BEER&FOOD ATTRACTION BRINGS EUROPE’S LARGEST BEER EXHIBITION TO RIMINI. THE SECTOR IS WORTH €10.4 BILLION IN ITALY

·        The beer sector will take centre stage at the 11^th edition of the Italian Exhibition Group event, scheduled from Sunday 15^th to Tuesday 17^th February at Rimini Expo Centre. From microbreweries to large industrial groups, the event confirms its role as a benchmark for the brewing community, a sector worth €10.4 billion in Italy with 112,000 employees.

·        Top talks on the world of beer will be staged. Every day, trends, innovation, consumption and production techniques will be explored in depth. Focus on Unionbirrai's Italian Craft Beer Conference

·        In the Beer&Tech Arena, the 21^st edition of the “Beer of the Year” Award: 212 breweries and 1,746 craft beers will be competing.

https://www.beerandfoodattraction.it/

Rimini, 9^th February 2026 – The largest beer exhibition in Italy in a sector that, according to AssoBirra data, generated €10.4 billion in 2025, employing over 112,000 people throughout the supply chain. This is what Beer&Food Attraction, Europe’s leading event for the beverage and bar industry, represents. Organised by Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), it is set to take place from 15^th to 17^th February 2026. From microbreweries to large industrial groups, the trade show confirms its role as a reference point for the brewing community, highlighting the latest consumer trends, the sector’s evolution, the high quality of the products and the main market scenarios in three days of business, updating and networking. An event that will see the presence of long-standing strategic partners such as Unionbirrai and Assobirra – Confindustria contributing to the creation of a programme of high-level meetings and content. Beer&Food Attraction's exhibition area will be showcasing Italian and international proposals, thanks also to associations in attendance (such as the Brewers Association and Euskal Garagardo Elkartea Basque Beer) and brands from abroad. The offer will be completed by the “Beer of the Year” award, which, for this edition, will also include a category dedicated exclusively to low/no alcohol beers, and the Italian Craft Beer Conference on production techniques and technological innovations, organised by Unionbirrai. The Beer&Tech Arena will be a reference point for talks.

EVENTS AND CONTENT: BETWEEN NEW TRENDS, PRODUCT CULTURE AND MARKET SCENARIOS, FOCUS ON THE FUTURE OF BEER  

Beers will take centre stage with a packed programme of talks, conferences and tastings to highlight the sector’s latest trends: from emerging trends such as the growing interest in non-alcoholic beer and new frontiers in food pairing, to the challenges of sustainability for responsible production and strategies to boost consumption. Operators will be able to explore key issues, such as the promotion of professional figures in the sector, from the art of tapping to the role of the publican and taster, innovation in the Italian hop supply chain and the evolution of the craft beer market.

Sunday 15^th February 2026, at 2 pm in the Beer&Tech Arena (Hall D3), will see the talk “Raw materials and brewing technology: state of the art and future developments. The floor to the protagonists.” The meeting will review the national and European brewing ecosystem by addressing structural issues such as the evolution of raw materials, technological innovation, the issue of excise duties and the development of non-alcoholic beer. The discussion will involve the sector’s main associations including Assobirra and Unionbirrai.

On Monday 16^th February, from 12.15 to 12.45 pm, the Beer&Tech Arena (Hall D3) will be staging a talk entitled “The strategic role of CERB: research and experience at the service of the brewing industry”, organised by CERB – Centre for Research into Beer Excellence at Perugia University, one of the sector’s most important scientific centres of reference. During the meeting, the research, analysis and technical consultancy activities carried out in support of breweries will be presented, together with the main technological and qualitative challenges facing the supply chain and future strategies based on scientific data and applied experimentation. Also on the agenda for Monday 16^th, from 3.30 to 4.15pm in the Beer&Tech Arena (Hall D3), “The value of beer in Italian out-of-home consumption: trends, consumption and the role of draft beer”. The talk will include a presentation of the Beer Information Centre’s (CIB) first 2026 edition. This periodic observatory is promoted by Assobirra in partnership with BVA Doxa and will provide a snapshot of the Italian beer world’s evolution. The content will include data on consumption, Horeca channel dynamics, the supply chain, and the strategic role of draft beer with a continuous and updated interpretation of the main market trends. Lastly, from 3.30 to 4 pm, the Horeca Arena (Hall B5) will be holding a talk entitled “Beverage in out-of-home consumption: between evolving consumption patterns, innovation, channel dynamics and new distribution models”. The meeting will provide an up-to-date snapshot of the beverage sector in the out-of-home market with references to the growth of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol solutions. The analyses will be supported by data and insights from Circana.

