Brewhouse paper wins Ludwig Narziß Award 2026

Rotterdam | The 40th Congress of the European Brewery Convention, which took place in Rotterdam, NL, from 6 to 9 September, provided a fitting setting for the 12th presentation of the Ludwig Narziß Award for Brewing Science. The prize recognises BrewingScience publications that demonstrate not only scientific relevance but also practical benefits for the brewing industry.

Whilst in previous years articles on malt, yeast and microbiology, and mainly hops, had taken the honours, this year a technological topic from the brewhouse made it onto the winners’ list. The winning paper was ‘Utilisation of bubble formation for energy-efficient wort boiling whilst maintaining high wort quality’ (BrewingScience 78 (2025), no. 3/4, pp. 40–46), by Laura Grotenhoff and Tobias Becher of Ziemann Holvrieka GmbH, Ludwigsburg, Germany.

The laudatory speech was held by BrewingScience reviewer and board member Dr Carsten Zufall, who emphasised how much commitment, courage and persuasiveness are required to establish innovations. Tobias Becher and Laura Grotenhoff have already demonstrated this on several occasions in the past, so the fact that their latest innovation has been awarded the Ludwig Narziß Prize is a wonderful recognition of their work.

Science combined with practical relevance

The winning article focuses on reducing primary energy consumption in beer production. The study examines a patented boiling system that reduces this energy demand by significantly lowering the evaporation rate without negatively affecting relevant wort quality parameters compared to a state-of-the-art boiling system. The wort is heated in an external boiler and recirculated through nozzles at the bottom of the wort kettle. There, the change in pressure conditions results in the formation of bubbles. These bubbles rise, support uniform homogenization of the wort, and allow the expulsion of volatile components such as DMS-free. The results open up perspectives for the development of further energy concepts that were previously limited by a required minimum evaporation rate.