With its 2015 Brewery Award of Excellence, the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA) recognizes outstanding achievements by a single brewery in the development and implementation of an innovative process (or processes) that supports environmental sustainability in brewing.

“Best practice”: this was the motto of the seminar held by GEA Group and Bühler AG in Nigeria. All renowned Nigerian breweries attended this event which took place in late September. The 30 participants gained information about new technologies and solutions in the brewing process and their integration into existing plants. The main emphasis was on lowering energy costs significantly and permanently as well as increasing yield simultaneously.

German brewing tradition meets Asian creativity

The Southeast Asian beer and soft drinks market is largely saturated. Beer and beverage producers are therefore under pressure to optimize production and make it as energy-efficient and cost-effective as possible. This year‘s Brewing Conference Bangkok straightforwardly addressed these matters under the watchword TOM – “Total Optimization Management”. The conference was organized by the VLB Berlin in cooperation with the Thailand Beer Industry Guild and was held from June 14th to 16th 2015 at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC). Some 250 experts from the Southeast Asian brewing and beverage industry and suppliers from around the world were in attendance.

“Why not now?”

Currently, the demand for Russian

Doemens trains brewmasters from Tsingtao Brewery

15 brewers from Tsingtao Brewery were selected to visit a five-month course at Doemens Academy in Munich. Vice-president Jiang Hong, who travelled to Munich for the graduation ceremony in June, stated that the company invested a lot in these brewmasters and that she was proud of their great success.

South Beer Cup

The fifth edition of the Copa Libertadores de Cerveza, South Beer Cup, was held on 21, 22 and May 23 in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

The Eric Kneen Memorial Award 2015 for the best paper published in the Journal of the ASBC in the previous calendar year went to an author team from Germany. The award was presented to the lead author Dr. Christina Schmidt by ASBC president Prof. Thomas Shellhammer, Oregon State University, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, which took place from 14-17 June 2015 in La Quinta, USA.

From 17-19 October 2015 a new initiative in the brewers’ world opens its doors for the first time at Waagnatie Expo & Events BrouwPlus. Billed as ’the Craft Brewery Fair of the Low Countries’, it will be the rendezvous for all hobby, micro and craft brewers. BrouwPlus is a trade fair – a window on the world of brewing – with a wide selection of stand holders covering this classic art from start to finish. There will be information on ingredients, production, bottling, marketing, distribution and the latest technology – all under one roof.

On 11 June the American Homebrewers Association National Homebrewers Conference has opened its doors in sunny San Diego, in the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center. The three day event is packed full of special seminars and caters to beer enthusiasts and amateur brewers of every level.

The Beer Academy has awarded Rod Jones of Meantime Brewing Company its prestigious Beer Sommelier of the Year title. Rod, who began his career with Meantime as a brewer, now undertakes beer education for both colleagues and customers. He was accredited as a Beer Sommelier in 2013.