105th MEBAK meeting took place in November 2025

Freising | On 28 November 2025, the Central European Commission for Brewing Analysis (MEBAK) met in Linz, Austria, at the invitation of Helmut Klein, former laboratory manager at Brau Union Österreich AG. After 47 years, he retired this year. He has been an active member of MEBAK since 2010 and was unanimously appointed an honorary member during the meeting.

On the eve of the event, the members were given a tour of the new central laboratory at Brau Union Österreich AG. The new laboratory manager, Dipl.-Ing. Fabian Webersinke showed the members the impressive laboratory, which carries out many analyses for the group's Austrian breweries. In Linz, approximately 130,000 analyses are carried out annually on the raw materials used and the beers produced. The analyses of the individual breweries of the group are also managed here. A high degree of networking ensures optimal logistics for the samples and rapid exchange of the ap-proximately 750,000 analysis results that are generated in total.

Reports from the working groups

Wort, beer and beer-based mixed drinks: Comprehensive updates for these chapters have been implemented in recent months, for example in the determination of nitrosamines (GC), 4-vinylguaiacol and 4-vinylphenol (HPLC), methanol (GC) and high-molecular β-glucans.

The group reported that the high frequency of newly developed test kits poses a challenge for many enzymatic analyses. In future, MEBAK will require closer coordination with manufacturers in order to be able to reflect the current status of available test kits in a timely manner.

Microbiology: The complete range of microbiological analysis methods has been available online in English since drinktec 2025. This is a milestone in this area, which will continue to grow.

Online: MEBAK is pleased to report stable subscriber numbers, mostly on the basis of annual subscriptions. The majority of users can be attributed to breweries, but also to various educational institutions and universities.

Exchange with EBC

John Brauer provided information about the new chair of EBC-Analytica, Stefaan De Cock, as well as other new members of the individual EBC working groups. Method updates were exchanged and newly developed methods were presented. An international advisory forum between EBC, ASBC, BCOJ and MEBAK is planned ahead of the EBC Congress 2026 (6 to 9 September in Rotterdam).

Dr. Volker Ribitsch from TecSense presented the Head Space Analyzer for measuring oxygen, foreign gas and headspace volume as well as CO2 in bottles and cans. The device was developed in collaboration with Brau Union Österreich AG and is specially designed for use in the filling area.

Guests at the MEBAK meeting

Five guests accepted MEBAK's invitation to attend the meeting. The active team is to be expanded next year to include further experts, among other things with a view to revising and promptly publishing the former volume "Gebinde und Produktausstattungsmittel" (containers and product packaging).

Honorary member Helmut Klein

Helmut Klein was unanimously appointed an honorary member of MEBAK. Since 2010, he has provided many ideas and validated methods. To this day, he remains an expert in the development, optimisation and practical implementation of a wide variety of analysis methods, whose opinion and many years of practical experience are highly valued.