Comprehensive programme | BevialeMexico, a beverage industry fair for Central America that covers the entire supply chain, made its successful debut as an eSpecial in March 2021. The comprehensive programme in English and Spanish attracted more than 1,900 participations from 30 countries.

Virtual get-together | Normally, the biennial IBD Asia Pacific Convention 2021 should have taken place in Perth, Australia, this year. “But everything’s just a little bit different at the moment,” joked Andrew Klein, the MC who took delegates through the events of February 23 and 24 – all of them exclusively online for the very first time – with plenty of wit and humour. The webinar format nevertheless made the convention seem extremely realistic and with its 40 keynote talks, additional on-demand lectures, digital poster sessions, virtual exhibit hall and various contact opportunities it boasted practically all the aspects of a real live event – minus the communal glasses of beer, of course.

Beviale Moscow 2021 | Following its cancellation last year due to the pandemic, Beviale Moscow has now successfully taken place in Moscow from 16 to 18 March, when 108 exhibitors, 75 percent of them local and 25 percent international, welcomed around 3200 visitors to their stands.

Setting new standards | Every crisis also contains an opportunity – this was the conviction of VLB Managing Director Dr. Josef Fontaine in an interview with the Brauerei Forum last summer. Due to current circumstances related to the pandemic, VLB has now taken this opportunity and launched the 1st VLB International Brewing Web Conference (IBWC), where participants from all over the world attended from 1st to 3rd of December online in Berlin. Twenty-two top-class lectures, Q&A sessions after each presentation and cultivated get-together possibilities via video chatrooms almost made you forget that the industry meeting was a purely digital one.

1546 beers | The 9th Brussels Beer Challenge was held in Brussels from 26 October to 6 November 2020 with all the necessary health and safety precautions in place. Due to travel restrictions, most jurors came from Belgium. 1546 beers were submitted this year, which is similar to last year. Considering the ongoing pandemic, the organizers consider this a sensational success.

Technical solutions | The virtual Brewers of Europe Sustainability Forum took place from 20 - 21 October 2020, and the two-day event was an unprecedented success, with over 700 participants joining for quality keynotes, outstanding panel events and insightful Q&A sessions.

World Brewing Congress | It could have been just wonderful: in point of fact, the World Brewing Congress 2020, co-hosted by the American Society of Brewing Scientists (ASBC) and the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA), had been planned for Minneapolis, USA, at the beginning of August.

BrauBeviale Special Edition | The starting signal for the BrauBeviale Special Edition has been given. The next three days are packed with exciting presentations, top-class discussions and important impulses for the future viability of the companies in the beverage industry. The new digital platform myBeviale.com now provides a virtual home for the regulars' table of the beverage industry on 365 days a year.

Successfully completed | The need for B2B networking and information was high – it was palpable at the world’s second-largest trade fair in the beverage and liquid food industry. China Brew China Beverage (CBB) took place from October 13 to 16, 2020 in Shanghai. Due to the coronavirus, the trade fair had a largely national focus, although 101 exhibitors were from other countries.

Virtual Ceremony | The Brewers Association (BA), Boulder, USA, awarded 272 medals to 240 breweries across the country during the 2020 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition awards ceremony. The best beers in 91 beer categories covering 170 different beer styles (including all subcategories) were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals during a virtual ceremony hosted on The Brewing Network.