Brewery research | “How to succeed in times of change”, this was the theme of this year’s virtual annual meeting of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC). From June 7 to 9, 2021, the latest findings in brewery research were presented and discussed in numerous technical sessions, workshops and e-posters.

Wide range of topics | The Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin (VLB) organized the first ever “International Craft Brewing Conference Online”, which took place from April 27th to 29th 2021. Summaries of selected presentations from the sessions on raw materials, brewing technology, filling and packaging operations and logistics as well as perspectives on the international craft beer business are presented below.

Jubilee | Seventy-five years ago on January 31, 1946, BRAUWELT was published for the first time since the Second World War. Under this new name it was successor to the Allgemeine Bayerische Hopfenzeitschrift (General Bavarian Hop Journal) that had been published regularly since its establishment in 1861. Communication in and networking of the global brewing and beverage industries would have been – and still is – inconceivable without BRAUWELT. Its content and design have always adapted to suit the demands of the day and age.

First winner | Out of many applications from all over the world, the Scientific Committee of the Beer and Health Initiative elected Vïctor Micó, a Spanish Postdoc at IMDEA Food Institute, as the winner of the Beer and Health Publication Award 2020.

Comprehensive programme | BevialeMexico, a beverage industry fair for Central America that covers the entire supply chain, made its successful debut as an eSpecial in March 2021. The comprehensive programme in English and Spanish attracted more than 1,900 participations from 30 countries.

Virtual get-together | Normally, the biennial IBD Asia Pacific Convention 2021 should have taken place in Perth, Australia, this year. “But everything’s just a little bit different at the moment,” joked Andrew Klein, the MC who took delegates through the events of February 23 and 24 – all of them exclusively online for the very first time – with plenty of wit and humour. The webinar format nevertheless made the convention seem extremely realistic and with its 40 keynote talks, additional on-demand lectures, digital poster sessions, virtual exhibit hall and various contact opportunities it boasted practically all the aspects of a real live event – minus the communal glasses of beer, of course.

Beviale Moscow 2021 | Following its cancellation last year due to the pandemic, Beviale Moscow has now successfully taken place in Moscow from 16 to 18 March, when 108 exhibitors, 75 percent of them local and 25 percent international, welcomed around 3200 visitors to their stands.

Setting new standards | Every crisis also contains an opportunity – this was the conviction of VLB Managing Director Dr. Josef Fontaine in an interview with the Brauerei Forum last summer. Due to current circumstances related to the pandemic, VLB has now taken this opportunity and launched the 1st VLB International Brewing Web Conference (IBWC), where participants from all over the world attended from 1st to 3rd of December online in Berlin. Twenty-two top-class lectures, Q&A sessions after each presentation and cultivated get-together possibilities via video chatrooms almost made you forget that the industry meeting was a purely digital one.

1546 beers | The 9th Brussels Beer Challenge was held in Brussels from 26 October to 6 November 2020 with all the necessary health and safety precautions in place. Due to travel restrictions, most jurors came from Belgium. 1546 beers were submitted this year, which is similar to last year. Considering the ongoing pandemic, the organizers consider this a sensational success.

Technical solutions | The virtual Brewers of Europe Sustainability Forum took place from 20 - 21 October 2020, and the two-day event was an unprecedented success, with over 700 participants joining for quality keynotes, outstanding panel events and insightful Q&A sessions.