Obituary: Oscar Wong, craft beer pioneer and founder of Highland Brewery, Asheville

Obituary | Oscar Wong, a retired engineer who founded the Highland Brewing Company as a hobby, died on 25 May, aged 84.

Berlin | The Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin (VLB) e.V. is initiating a significant generational change: After more than two decades of dedicated service as VLB Managing Director, Dr. Josef Fontaine will hand over the position in October 2025. His successor will be Dr. Björn Klotzbücher, who will take up his position at the VLB on 1 July 1 2025.

Warsaw | On Tuesday, 13 May 2025, the Brewers of Europe’s General Assembly elected Mr Christian Weber, CEO of the Karlsberg brewery and current president of the German Brewers’ Association (Deutscher Brauer-Bund), as its new president.

Bülach | The Vetropack Group, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of glass packaging, has announced that Riccardo Gobbis has taken over the position as Managing Director of Vetropack Italia S.r.l. as of 1 April 2025. With his extensive experience in the glass packaging industry, Riccardo Gobbis will be responsible for driving the further development of Vetropack's business in Italy, to fully leverage the potential of the highly modern production facility in Boffalora sopra Ticino.

Wolnzach | At the beginning of 2025, Alexander Epplen has joined HVG as one of their international sales managers. He will be responsible for North America, France and the UK and will take care of the craft beer sector.

Obituary: Jobst Meier zu Biesen

The German entrepreneur, who got a dozen breweries in Africa off the ground, died on 13 December, aged 81.

Australia | Hop Products Australia (HPA) has appointed Owen Johnston as their new CEO, following an extensive global process with the assistance of Derwent Search. The current Head of Sales & Marketing will commence his new position when current Managing Director & CEO Tim Lord retires at the end of April 2025.

Nuremberg | The scientific magazine BrewingScience is pleased to announce that Dr. Christian Schubert joins its reviewers team as an expert in the field of special analytics. His current research focuses on the ageing stability of beer and the importance of additives in the brewing process.

Brussels | As of 20 September 2024, Zorica Borković and Núria Feliu Besora will be co-chairing the EBC sub-committee Microbiology, replacing Mrs Gudrun Vogeser who had been chairing it for the last 15 years.

Providing important added value

New EBC President | The baton was handed over at this year’s EBC Congress in Lille at the end of May 2024. There, Benet Fité took his leave as President of the EBC and Paul Lefebvre, 6th generation owner of the Lefebvre brewery in Quenast, Belgium, took over. This is the first time in a long time that a representative of the medium-sized brewing industry has been at the helm of Europe’s largest institution for the promotion of brewing science. BRAUWELT International spoke to Paul Lefebvre about his plans and ideas for the EBC.

Obituary | Giorgio Zasio, an eminent and celebrated member of the Italian brewing industry, died unexpectedly on 6 August 2024 in Rome. Zasio was born on 10 December 1941 in Feltre in the province of Belluno, Italy. Immediately after finishing his schooling, he began learning German and completed several internships in breweries in Germany, where he earned enough to finance his studies at the Technical University of Munich-Weihenstephan. In 1962, he was awarded the degree of Diplom Braumeister.

Boulder | Last week, the Brewers Association (BA) – the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to advocating for small and independent American craft brewers –announced the retirement of president and CEO Bob Pease. After 32 years with the Brewers Association, Pease will step down in early 2025 once his successor is in place.

Switzerland | It started as pure consulting services for breweries in and around the filter cellar fifteen years ago. Today, M&L Consulting, a filtration specialist from Switzerland, is responsible for designing and implementing turnkey filtration lines for greenfield projects and looking for optimal solutions for extension and modernisation of existing units. To strengthen the company for the future even further, they are now reinforcing their executive management team.

Brau Union loses Austria’s first net zero innovator and best FMCG communicator

Austria | The well-known beer industry personality, Dr Gabriela-Maria Straka, has left Heineken Austria on 21 June. She was the firm’s spokesperson for 12 years, the first female member of its management board since 2021, and, above all, the executive in charge of driving Heineken/Brau Union’s sustainability agendas.