On 13 January, this year's VLB Berlin Certified Brewmaster Course started. 37 participants from 23 nations, including for the first time from Nicaragua, Uruguay and Puerto Rico, will complete a learning-intensive program in the next six months.

Heike Flohr, coordinator of the Certified Brewmaster Course, and Burghard Meyer, head of the international brewing courses, welcomed the group on the morning of the first day in the Singha-room of the VLB's training and education center. In her short speech, Flohr made it clear that the course was no easy task and successful completion could not be taken for granted. "All of you can only do this if we work together as a team ," emphasized Flohr. The participants can expect a demanding schedule and a high workload. The course coordinator went on to say that studying requires diligence and attention.

More than 20 teachers from the individual VLB research institutes teach the students in all areas relevant to the brewery - from raw materials to malt production and brewhouse technology to quality assurance, packaging and logistics. In the study brewery and in the laboratories, the budding master brewers will practically deepen their theoretical knowledge. Of course there are also breaks: After the intermediate examinations at the beginning of March, the spring excursion takes place; in May the students compete against each other in the “Hop Brew Contest”.