Craft Beer China Conference & Exhibition follows the craft brewing chain from the sack to the tap. Raw materials come first: hops and hop products, yeast, malt, fruit pulp, flavourings and stabilisers. Then come the brewhouse and cellar, with malt handling, wort preparation, mashing and fermentation, filtration, oak barrels, valves and pumps and control systems, followed by the canning, bottling and kegging lines.

The second half of the floor is where the beer becomes a business. Dispense and draught systems, cold-chain warehousing, bar design, in-venue supply systems and craft beer kitchen systems sit beside label and packaging design, marketing and public relations, media, and the legal and data services a young brewery tends to need. Brewers, distillers, importers and agents exhibit in the same brand group, which is why the fair now stretches from beer into spirits and low-alcohol drinks.