Issue 14 - September 2021

Foreword By Benet Fité Luís

Lene Mølskov Bech

Summer is nearing its end, and in some countries there is already some rain and cooler temperatures. We, at EBC, hope you’ve had a restful sunny time and were able to relax over a few good beers. In this issue of our newsletter you will read about our preparations for the big Brewers Forum and EBC Congress event in Madrid next year and the “Call for Abstracts” currently online and ready to receive high-quality abstracts. An update on the deliberations of the EBC Analysis Group will round off the picture. Step by step, all our activities are getting back to normal, or rather, the new normal. May I also draw attention to the fact that the EBC Brewing Science Group will meet ahead of the 14th Trends in Brewing, in Leuven. Hats off to the organisers to have opted for an in-presence conference. We wish them a good attendance and lively discussions.

Cheers,

Benet Fité Luís
EBC President

EBC at work

EBC Executive Team

The EBC Executive Team met in September to discuss the mid-term EBC Strategy whose aim is to increase its role as a European centre for knowledge creation and transfer, promotion of excellence in research and production of methods of reference for the brewing industry. The Workplan for 2022, implementing the first steps of this Strategy, has also been discussed and endorsed. It will see the creation of a series of hand-on leaflets on topics of relevance for the industry, including its growing segment of small breweries, supported by the organization of a few webinars. The EBC will also step up its presence on social media raising awareness and visibility on its existing assets. The production and revision of Analytica methods will also continue with the aim of servicing the industry with references on different issues. The revision of the Manuals of Good Practices will also continue with the planned publication of the EBC Manual of Good Practice: Hops and Hop Products and the update of a third manual. The 38th EBC Congress, organized together with the Brewers Forum in Madrid, 29-May to 01 June 2022, will also be a priority for the EBC that will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2022.

Call for participants

Do you want to become an active member in the development and improvement of the standardized EBC methods?
The Beer and Wort subcommittee is actually seeking participants for the following trials: Multi-Element determination in filtered beer by through inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

  • Status: Collaborative trial Planned for Q4 2021/Q1 2022
  • Skills needed: Being capable of determining elements in beer by ICP-MS, access to an ICP-MS instrument
  • Work expected: Determine a range of elements in 3 filtered beer samples

Please contact the EBC Secretariat at info@brewersofeurope.eu and indicate your name, email and physical address (to be used for sample delivery). You will be recontacted by the EBC before the trial starts to inform about the start of the project and work out the shipment of the sample.

EBC Analysis Group

The EBC Analysis Group met on the 08th of September to take stock on progress in different areas. Mrs Julia Bär, chair of the Sub-Committee Sensory, updated members on the current work to review and update existing methods and to work on new methods on flavour stability and drinkability. In case you are interested to join the sub-committee in quality of expert, have a look at the call for experts in the 13th edition of the Newsletter. Then, updates have been shared regarding work by the Sub-Committee Barley & Malt where results on the gushing test are being compiled and analysed. Other workstreams are ongoing and will lead to new collaborative trials being launched in 2022. Concerning the Sub-Committee Beer & Wort, the method on gluten test is about to be finalized and should be released in Q1-2022. The collaborative trial on LAB color measurement will be started early 2022 and a collaborative trial on heavy metals detection in filtered beers by ICP-MS will be launched in the first half of 2022 (see below for the Call for Participants). The Sub-Committee Hops also presented upcoming projects and a new Guideline Method on Iso-α-, α- and β-acids in stabilised non-isomerised hop pellets by HPLC was approved (see below). The next meeting of the EBC Analysis Group is scheduled for end November, together with experts from the sub-committees.

Thank you Marta Orive!

The entire EBC Analysis Group and experts from sub-committees, especially the sub-committee Microbiology, want to thank Marta Orive for her intense participation and leadership in the work and development of the Microbiology EBC Analytica. Marta Orive started her involvement in the work of the EBC in the mid 90’s when she joined together with Gudrun Vogeser the Sub-Committee Microbiology with the important task to revive the group. The mission has been accomplished with success as lots of methods have been either updated or developed over the last 25 years under the co-leadership of Marta. Having joined the Mahou San Miguel Group in December 1984, Marta Orive worked in the Quality Assurance and R&D&I department as a Head of Microbiology Lab until recently where she retired. We wish Marta the best for her retirement and hope to meet her again in Madrid on the occasion of the Brewers Forum / 38th EBC Congress for a beer with fellow friends and colleagues!

EBC PUBLICATIONS

New method 7.11.1 – Iso-α-, α- and β-Acids in Stabilized Non-Isomerised Hop Pellets by HPLC

A new EBC Analytica method is now available on BrewUp! This method is about the simultaneous determination of iso-α-, α- and β-acids in stabilised non-isomerised hop pellets using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The method is a Guideline Method (A valid method that could not be tested through a collaborative trial) and is based on existing method 7.11. This Method can be used to determine the content of iso-α-, α- and β-acids in stabilised non-isomerised hop pellets.

It is available as part of the yearly Analytica EBC subscription (109€ excl. VAT) and as an individual method (29€ excl. VAT).

EBC CONGRESS 2022

Call for Abstracts

Calling all brewing and malting specialists, fermentation scientists and quality managers: The call for abstracts for both poster and oral presentations for the 38th EBC congress (to be held 29 May to 2 June 2022, at IFEMA / Madrid) is now open.

As in previous years the call pertains to submissions across a wide range of brewing related fields, in academic research and industrial development. Kindly note that the call will close on 10 October 2021. Only submissions entered via the submission abstract tool at https://abstracts.europeanbreweryconvention.eu/ will be considered for review and possible acceptance at the congress.

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