference launches in Providence
At its annual summer celebration, the RIBG organized Newport Beer Festival was recognized by RI Monthly as the reader's choice for Rhode Island's best beer festival. A celebration of craft breweries from RI, New England and across the nation, the festival will continue its theme next year of showcasing beers produced with eco-conscious brewing practices and locally sourced ingredients. Newport Beer Festival will return to Fort Adams State Park on Saturday, April 19, 2025.
On August 9th, the first-ever Rhode Island Brewers Conference was held at Farm Fresh RI in Providence. The event brought together over 200 Rhode Island and surrounding area brewery industry members, industry professionals and entrepreneurs for a full day of learning, connecting and networking. 20 beer industry-serving businesses participated as exhibitors in the conference's expo hall. Bell's Brewery legend and ultra-accomplished brewer and innovator, John Mallett, delivered the keynote address. Planning is underway for the 2025 conference to be held in mid-October.
100% of the breweries in RI are members of the Rhode Island Brewers Guild
Led by a board of directors with a diverse skill set, experience and unified by ambition, the RIBG is quite possibly the only state with all of its actively producing breweries as guild members. The RIBG's board of directors and its executive director is held by:
Matt Gray, President, owner, Ragged Island Brewing Company
Jeremy Duffy, Vice President, co-founder/managing partner, The Guild Brewing Company
Josh "VG" Kaufman, Treasurer, director of finance and administration Proclamation Ale Company
Emily Frye, co-Marketing Director, marketing and events coordinator, Moniker Brewery
Carey Beralderi, co-Marketing Director, sales and marketing director, Grey Sail Brewing Company
Luke Gerweck, co-Technical Director, brewer, Tilted Barn Brewery
Homer Johnsen, co-Technical Director, sales operations, Pivotal Brewing Company
Nils Weldy, Executive Director, Rhode Island Brewers Guild
Legislator connections on the Hill and in the taproom
State guild directors across the country joined Brewers Association (BA) leadership in Washington, D.C. for the annual Hill Climb. Held in mid-June, RIBG Executive Director Nils Weldy met numerous House and Senate legislators and staff to speak to both federal and local matters critical to the sustained growth of the RI beer industry. Connections made in DC led to a Tilted Barn Brewery taproom visit by Senator Whitehouse in August. The RIBG pursues its legislative priorities through a thorough assessment involving its brewery members and evaluation by its Board of Directors.
Looking ahead, in the fall of 2025, classes within Salve Regina University's Department of Business & Economics will perform an economic impact study to measure the RI beer industry's effect on the RI economy.