Save the date | After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic and the restrictions placed on large social gatherings, the Brewers of Europe recently announced the long-awaited return of #BeerServesEurope.

Virtual journey | From 6–8 December 2022, the 3rd VLB International Brewing Web Conference will take place online at the VLB Virtual Campus. The conference is aimed at sharing brewing knowledge, establishing new relationships and discussing best practices for the brewing industry. It addresses technical managers, brewers and leading technical staff from production, filling/packaging and quality assurance of breweries.

Distinctive profile | Following the prolonged pandemic-induced break, BrauBeviale, one of the leading capital goods fairs for the beverage industry, will present itself with a fresh look and new schedule: From 28 – 30 November 2023, the trade fair will get under way with a distinctive profile and new brand image. The slogan “We stand for variety.” points the way for the trade fair and its agenda.

Big turn-out expected | With a conference theme of “Finding Your Advantage Through Innovation”, the region’s largest international gathering of brewers, distributors and suppliers focuses on propelling the post-pandemic brewing industry to ever greater heights over the coming years. This year’s SEA Brew conference and trade fair, to be held in Bangkok from 27–28 October 2022, will be the first in-person gathering that many industry players have attended in over two years, and the organizers are expecting a big turn-out.

Varied program | Africa is very important for the beer sector. For this reason, VLB organizes a conference dedicated to the particularities of this continent, offering an extremely varied program. Since the possibilities of mobility in Africa are still limited, the 3rd VLB Africa Brewing Conference (ABC) will take place from 27–29 September 2022 as an online event at “VLB Virtual Campus”, the VLB’s exclusive platform for virtual conferences.

Lots of novelties | Premieres, tasting sessions, competitions and presentations: Everyone will get their money’s worth in the supporting program of this year’s drinktec, which will take place from September 12 to 16 on the Messe München exhibition grounds. The main feature is its unique combination of specialist presentations and discussions on the one side, and the live programs, competitions and championships on the other.

New category | Entries for the renowned Fi Europe Innovation awards are now open, and applications can be submitted online until 7 October. The majority of the awards are only open to Fi Europe exhibitors but, this year, a brand new category “Food Training & Education” has been added, which is open to non-exhibitors.

Open for entries | Journalists, writers, bloggers, broadcasters and photographers who communicate about beer or pubs are invited to enter the Guild of Beer Writers’ annual awards before the deadline of 2 September. This year’s competition offers entrants a choice of 16 categories – its highest-ever – and the chance to share in a GBP 17,500 prize fund.

The long dry spell we have lived through has only intensified the industry’s thirst for the upcoming drinktec, the world’s largest trade fair focused on beverages and liquid foods. The trade fair will finally be able to open its doors to attendees and exhibitors from September 12 to 16, 2022.

Positive energy from the industry | A long dry spell is behind us, which has created great anticipation for what awaits us. And at last, the time has come: from September 12 to 16, 2022, the drinktec will open its doors to attendees and exhibitors from the entire beverage and liquid food industries. We talked to Petra Westphal, Exhibition Director of drinktec, and Markus Kosak, Exhibition Manager of drinktec, about the topics and solutions we can look forward to in Munich this September.