The 13th Iberoamerican VLB Symposium Brewing & Filling Technology of the VLB took place in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, from 4 to 6 September 2023. With 185 participants from 21 nations, this event thus once again consolidated its status as one of the most important communication and knowledge platforms for technical executives in the brewing industry in Latin America.
Since 2008, the Iberoamerican VLB Symposium Brewing & Filling Technology has established itself in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions as a top-class specialist event for technical managers from the brewing and beverage industry. After stops in Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Guatemala, among others, Colombia was the host country for this series of events for the first time this year. With a population of around 52 million and an annual beer production of about 28 million hl the country is the second largest beer nation in South America after Brazil. The clear market leader is Cervecería Bavaria, which belongs to AB InBev. Another important player in the beer and beverage market is Central Cervecera de Colombia, a joint venture of the Colombian Grupo Postobon and Compañía Cervecerías Unidas SA (CCU) from Chile. In addition, a lively craft beer scene has developed in the beer-savvy country.
The programme of lectures dealt with current aspects and innovations in the fields of brewing raw materials, brewhouse technology, fermentation, yeast management, beer filtration and digitalisation of brewing processes. The lectures were presented by experts from the VLB, invited speakers from breweries and competent industry representatives. As usual, the symposium was held in English and Spanish with simultaneous translation.
Insights into brewing practice were not neglected either: the breweries of Cervecería Bavaria in Tocancipá and Central Cervecera de Colombia in Sesquilé could be visited as part of the supporting programme. And the convivial welcome evening took place at the invitation of Platinum sponsor Ziemann Holvrieka at the craft brewery "3 Cordilleras" in Bogotá.
"On behalf of the VLB and all the participants, we would like to thank in particular the teams from Cervecería Bavaria and Central Cervecera de Colombia for their fantastic support and hospitality," said Roberto Biurrun, lead organiser of the Iberoamerican VLB Symposium since 2015. "The same goes for our sponsors, of which I would like to highlight Ziemann Holvrieka, Fermentis, Anton Paar, Hopsteiner, KHS, Steinecker and Pall."
The next Iberoamerican VLB Symposium Brewing & Filling Technology is scheduled to take place in Mexico City (CDMX) between 4 and 6 September 2024.
The event was also enthusiastically received on the part of the participants:
"A great event. Thanks to all who visited our brewery" (Andrés Barón, Central Cervecera de Colombia/3 Cordilleras) / "Thanks for the great hospitality to the colleagues from Colombia!" (Joseduardo Armas, Cervecería Polar) / "An enriching opportunity to broaden one's knowledge and make new contacts" (Carlos Donizete Parra, Engarrafador Moderno) / "Excellent event, I enjoyed the days!" (Daniela El Alam, Pentair Haffmans) / "Good people, interesting content and great format - looking forward to 2024!" (David Alegre, BayWa Hops) / "We were honoured to support this top event as a Platinum Sponsor" (Florian Schneider, Ziemann Holvrieka).