The programme will come to a close on Tuesday, 17^th February 2026 from 11.30 am to 12 noon in the Beer&Tech Arena (Hall D3) with “The Italian supply chain of hops and barley for the brewing sector (F.I.L.O. Project)”. The talk will present a joint research project between universities and companies with scientific contributions from the Universities of Udine and Parma and the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa. The focus will be on building an Italian hop and barley supply chain based on sustainability, technological innovation and reduced environmental impact with useful data and results for understanding the future evolution of malting and beer production.

BEER COMPETITIONS

Excitement is building for the 21^st edition of the Beer of the Year Award, the prestigious competition organised by Unionbirrai, which annually celebrates the excellence of Italian craft beer. The event, hosted in the Beer&Tech Arena (Hall D3), will see 212 breweries competing with a total of 1,746 craft beers, divided into 46 categories. The winners will be decided by a jury of 73 expert tasters from 19 countries. The highlight will be the award ceremony, scheduled for Sunday 15^th February at 3.45 pm, when the best Italian craft beers and the Brewery of the Year, i.e. the producer with the best results in at least three different categories, will be announced. Two special awards have also been confirmed: Best Collaboration Brew, for beers created through brewing collaborations in Italy; and Best 100% Italian Beer, for beers produced with raw materials grown entirely in Italy with the aim of promoting the national agricultural supply chain.

TOP PLAYERS AND CRAFT BREWERIES AT THE SHOW

Beer&Food Attraction confirms its status as the most comprehensive showcase for small, medium and large breweries, offering a representative overview of the entire national and international brewing scene. Leading producers and craft breweries will be presenting their new products, the latest consumer trends and development strategies for the sector at the show.

Large groups and main players in the market will include names such as Birra Forst, Birra Peroni, Bitburger Braugruppe, Carlsberg Italia, Krombacher Italia, Kulmbacher Brauerei, Paulaner Distribuzione, Swinkels Family Brewers Italia and Warsteiner Italia. The presence of leading importers of international brands, including Brewrise, Interbrau, K. Kiem and Ales&Co, is also worth mentioning.

The offer will be completed with an important representation of the distribution world with leading operators such as Partesa, Doreca Italia and San Geminiano, thus demonstrating the event’s strategic role throughout the supply chain.

Ample space will also be given to the craft sector with the participation of some of the industry’s most renowned companies including Baladin, Birrificio Italiano, Mastri Birrai Umbri, Birra dell'Eremo, Birra Flea, Birra Salento, Birrificio Lambrate, Birrificio Otus, Birrificio Artigianale Napoletano, Birra Artigianale Impavida and Granda.

A qualified selection of large groups, importers, distributors and independent breweries that makes Beer&Food Attraction a privileged observatory on the brewing market’s dynamics and evolution.

PRESS CONTACT ITALIAN EXHIBITION GROUP:
Head of media relation & corporate communication: Elisabetta Vitali; press office manager: Marco Forcellini, Pierfrancesco Bellini; press office coordinator: Luca Paganin; international press office coordinator: Silvia Giorgi; press office specialist: Nicoletta Evangelisti, Mirko Malgieri; media@iegexpo.it

MEDIA AGENCY BEER&FOOD ATTRACTION - BBTECH EXPO:
Mind the Pop - Martina Vacca: martina@mindthepop.it, mob. +39 339 748 5994; Fabrizio Raimondi: fabrizio@mindthepop.it, mob. +39 335 389 848; Stefano Chiossi: stefano@mindthepop.it, mob. + 39 388 739 4358.