On July 22, the Certified Brewmaster Course 2022 came to an end. 22 graduates of this year and a total of 7 participants from 2020 and 2021, who due to the pandemic could only now take their exam, (finally) received their certificates. During the ceremony, VLB Managing Director Dr. Josef Fontaine acknowledged the students' achievements and thanked all VLB employees who had contributed to the success of the course.
In January, 30 participants from 18 nations took part in Phase 1 (theory) of the Certified Brewmaster training. The majority followed the lectures online, only about a third were on site in Berlin from the beginning. Phase 2, the practical part of the training, began in mid-May. Now, not only those participants who had joined online during the first three months came in person. They were joined by students who had to interrupt the training in the 2020 and 2021 pandemic years.
About 25 VLB staff or faculty members gave lectures and practicals in the in-house laboratories and in the study brewery. External guest lectures with Tim Schrodt and Julia Rossmann from Endress+Hauser and Dr. Roland Pahl-Dobrick from Pall enriched the extensive program. But a smoothing post-pandemic premiere cushioned all these efforts: After a two-year break, students were finally allowed to taste the results of their craft again at the legendary Guildhouse (Zunfthaus).
Course instructor Burghard thanked all contributors for their support. He was pleased that almost all participants were able to successfully complete the course again this year, and he invited them to join the VLB alumni network „ehem. VLBer“. At the end, things got emotional: course coordinator Heike Flohr is retiring in spring 2023 and dismissed her protégés with a special farewell: „It's always a bit sad when you see people leave. But it also makes me happy that in the last course I supervised from start to finish, almost everyone was able to finish the course and finally have their certificate in their hands without the pandemic having too much of a hand in it.“
On the last day, a total of 25 VLB Certified Brewmasters proudly received their certificates in person. Some participants unfortunately had to leave beforehand