The International Malting and Brewing Symposium “13th Trends in Brewing”, which is jointly organized by KU Leuven (Belgium), Technical University Berlin (Germany), University of Nottingham (UK), Oregon State University (USA), and the Italian Brewing Research Centre (CERB, University of Perugia), will take place from 8 until 12 April 2018 at the KU Leuven Technology Campus Ghent, situated near the renowned historical centre of Ghent city.

Two outstanding events | Trade fairs have evolved from smaller domestic events to big business on a global scale. The larger German trade fair companies are more frequently hosting events abroad. In October 2018, Messe München held two drinktec events almost simultaneously – in India and China.

Succesful event | From September 9 to 11, Nuremberg played host to a second EBC Symposium within the last 10 years dedicated to the subject of hop research. Whereas the symposium 2010 which was held in Wolnzach, heart of the Hallertau hop growing area, was dominated by “classical” hops and brewing related topics, this one was characterised by a shift towards innovative brewing and hop addition practices.

The path to the merger | In part 2 of this series (BRAUWELT International No. 2, 2018 pp. 158-159), John Brauer highlighted the expanding scientific competence and network of the EBC in the 1960s and 1970s. In part 3, he will be fast-forwarding to the 1990s and early 2000s when talks around the merger with The Brewers of Europe really did begin to take shape.

EBS 2017 | Gold, silver or bronze medals won as awards at the European Beer Star are to brewers as Michelin stars are to restaurateurs. Since its launch in 2004, the European Beer Star Award has become one of the brewing community’s most prestigious accolade. It is held annually and recognises original, high-quality beers with lots of character. Striving to promote Europe’s brewing traditions, only beers need to apply whose style originated in Europe.

Opening event | European brewers can add a new event to their calendars: From June 7 to 8 2018, The Brewers of Europe invite to their new event format “Beer and Beyond” to Brussels. BRAUWELT International wanted to find out what is hidden behind the concept and interviewed Pierre-Olivier Bergeron, Secretary General of The Brewers of Europe, Brussels, and Luc De Raedemaeker, Director of Becomev, Brussels, about the organizers’ plans.

The expanding network | In the first part of this article on the 70 year celebrations of the EBC, John Brauer, EBC Brussels, Belgium, looked at the early beginnings of the association, from a technical think-tank addressing post-war concerns and procurement worries of brewers in the late 1940s and 1950s (BRAUWELT International No. 6, 2017, pp. 416-419). In part 2, Brauer highlights the 1960s, during which the scientific work of the EBC was significantly expanded.

From October 22 to 25 RMI Analytics conducted a malting barley crop tour in Victoria’s central cropping region taking in the growing regions of the Goulburn Valley and the Wimmera.

After the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Philadelphia in 2016, we speculated that the Washington D.C. Conference in 2017 would set “a new record attendance”. Well, it just about made it, though it was a close call – 13000 visitors came in 2016. This year, 13300 answered the call to Washington D.C. This is far from the growth rates of former years but still is a handsome number, not just from the point of view of visitors to the exhibition. Exhibitors clocked up a new record, over 900 presented their products.

The world of beer is full of interesting personalities who have left their mark on progress in the brewing industry. But one rarely encounters a beer expert like Horst Dornbusch who has created an international reputation for himself as brewer, author, speaker, and consultant. His publications have helped shape a whole generation of craft brewers around the world. BRAUWELT met him for an interview at this year’s Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, DC, USA.