EBC Brewing Science Group meets in Copenhagen

Members and guests of the EBC Brewing Science Group met over two days (6th and 7th September) under the chairmanship of Dr. Carsten Zufall of the Cerveceria Polar, Caracas, for their biennial get-together. At this, the 9th Technical Meeting, scientific exchange and discussions around brewing science and technology was very much in the foreground of the group’s activities. This is already the second time that the meeting had been held back-to-back with the EBC Symposium; this had proven to be a winning combination of events since the highly acclaimed hop symposium took place two years ago in Wolnzach in the centre of the largest German hop growing area. Had there been only a handful of delegates wanting to attend both events, their number had increased to a sizeable 16 this time around. All in all approximately 25 members and 15 guests had heeded the invitation to come to the world-renowned Carlsberg Research Centre in Copenhagen, among them a respectable number of eight professors of brewing science and beverage technology in Europe. In other words, a high-calibre group keen to share and be informed about the research activities of their colleagues.

Presentations by two members from the Czech Republic (Drs. Petr Kosin and Adam Broz) had as their topic gushing and gushing prevention and control in a brewery environment. In conjunction with this important aspect, creative approaches to foam stability measurements at their Czech beer production site were discussed. Both papers were characterised by being open and on the level as well as showing a readiness to underpin very specific problems through detailed analysis and problem solving techniques.

Dr. Achim Zürcher of the Feldschlösschen Brauerei in Switzerland presented a concise summary of all existing technologies aimed at the production of alcohol-free beer. Using a number of examples he demonstrated impressively that fatty acid concentrations and the composition of those, as well as higher alcohols (or their partial removal) were crucial in the final flavour profile. Especially beers carbonated with non-purified fermentation-derived CO₂ were rated as more type-specific and satisfying than the control beers.

Two Walkers are better than one! That must have been the motto of the delegation from the United Kingdom. Prof. Caroline Walker of Campden-BRI cited evidence of the link between obesity and diabetes which is becoming a potent health risk in most western countries and even globally. Unhealthy eating patterns of sugars and saturated fats are not the only ones to blame; the question of whether the consumption of alcohol (also, but not exclusively, in the form of beer) over and above the currently accepted daily recommended intake rates can contribute significantly to diabetes through obesity needs further observation and clinical study. Her name-sake Prof. Graeme Walker from the University of Abertay in Scotland reminded the group of the different scales encountered in the biofuel production process: Not only are temperatures much higher during the ethanol for fuel fermentations, also the cell counts are sky-high and the fermenter sizes absolutely enormous.

At the end of the two day meeting, a number of guests were elected to member status. Prof. Paolo Fantozzi (CERB, University of Perugia) was unanimously elected as vice-chairman, following in the footsteps of Prof. Frank-Jürgen Methner (TU Berlin). The number of members has now surpassed the 60 mark. All in all, 16 presentations were held. These are accessible to members of the group via a password on the EBC website. The next gathering, the 10th Technical Meeting of the BSG, is being planned for September 2014. Where exactly it will be held and which institute or brewery will be hosting the meeting should become clear during the second half of next year.