BRAUWELT International 3-2025

As if all the crises and challenges of recent years weren’t enough. For some time now, populations around the world have been following the general trend towards pursuing a healthier lifestyle. On top of that, several months ago, the WHO issued a report stating that consuming alcohol is generally harmful to a person’s health. This has exacerbated the already existing lull in beer sales and has perceptibly soured the mood in the industry. Our author Elva Ellen Kowald has tackled this topic on p. 133. She appraises the current situation and endeavors to find a ray of light in the darkness. She doesn’t envision a world without beer but rather one in which this beverage will endure as it has for thousands of years.

Modification – Despite a successful World Beer Cup and well-attended seminars at the Craft Brewers Conference, the number of attendees at the CBC and Brew Expo America in Indianapolis at the end of April 2025 did not reach the soaring heights it had in previous years. Nevertheless, the events in and around the CBC had much to offer in terms of practical relevance, as one can read in the article on p. 154.

Explosive – Were you not able to attend the events in Indianapolis? Well, in order to successfully navigate these doldrums, perhaps you’re considering bottling or canning beverages other than beer, conceivably those containing little to no alcohol or hops? Then, you might want to stroll into the Magpie & Marten and take a gander at p. 138 first! This issue’s column is all about correctly producing and packaging such beverages, which may well prevent wet shards of glass from flying at your customers. And if you have any specific questions on the subject, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us! You can find us as BRAUWELT International on LinkedIn, or email us at .

Back to craftsmanship – For brewers, the production of beer remains their main focus. And brewhouse operations are crucial for the quality of the finished product. Issues with, for example, raw materials, can easily be corrected through altering the processes of milling, mashing or wort boiling. Turn to p. 158 to find a handy compilation of practical ideas for alleviating a variety of problems encountered in beer production. We also take a special look at hop additions. In many dry-hopped, top-fermented beers such as IPAs, a certain degree of cloudiness is an essential character of the beer. A study has shown how strongly the amount and timing of the hop addition on the cold side influences beer turbidity (p. 144).

With these and other captivating articles, you should have plenty of reading material to pass the time until the drinktec, the next major trade fair, which takes place this coming September in Munich, Germany. Preparations are, of course, already underway, and we’ll provide additional updates on this event in the next issue of BRAUWELT International.

Authors

• Lydia Junkersfeld