In recent years craft breweries have been able to make a name for themselves in the shadow of the sizeable and well-established corporations. Their origins can primarily be found in the current epicenter of the craft beer scene, North America, and also from Scandinavia, Belgium and increasingly from Italy. But even in French-speaking countries good beer is brewed and imbibed alongside wine – a fact practically unknown elsewhere, but becoming evident in the Alsatian city of Mulhouse from the 11th to the 14th of September 2014. There, the Mondial de la Bière-Europe was held for the fifth time.

Palmers House in Chicago indeed provided a splendid setting. The famous tradition-steeped hotel in downtown Chicago where, already decades before, the US elite of performing artists was on stage, was the venue for the 2nd Brewing Summit jointly organised by the ASBC (American Society of Brewing Chemists) and the MBAA (Master Brewers Association of the Americas). About 850 attendees met from June 4th to 7th, 2014 to participate in a massive programme all to do with beer.

The International Brewing Awards 2015, incorporating the International Cider Awards, open for entries in August. Around 1000 beers and ciders will be submitted for judging in February next year, hoping to win a medal or, even better, a Championship trophy in one of the world’s longest-established international brewing competitions.

Modern measuring systems play a decisive role in the quality management of breweries. When selecting new measuring devices it is important to make sure that the instruments and sensors can be smoothly integrated into the production process. The Krombacher brewery has devoted considerable effort to the acquisition of measuring instruments and testing new

The British Guild of Beer Writers has launched its annual competition for beer writing, with the addition this year of a new award for the Best Young Beer Writer, designed to foster new writing about our national drink. The awards now include eight categories with a total prize fund of £ 9,500 for winners and runners up. All entries will be judged on how well they further the Guild’s mission “to extend public knowledge and appreciation of beer and pubs”.

Boundless opportunities | The vibrant city of Ho Chi Minh was host to the 33rd IBD Asia Pacific Section Convention which took place from March 23rd to 28th 2014. Vibrant in every sense of the word: with a population now in excess of 10 million, nearly matched by some 6 million small motor bikes filling every street, there was an overwhelming impression of boundless energy and opportunity. This feeling of opportunity translates through into

Passion for beer and the art of brewing – this is the philosophy of the owners of the Castelain Brewery in Bénifontaine, France. In order to boost recognition of their brand on a global level, the brewery entered their beer in the 2013 European Beer Star competition – the only brewery from France to do so. They were quickly rewarded for their efforts with a silver medal in the category Red/Amber Lager. This modern brewery (also see article on p. 166) is planning on participating in the international event this year as well.

The inaugural food & drink technology Africa trade fair and conference has been deemed a success by all

The 17th School of Fermentation Technology, an international symposium organized by the University of Agriculture Krakow, Poland, took place from March 20th to 22nd, 2014. The event was held at the Kocierz resort located in the beautiful environment of the Beskids Mountains. For many years the event has been considered a prestigious brewing conference in Poland and, therefore, it is regularly attended by representatives of all important malting and brewing companies as well as universities, research institutes and suppliers to the brewing and malting industries. This year there were 100 participants representing 13 breweries and malt houses, 23 suppliers, 11 research institutes and seven brewers associations.

The Burgdorfer brewpub in Switzerland was given permission by the government to expand into a historic building dating from 1770, the Kornhaus as it is known. Any doubts about the renovations and technical aspects of the move were far outweighed by the strong symbolic identity of the building. A competent architect and extremely flexible suppliers saw to it that the project was realized, and today Burgdorf is the proud home of one of the most modern breweries in Switzerland, housed in one of the city’s most prominent landmarks.