Innovation becomes tradition: the 4th Beer Law Day

Dr Jörg Lehmann, CEO of Kulmbacher Brauerei AG, had already set the tone for the topic the evening before the Beer Law Day at the museums in the Mönchshof. Falling sales, rising costs, changing consumer behaviour and bureaucracy pose major challenges for the entire industry, but especially for small and medium-sized breweries. Approaches must therefore be found that go beyond the core business.

The keynote speech by Prof. Dr Martina Gastl, Head of the Weihenstephan Research Centre for Brewing and Food Quality (BLQ) at the Technical University of Munich, provided an overview of current market trends and technological developments in the brewing and beverage industry. PD Dr Mathias Hutzler, Deputy Head of BLQ, then focused specifically on alternative yeasts and fermentations. For example, a yeast that enables the production of beers with 0.0 per cent alcohol by volume without complex dealcoholisation shows great potential. This yeast was only recently discovered in beer cellars under the Plassenburg castle in Kulmbach.

Dr Tilman Reinhardt from the University of Bayreuth then addressed the legal challenges of innovative technologies. On the one hand, this involved the complex authorisation procedures for novel foods and genetically modified organisms, and on the other, the increasingly strict rules for sustainability and health labelling. After all, there is a growing awareness in science and politics that the legal framework needs to be changed. Some pitfalls could also be avoided through forward-looking design.

In the second part, Prof Dr Günter Schamel from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano explained ‘Paths to regional success’ using the example of the South Tyrolean food industry. The key lies in cooperation and targeted coordination, so that in the end all players, whether within the framework of cooperatives, geographical indications, umbrella brands or leading brands, can contribute to joint success and quickly integrate innovations.

Lawyer Dr Christian Böhler from the law firm Squire Patton Boggs used the example of non-alcoholic spirits to illustrate the diverse and complex issues that substitute products can raise. A dynamic legal development concerns, among other things, labelling law, packaging law (deposit obligation) and the question of when drinks can be labelled alcohol-free.

This was followed by an entrepreneurial impulse from Dr Mark Schneeberger, Chief Technology Officer of the start-up EatBeer Biotech. He emphasised the great importance of alternative proteins for global climate protection and the economic potential of an innovative circular economy. In this respect, breweries have many relevant technical prerequisites and expertise that can be mobilised for the transformation.

This impetus formed the basis for the concluding panel discussion chaired by Prof Dr Nils Grosche from the University of Bayreuth. Martin Schöffel, State Secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance and Home Affairs, lawyer Lena Schwertl, legal advisor to the Bavarian Brewers' Association, and Prof Dr Rebecca Preller, scientific coordinator of Food Valley Kulmbach, discussed the key question ‘How can practice, politics and science support change?’. The solutions concern various levels. Conditions must be created at national and European level so that the industry can utilise its creative potential for the development of sustainable and healthy products. Time is an absolutely critical factor here. Any risks posed by new technologies are not necessarily more threatening than the known problems of the current system. At regional level, mechanisms need to be found to integrate small and medium-sized enterprises in particular into knowledge and innovation systems. With this in mind, Prof Kai Purnhagen concluded the event with an optimistic outlook: With its interdisciplinary orientation and regional roots, the Kulmbach campus of the University of Bayreuth can make a contribution to the transformation of the brewing and beverage sector.