The Southeast Asian beer and soft drinks market is largely saturated. Beer and beverage producers are therefore under pressure to optimize production and make it as energy-efficient and cost-effective as possible. This year‘s Brewing Conference Bangkok straightforwardly addressed these matters under the watchword TOM – “Total Optimization Management”. The conference was organized by the VLB Berlin in cooperation with the Thailand Beer Industry Guild and was held from June 14th to 16th 2015 at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC). Some 250 experts from the Southeast Asian brewing and beverage industry and suppliers from around the world were in attendance.

Currently, the demand for Russian

15 brewers from Tsingtao Brewery were selected to visit a five-month course at Doemens Academy in Munich. Vice-president Jiang Hong, who travelled to Munich for the graduation ceremony in June, stated that the company invested a lot in these brewmasters and that she was proud of their great success.

The fifth edition of the Copa Libertadores de Cerveza, South Beer Cup, was held on 21, 22 and May 23 in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

The Eric Kneen Memorial Award 2015 for the best paper published in the Journal of the ASBC in the previous calendar year went to an author team from Germany. The award was presented to the lead author Dr. Christina Schmidt by ASBC president Prof. Thomas Shellhammer, Oregon State University, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, which took place from 14-17 June 2015 in La Quinta, USA.

From 17-19 October 2015 a new initiative in the brewers’ world opens its doors for the first time at Waagnatie Expo & Events BrouwPlus. Billed as ’the Craft Brewery Fair of the Low Countries’, it will be the rendezvous for all hobby, micro and craft brewers. BrouwPlus is a trade fair – a window on the world of brewing – with a wide selection of stand holders covering this classic art from start to finish. There will be information on ingredients, production, bottling, marketing, distribution and the latest technology – all under one roof.

On 11 June the American Homebrewers Association National Homebrewers Conference has opened its doors in sunny San Diego, in the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center. The three day event is packed full of special seminars and caters to beer enthusiasts and amateur brewers of every level.

The Beer Academy has awarded Rod Jones of Meantime Brewing Company its prestigious Beer Sommelier of the Year title. Rod, who began his career with Meantime as a brewer, now undertakes beer education for both colleagues and customers. He was accredited as a Beer Sommelier in 2013.

Brewers and cider makers from all over the world gathered at London’s Guildhall on 29 April for the unveiling of the Championship winners in the International Brewing and Cider Awards 2015. Trophies were awarded to nine beers and one cider, with US brewer Deschutes scoring a ‘hat trick’ with three Championship titles.

Well in excess of 1000 participants and more than 130 exhibitors from all over the world assembled at the beginning of October 2014 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA to attend the annual Congress of the American Association of Cereal Chemistry (AACCi), to bring themselves up-to-date and to tap into ideas about the most recent results from cereal research.