Shaun Weston is managing editor digital, FoodBev Media. This is a personal blog and views expressed are his own
BrauBeviale kicked off in Nuremberg this morning at NürnbergMesse. I watched the Bavarian Beer Medal being presented during the opening ceremony, and made my way through halls 9 and 1 to kick-start my two days here.
My colleague Claire Phoenix met with DSM product developer Kjeld Olesen, who announced the launch of Brewers Compass, the evolution of an old product that’s been in development for the past year. It’s to meet demand for reduced malt availability, as barley is actually more cost-effective and has a lower carbon footprint than malt.
Private label in particular is showing an interest in this, and areas such as central Africa and the former Soviet Union. It’s also useful in soft drinks that can be blended with fruits such as blackberry and raspberry. The barley is delivered in 20kg drums of liquid.
Claire also visited the Rexam stand, where she met John Revess, who was keen to share his thoughts about the company’s new sustainability initiative. She tasted a citrus energy drink from the new Fusion bottle and found it ‘well finished and easy to drink from’. The company claims that PET has a much shorter shelf life than metal cans, and is seeing growth in India with companies such as SABMiller. Apparently, the ratio there between non-alcoholic drinks and beer in cans is 50:50.
Peter Suhling (who’s sharing the Schoeller Arca stand) demonstrated his multipack carriers that are made of recyclable PET, so therefore more sustainable than multipack shrink film. Three water companies are currently using them: Gerolsteiner, Peterstaler Brunnen and Wüllner with Carolinen Brunnen.
We’re off to more meetings, both of us burning a hole in our camera memory cards. Photos to follow!
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