Plenty to celebrate | There was indeed plenty to celebrate in Madrid! After a three-year break due to the pandemic, the European brewing industry, as well as representatives from other continents, met for the 38th EBC Congress in Madrid, which was held for the 2nd time in combination with the Brewers Forum of the Brewers of Europe (BoE). The EBC celebrated its 75th anniversary and the Spanish Brewers Association its 100th anniversary at the same time. Also taking place was the EU Green Week 2022, for which Brewers Forum and EBC acted as official partners with their numerous sustainability talks.

Denmark | With a two-year delay due to the pandemic – which makes it six years after the previous event – the Danish Brewers Guild welcomed an impressive 120 brewing industry professionals from the Nordic countries to the 28th Nordic Technical Meeting on Beer & Beverage Technology at the downtown Copenhagen venue of DGI Byen on 11 and 12 May 2022.

Spain | Take it as a sign of the times that ESG targets will dominate brewers’ lives for years to come: The Brewers Forum, the annual shindig organised by the Brewers of Europe, which took place in Madrid (30 and 31 May 2022), devoted one of its four lecture tracks to the “E” (Environment) in ESG.

Malt publication awarded | The Ludwig Narziß Award for Brewing Science was granted for the 8th time during the 38th EBC Congress at the end of May 2022. For the first time, the winning publication came from the field of malt research. The previous winning entries came from hop research, yeast research and the field of microbiology.

Creative beers | At its premiere at the European Beer Star competition held in 2021, the new specialty beer category “Free-Style Beer” immediately evoked an outpouring of excitement and enthusiasm. More than 60 breweries submitted their beery creations for consideration, which otherwise would not have fit into any other category. Along with beer quality, aspects such as the concept behind the beer and its story were part of the evaluation. But what is it exactly that makes this particular category of specialty beers so special? This article provides insights and background information to the new style category at the European Beer Star, in which storytelling plays a central role.

Harmoniously diverse | After its annual celebration of all things craft beer was interrupted by the pandemic, this year, the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America (CBC) ascended to “L’Étoile du Nord” or to “The Star of the North”, as the US state of Minnesota is known, to take place in Minneapolis. The industry migrated north to the “Land of 10 000 Lakes” to assemble in the Minneapolis Convention Center located downtown, in order to partake in the first in-person conference since 2019, where they were able to exchange ideas and catch up with old colleagues and acquaintances over a beer or two – like they did in the “before times”. The attendees were also eager to once again participate in educational seminars, lectures and brewery tours as well as to visit the BrewExpo America trade show.

Exciting topic | VLB Berlin invited attendees to the International Symposium for Acidic-fermented and Non-alcoholic Beverages taking place on 24 and 25 May 2022 in Berlin. This is the third time this gathering has been held, and compared to the inaugural event in 2019, the number of participants has steadily increased each time.

Well-attended | During the Craft Brewers Conference in Minneapolis, IGN organised the “Bavarian Hopfenfest by IGN” together with Schwarz Logistik. Around 300 guests attended the event, which took place at the local brewery "Utepils Brewing Co." in Minneapolis.

New record | Over 10,000 beers (2018: 8,345) were submitted by 2,658 breweries from 57 different countries, once again setting a new record for the World Beer Cup 2022 (WBC) staged by the Brewers Association (BA). The jury sessions for this giga-competition were held in three phases, with two in Louisville, CO, and the third ahead of the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Minneapolis.

World Barley, Malt & Beer Conference | The malting industry and malting barley suppliers very much depend on the general beer output. However, the pandemic years 2020 and 2021 were a different case entirely, marked by full capacity utilisation, pull of demand, price pressure and a logistics crisis – not to mention the impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The World Barley, Malt & Beer Conference held by RMI Analytics, that brought the major players of the global supply chain together at the end of March, painted a varied picture of the challenges and opportunities.