Celebrating its 5th anniversary the 2011 Bar Convent Berlin is lined up to be the biggest yet with more speakers, more events and more exhibitors than ever before.
Taking place on October 10th – 11th this two day extravaganza is bringing the best from around the world and showcasing the best that Germany (and this year’s guest nation Poland) has to offer. This leads to a truly staggering list of speakers and topics and BarLifeUK is over the moon to be attending and reporting back to you all on our adventures.
BarLifeUK will this year, be the International Media Partner for Bar Convent Berlin (BCB) and we will be tweeting, writing, Facebooking and, if we can train one in time, carrier pigeoning all the news as it happens back to you. Sounds good eh? Well yes it does, but it could be better, you could come and join us.
Berlin is only a short jump of a plane ride AND you get to experience it all yourself. I mentioned there was plenty going on but let’s look at exactly what’s happening to make that 2 hour plane ride worth it.
Theatres
There are not just a couple of theatres for your enjoyment at this year’s show but four – knocking out talks, tastings, demonstrations and workshops. Not only that but they’re free to all visitors!
Mixology Main Stage – This is the big one, the stage where your brain will start to ache from the information overload, where the big names will stand in front of the bright lights and pass on their knowledge.
Demo Bar A – This is the home away from home for bartenders and brand ambassadors who get to present interesting and interactive topics from the varied world of spirits.
Demo Bar B – Yes that’s right 2 Demo Bars, that’s how much is going on! The second Demo Bar is where you will find your favourite brands and brand ambassadors doing their tastings, giving you the chance to try great spirits and learn at the same time.
Taste Forum – As far as we know this is the only show in the world you will find this original take on an exhibition theatre. There will be a series of brand-neutral spirit tastings here which are conducted ‘blind’ by experts from around the world.
Speakers
Over the years BCB has been renowned for bringing the best speakers from across the globe and combining them with local experts to generate a superb line up and this year may just be the most impressive yet.
Anistatia Miller & Jared Brown – The History of Vermouth
Allen Katz – A View Behind the Scenes: How to Open and Run a Distillery & American Whiskey Taste Forum
Philip Duff – Citrus – A Science in Itself & Age – The Final Frontier (with Audrey Fort)
Ian Burrell – Rum Taste Forum & The Pina Colada Paternity Test – The Truth About One of the Most Popular Cocktails in the World
Martin Doudoroff – Vermouth Taste Forum & Cocktail Apps in the Drinks Business – Marketable and Profitable?
Angus Winchester – A View Behind the Counter: How to Open and Run a Tiki Bar (with Jamie Wilson & Anjy Cameron)
Don Lee – Bar Myth Buster: About Double Frosted Ice, Rum & Gunpowder
Gaz Regan – Bars in New York: The Development of the Scene Over the Last Twenty Years & Gin Taste Forum
Wayne Collins & Andy Gemmell – “Mixxit in Berlin”: An Insightful Historic Journey on How It Was the British Who Inspired the World to Mix Drinks!
All these plus – Tanja Bempreiksz, David Cordoba, Christopher Dellee, Frederico Fusco, Jose Sanchez Gavito, Paul Goodwin, Laurent Greco, Mickey Heads, Seffen Hubert, Christoph Keller, Manfred Klimek, Anna & Matthias Knorr, Steffen Lohr, Jorg Meyer, Andrew Nicholls, Steve Olson, Andriano Paulus, Peter Richter, Charles Schumann, Dmitry Sokolov, Christian Steffen, Kent Steinbach, Andreas Steinbeisser, Sven Sudeck, Eyck Thormann, Misja Vostermans, David Weidemann, Mirco Wolf Weigert, Leszek Wiwala and Nick Wykes.
If the talks and theatres themselves aren’t enough for you (you picky gits) then throw in masses of exhibitors showing their amazing brands, a big awards do and of course the opportunity to check out the fantastic bar scene that Berlin has to offer and you have to agree it’s tough to say no.
For more information on the show and to register for tickets visit the Bar Convent Berlin website and keep an eye on BarLifeUK for more news.