The Institute of Brewing & Distilling brings together drinks industry professionals, suppliers and scientists with two key global events

The 37th IBD Asia Pacific Convention in Adelaide and the 8th edition of the Worldwide Distilled Spirits Conference in Edinburgh reflect the IBD’s commitment to connecting the global drinks community and sharing the latest technical and scientific knowledge.

The Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD) is organising two key global drinks industry events that will take place in Adelaide (Australia) and Edinburgh (Scotland) to bring professionals physically together after the pandemic.

The 37th bi-annual convention organised by the IBD Asia Pacific Section will take place in the iconic Adelaide Oval from Monday 20th to Friday 24th March.

With the title ‘Celebrating 70 Years, Embracing our History and Innovating for a Sustainable Future’, the convention aims to create the biggest forum for drinks professionals in the Asia Pacific region.

For the first time in this convention's history, distillers will have a dedicated parallel stream in the technical programme that includes presentations, showcases and panel discussions.

The Adelaide convention will include 21 technical sessions across a broad range of subjects including: raw materials, craft brewing, low alcohol, yeast, analysis, sustainability, process and people development, diversity and equity.

On the other side of the world, in Edinburgh, the IBD Scottish Section will be hosting the 8th edition of the Worldwide Distilled Spirits Conference (WDSC) that will take place from the 9th to 11th May at the Edinburgh EICC, with the central theme of ‘Sustaining Future Reality: Delivering Distilling Excellence and Developments’.

The WDSC, which was first held 40 years ago, is the leading global event for distillers to connect, learn and share their experiences first hand.

Tom Shelston, IBD Chief Executive Officer, explains the reason these events are important for professionals in the industry:

“Both events have been designed to facilitate the creation of new connections and partnerships whilst reviewing the latest research and technologies in the industry.

“The world after COVID is a very different place and the markets are changing due to the new economic, social and geopolitical conditions. These two flagship events have been designed to provide the industry with a face-to-face forum to discuss these challenging and common issues”.

The Adelaide convention and the WDSC are well supported by the industry. Over a hundred key sponsors and exhibitors will ensure that the latest technical knowledge is shared widely among professionals and businesses.

Bhavya Mandanna, IBD President, comments about these industry events:

“We are delighted that our acclaimed, international industry events, the Asia Pacific Convention and the WDSC are returning to face-to-face formats! Whilst we have learned to drive engagement more effectively in the virtual world, we can't deny the elevated experience of face-to-face collaboration and celebration.

“Our industry is facing unprecedented change on multiple frontiers, demanding diversity in thought and strong cross-functional engagement and collaboration. I am proud to see the IBD rise to this challenge and create such enjoyable, international forums to collaborate on cutting-edge technology and capability development to enable this. Our vision is to nurture and grow such strongly collaborative learning and celebratory environments in more innovative ways to support our industry in a boundaryless manner. Thank you all for your continued support and engagement.”