Even long after the end of the harvest in Europe, there still is uncertainty about the availability of malting barley. Depending on the concessions of the maltsters and brewers, this amount can vary. The weather conditions in 2011 have lead to substantial quality problems.

The 124th Annual Conference of the Master Brewers of the Americas Association (MBAA) was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 13 to 15 October this year. The international brewing conference drew a large attendance from industry representatives, scientists, global and craft brewers from all around the world. The preconference classes “Pub Brewers Mini Camp” and “Beer Steward Seminar” started the congress in Hilton Hotel in downtown Minneapolis on Thursday, 13 October. The “Pub Brewers Mini Camp” is dedicated to small craft or micro brewers and addressed, among others, topics like malt analysis, hop selection, yeast management and operating ratios. The “Beer Steward Seminar” was aimed at educating beer professionals about beer when it has left the brewery and enters the wholesale and retail markets. The sensory-intensive class dealt with the understanding of the basic sensory system, with product presentation and with consumer behavior.

In the heart of the apple-growing region in the Etsch Valley, ten kilometers south of Meran in a town called Lana, there is a company that almost no consumer is aware of but probably has at one time or another purchased its products. The company is called Iprona and is based here. It produces natural foods of the highest quality on an industrial scale at reasonable prices.

Brau Beviale celebrated its 50th anniversary from 9–11 November in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg.

On 10 November 2011, gold, silver and bronze European Beer Star awards went to beers from 20 countries, while beers from 13 countries qualified for the 49 gold medals at Brau Beviale in Nuremberg, Germany. This year, the number of participating beers went up to 1,113, an increase of 16 percent over 2010 (955 beers). The jury that chose the world’s best beers in all 49 beer categories (previous year: 45) consisted of almost 100 (previous year: 88) brewmasters, beer sommeliers and specialized journalists from 26 countries. They evaluated the beers on the basis of the purely sensory criteria that all beer consumers are familiar with: colour, aroma, foam and of course flavour.

In Noerdlingen, everything focused on naturalness in September 2011. Guests from more than 20 countries learned at the two-day event how the trend towards naturalness is influencing the beverage industry and the development of products and continues to develop itself. Oceanographer and filmmaker Céline Cousteau gave the participants food for thought.

The replacement of two lauter tuns at Paulaner Brewery in Munich was a race against time for GEA Brewery Systems in Kitzingen. During normal operation, the old lauter tuns had to be dismantled, the new ones had to be installed and put into operation. And for each tun, only three weeks were available to complete the replacement. To say it right away: GEA Brewery Systems won the race. In Munich, BRAUWELT International talked to Christian Dahncke, Production Manager at Paulaner Brewery, Matthias Gerner, Commissioning Engineer at GEA Brewery Systems, and Marc Schreder, Sales Manager Germany at GEA Brewery Systems.

The 2011 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition drew an impressive field of competitors, with 2011 topping last year’s entries by 11 percent. GABF remains one of the largest commercial beer competitions in the world, with 3,930 beers vying for medals (compared to 3,523 entries in 2010). A total of 248 medals were awarded.

The Scandinavian School of Brewing (SSB) has elected Anders Kissmeyer for the title of world’s greatest Diploma Master Brewer 2011. On Thursday, 11 August 2011, colleagues from many countries paid tribute at a festive gathering at SSB in Copenhagen. Besides the title Anders Kissmeyer was rewarded with 3000 Euro, presented by the Chairman of SSB, Erik Juul Rasmussen.

From March 29th to April 1st 2011, the Second Ibero-American Symposium for Brewing and Filling Technology was organized by the VLB Berlin in Mexico City. Compared to others in the past, this symposium had the distinction of attracting the most participants ever in attendance at a VLB conference. A broad variety of informative and entertaining events were scheduled, ranging from diverse symposium lectures to technical field excursions, the highlight of which was most certainly the tour of the newly constructed Compania Cervecera de Coahuila, S.A. de C.V. brewing facility in Piedras Negras. This year’s events enticed more than 300 attendees from Europe, USA and Latin America.