American Craft Beer to be showcased at the 2008 Great British Beer Festival

Export Development Program to exhibit American Craft Beer in U. K.

Boulder, Colorado. August 5, 2008- Seventeen of America's Craft Breweries will be represented at this year's Great British Beer Festival, 5-9th August, at Earl's Court, London. The breweries will serve 57 hand-crafted ales and lagers of varying styles in the International Section of the event. The offering will be the largest amount of American Craft Beer to be available at the GBBF in its 31 year existence.

American Craft Beer will be on display as it has never been before - alongside European countries whose beer styles have helped to influence the American Craft Beer movement. "The Brewers Association and its Export Development Program are extremely honored to participate in the Great British Beer Festival," says Brewers Association Vice President Bob Pease. "The featuring of American Craft Beer in the Bieres sans frontiers area of the festival helps reinforce the image of American Craft Beer as a world-class brand."

Festival official and Bieres Sans Frontiere's Manager Andy Benson stated, "We aim to feature the best beer from around the world and American craft beer is a very important part of that, and one which has increased in size at the festival over recent years. American brewers are extremely innovative and produce an incredible variety of beer styles, which are of the utmost quality. They brew beers which others wouldn't dare to brew, push the boundaries of brewing and have acted as an inspiration to brewers in many other countries."

"America's small and independent brewers are often inspired by the great brewing traditions of the Great Britain and are excited about showcasing their interpretations of these classic brewing styles," remarks Pease. In addition to affecting the styles of American Craft Beer, the European beer festival also served as the model for The Great American Beer Festival, held in Denver, Colorado every fall, the largest beer festival in the U.S.

The Brewers Association's (BA) Export Development Program facilitated the beers’ trip to Great Britain. The program utilizes awarded grant money to help promote American Craft Beer in countries all over the world. To date the Export Development Program has been able to promote their members' beer in Scandinavia, The Netherlands, Italy, China, Japan, Australia and Germany.

More information about the Export Development Program can be found at: http://www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/edp.html.