After a long and thirsty break due to the corona pandemic, Mid-January 2023 about 200 members and friends of the Center for Biotechnology met in the CeBiTec foyer to taste and judge four home-brewed beers.

In the seminar "Process development and process management in modern brewing", the participating students first learned about the theoretical background of brewing beer. Then, with the support of  a student “master brewer”, they worked in four groups to create their own recipes. The students' creativity was expressed not only in the recipes, but also in the choice of names for the beers: Annalena Beerbock (Bock Beer), Brewdolf Renbier (Wheat Beer), GALA (Ginger Amber Lemon Ale) and Skalden Ale (Red Ale). The brewing process started about six months ago for the bock beer and three to four months ago for the other beers, as an appropriate maturation period is what makes the beers tasty in the first place.

The Herford Brewery supported the event with four dispensing systems including equipment and a barrel of Pilsener beer. The German pilsner was a good starting point for further tasting of the home-brewed beers in the competition. All the beers were very well received. Both, the audience and the jury rated almost identically.

The first prize went to the Wheat Beer “Brewdolf Renbier” with its fine fruit aromas, followed by the impressive red brown coloured Skalden Ale, the Annalena Beerbock with its perfect dense foam and the most pleasant smelling Gala. At 8:30 p.m. all 230 litres of draught beer were well spent. Many thanks to the great audience, the jury and the Herforder Brewery for sponsoring the event. We are looking forward to the next time!

The CeBiTec

The Center for Biotechnology is one of the largest faculty-spanning central academic institutions at Bielefeld University. Its purpose is to bundle the biotechnological activities and research projects at the university, to foster cross-linking of research approaches and technologies from different research fields and to develop innovative projects within its two main research areas: Large Scale Genomics and Big Data Bioinformatics and Metabolic Engineering of Unicellular Systems and Bioproduction.