High stakes games of chance at the CBC 2024

Grain, gambling and growth | The Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America took place April 21–24, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A bright and noisy spot in the dun-colored Mojave Desert, the municipality embodies all the stereotypes of the United States as a nation of extremes and thus provided an exhilarating backdrop to the conference and trade show for brewers from the US and around the world. The venue also hosted the World Beer Cup where brewers of every stripe competed for coveted medals in an array of categories.

Lille | From May 26 to 30, 2024, over 700 delegates made their way to Lille in the north of France to discuss the latest developments not only in the European brewing industry but primarily in brewing science worldwide at the 39^th EBC Congress and Brewers Forum 2024. We will report separately on the latter in the next issue. In this article, we will take a look at the talks given at the EBC (European Brewery Convention) Congress that in around 50 presentations and just under 80 posters focused on the key issues of raw materials, sustainability and climate change, new products and the optimization of technology and sensory science.

Italy | The Beer Craft Bozen 2024 took place in Bolzano, Italy, from 24–25 May. This beer festival has now become firmly established and the venue, Maretsch Castle, offers an extraordinary backdrop for the 48 exhibitors from South Tyrol, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Poland and even Finland, and the 4850 visitors from 17 different countries.

Lille | The 39th EBC Congress which took place in Lille, France, 26–30 May 2024, provided the perfect stage for the 10th presentation of the Ludwig Narziß Award for Brewing Science. The winning entry for the most practically relevant BrewingScience publication of 2023, which was selected by an international jury of experts and the editorial board of the scientific magazine BrewingScience, once again focused on hops, specifically on the effects of hop diseases on hops and beer quality.

Berlin | The VLB Symposium on Acidic Fermented Non-Alcoholic Beverages (SAFB) only takes place every two years. This year, it was time for the 4^th edition, from 7–8 May 2024, at the VLB in Berlin. Organiser Dr Martin Senz was once again able to put together a varied programme, with talks on kombucha, kefir and other “funky” drinks.

Seoul | The 6th Korea International Beer Expo (Kibex 2024) was held from 11–13 April 2024 at COEX Hall C in Samseong-dong, Seoul. Kibex is the only specialized beer industry exhibition in Korea where businesses across the entire value chain – from brewing materials and equipment to breweries, importers, wholesalers, franchises, services, education, and media companies – come together.

London | Winners from across the globe have received their trophy for their outstanding beers and ciders at one of the world’s most historic international beer and cider competitions, the International Brewing & Cider Awards. The prestigious ceremony, held at the Guildhall, London, on 1 May, crowned 13 trophy winners – ten beers and three ciders – from 115 medal winners around the world in their respective categories.

Las Vegas | The World Beer Cup, the largest beer competition in the world hosted by the Brewers Association (BA) – the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers – honored the best beers in 110 categories covering 172 different beer styles (including all subcategories).

Boulder, Colo. | On 2 April, the Brewers Association (BA) – the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers – announced the recipients of this year’s Industry Awards. Since 1987, the association has recognized individuals who have positively contributed to the craft beer community. The 2024 award recipients will be honored for their dedication and service during a special ceremony on 23 April 2024, at the Craft Brewers (CBC) in Las Vegas.

Liverpool | UK’s best beers were revealed in March, with three breweries taking the Overall Gold across the Cask, Keg, and Bottle/Can competitions at the SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2024.