Intelligent packaging systems for the beverage industry

… BRAUWELT International recently sat down with the new management team of the company Blefa. At the table were Alexander Brand, managing director, Dr. Markus Scholz, technical director, and Thorsten Bäumer, sales director, all of whom consider their company Franke to be one of the leading manufacturers of stainless steel returnable containers for the international beverage industry. Based on over 30 years of experience, the company has produced over 25 million kegs for the brewing industry worldwide. Furthermore, with its Keg Service, the company has been able to greatly increase the lifespan of kegs.

drink technology India

drink technology India (dti), which takes place between 18 and 20 November 2010 in the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai, is being held for the first time as a trade fair with accompanying forum for exhibitors’ presentations. Preparations for this event are already well under way. Around 70 exhibitors from approximately 12 countries will be presenting beverage and liquid-food technology here, primarily for the Indian market.

Weihenstephan meets Wuhan

From the start, it was a resounding success: The first ever Brewing Science Seminar was held from March 29 to April 1, 2010 in Wuhan, China. The event was jointly organized by the publishing company, Fachverlag Hans Carl in Nuremberg and the Wuhan Brewing Academy. With 120 attendees, the seminar was fully booked. Researchers from Weihenstephan and companies throughout Germany provided insight into the latest research and the current state of brewing science over the four days of the seminar. The level of interest expressed by the participants was overwhelming.

China Brew & Beverage 2010 – powered by drinktec

China Brew China Beverage (CBB), the next edition of which takes place from 7 to 10 September 2010 in Beijing, is well on the way to becoming the most important event in the beverage and liquid food industry throughout the Asia-Pacific region. What is more, the Chinese trade fair organiser has a strong partner on side. drinktec, the World’s Leading Trade Fair for Beverage and Liquid Food Technology, will be supporting CBB in all its marketing activities in the future. The commitment made by Munich-based drinktec can also be seen in the CBB header, which from now on will additionally carry the phrase ‘powered by drinktec’.

30 years innovation in kegs

The editorial staff of BRAUWELT International met Peter Bosbach, CEO of Schäfer Werke, Neunkirchen/Siegerland, Peter Feckler, Head of the Schäfer Container Systems Division, and Sebastian Hilpisch, Head of Marketing at Schäfer Werke. The discussions focused mainly on the Container Systems Division. According to Peter Bosbach, this has the most diversified product portfolio in kegs worldwide and has been at the forefront of innovations for more than 30 years.

72nd ASBC meeting in Tucson – „What makes Tucson so hot?”

The 72nd annual meeting of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) took place from the 6th to the 10th of June, 2009 in the desert of Arizona, in Tucson to be exact. According to Cindy-Lou Dull (AB-Inbev), the meaning of this year’s slogan, chosen by the organizers, was self-explanatory: an allusion to the traditionally warm temperatures typical of the region, which shares a border with Mexico, as well as to the diverse and exciting program schedule of this year’s meeting.

From the Land of the Dragon to Weihenstephan, the stronghold of German brewing

China – a faraway land? Quite the contrary! In the future, increasing numbers of Chinese students will be completing bachelor’s degrees from Weihenstephan. The reason: The curriculum offered by the Brautechnische Akademie (BTA or Technical Brewing Academy) in Wuhan, China has been restructured specifically according to the curriculum at Weihenstephan. BRAUWELT International spoke with Prof. Dr. Werner Back and PD Dr. Martin Krottenthaler at the Institute of Brewing and Beverage Technology at the TUM-Weihenstephan; also present was their Chinese colleague Qian Fei, the first graduate of the BTA and a member of the research staff at Weihenstephan since 2006. In the conversation with the three of them, they shared what brewers from the burgeoning Land of the Dragon so deeply value about Weihenstephan.

Thai microbrewery hosts brewers’ get-together

The 20-something guests were being served a beer with a perfect two-fingers head. The waiters, all of them brewers of the microbrewery, worked incredibly fast – due to the personal training by brewmaster Karl Josef Eden himself. The undisputable highlight of the evening was a show by the „Country Place Show Girls“ – quite a national legend consiting of six dancing beauties.

Science generates quality

In accordance with its central philosophy of “science generates quality”, the VLB in Berlin, Germany set out to hold the first “Brewers’ Conference Bangkok 2009” from June 17 – 19, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand, for the purpose of sharing their knowledge with the world. In this endeavor, the VLB found a strong partner in the Thailand Beer Industry Guild (TBIG), whose members enthusiastically handled the organizational details on-site and also took charge of the social events surrounding conference.

Beer – an American dream

What will be the next beer fad in the US? Which beer contributes to a successful beer dinner? Over 1 000 participants attended the Craft Brewers Conference 2009 in Boston, Massachusetts. In order to find answers to such questions, BrewExpo America also took place in conjunction with the conference from April 21 to 24, 2009. Charlie Papazian, President of the organising Brewers’ Association, is often asked about the perfect beer, as he admitted in his welcoming address.