Europe | The 39th EBC Congress, together with the Brewers Forum, will be held in Lille, France from 26 to the 30 May 2024. As is customary, the EBC programme of the joint Lille 2024 event will rely exclusively on technical contributions from the brewing scientific community and EBC stakeholders and will cover a a wide variety of brewing scientific topics and brewery technological aspects. Abstracts can be submitted from from Monday, 17 July, until Tuesday, 17 October 2023.

Climate change altering hop cultivation

IHGC in Ljubljana | This year’s hop meeting from June 25 to 29 in Ljubljana broke all previous records: with over 80 participants from 15 countries, 36 talks and 20 posters, it was the best-attended event staged by the Scientific-Technical Commission of the International Hop Growers’ Convention (IHGC).

Brussels | The EU average collection of glass packaging for recycling was 80.1% in 2021, according to the latest data released in July by Close the Glass Loop, an industry action platform to unite the glass collection and recycling value chain.

Brewing in a challenging world

15th Trends in Brewing | Since the last Trends in Brewing in 2018, our world has changed dramatically. In view of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine – with its far-reaching consequences – the title of the 15th Trends in Brewing International Malting and Brewing Symposium, held in Ghent in Belgium from 2 – 6 April 2023, was extremely fitting: Brewing in a challenging world – producing quality and affordable beers in a world with scarcity.

New Editor-in-Chief | In June 2023, Inge Russell steps down as Editor-in-Chief of JASBC after five years of impressive service to ASBC's author community. She passes the torch to Scott Britton.

Practical approach | The 4th VLB Africa Brewing Conference (ABC) will take place in Douala, Cameroon, from 12–14 June 12 2023. The conference is specially tailored to African brewers, dealing with current issues and taking on a practical approach, as is characteristic of VLB conferences.

Hop analysis | In order to test the performance of the analytical methods for hops, the Working Group of Hop Analysis AHA organises collaborative analyses worldwide. The AHA Collaborative Trial portfolio 2023 includes methods of analysis recently published in EBC Analytica, as well as an annual interlaboratory trial for the quantification of hop-derived aroma compounds in (dry-hopped) beer.

DEI | The Brewers of Europe are delighted to announce the launch of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) database, which will serve as a hub for showcasing best practices from European brewers and value chain partners. This database will allow others within the sector to take inspiration and drive further and more effective uptake of DEI practices across the industry.

Perspectives | Europe’s beer sector is optimistic about returning to its pre-pandemic heights in 2023, The Brewers of Europe Secretary General Pierre-Olivier Bergeron said today at the ninth edition of Beer Serves Europe in Brussels on December, 8.