14th Ibero-American VLB Symposium successfully held in Mexico

Mexico | With a new attendance record, the 14th Ibero-American VLB Symposium VLB took place from 2 to 4 September 2024 at the Marquis Reforma Hotel in Mexico City, Mexico. 230 participants from 22 nations participated in the most renowned brewing technology forum in Latin America.

Since 2008, the Ibero-American Symposium of VLB Berlin has established itself in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions as a top-class specialist event for technical managers from the brewing and beverage industry. After stops in Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, among others, the VLB came back to Mexico

As usual, the first day included a visit to a brewery. This time the Heineken Mexico Plant located in Toluca. There, participants had the opportunity to share a pleasant evening after visiting the impeccable facilities.

Comprehensive lecture program

The lecture program dealt in six sessions with current aspects and innovations in the fields of brewing, raw materials, brewhouse technology, fermentation, yeast management, sustainability, logistic and transport of beverages, beer filtration and digitalization of brewing processes. The lectures were presented by experts from the VLB, invited international speakers from breweries and competent industry representatives. As usual, the symposium was held in English and Spanish with simultaneous translation.

The convivial welcome evening took place at the invitation of our sponsors Ziemann Holvrieka, Constellation Brands and Rovi Ingenieria at a well-known restaurant in Mexico City, where the participants shared a pleasant evening. The closing of the event took place in the Palacios Hall of the Marquis Reforma Hotel, with a pleasant surprise: A group of mariachis was waiting for the attendees to perform typical Mexican songs together.

At the end of the successful event a satisfied Roberto Biurrun, lead organizer of the Ibero-American VLB Symposium since 2015, announced when and where the next Symposium will be held next year: From 10–12 November 2025 in Paraná, Brazil, with the support of Cooperativa Agraria. A novelty will be the two workshops after the symposium (Thursday, 13 November), one dedicated to the sensorial area and another with a focus on packaging.

Main sponsors of this year’s event have been: Ziemann Holvrieka, Pentair & Rovi Ingenieria, Hopsteiner, KHS, Krones and Pall and the brewery groups Constellation Brands, Grupo Modelo and Heineken Mexico.