Service Directory (English)

VLB Berlin e.V.
Services

Analytics

Consulting

Teaching

Laboratory equipment
science
for brewing, malting,
beverage and
spirits industries
Research and Teaching Institute
for Brewing in Berlin (VLB)
www.vlb-berlin.org/en
2
VLB Berlin
   Our goals – your advantages
VLB has its roots in the German brewing
and beverage industry but also operates
internationally. Customers all around the
world take advantage of our training courses and of our broad experience in the
fields of analyses and consulting.
In recent years we have also opened our
portfolio for the Russian and Spanish speaking markets.
VLB Berlin is one of the leading internationally independent competence centres
for application-oriented research, training,
and services for the brewing and beverage
industries, their suppliers and customers.
Close partnerships with our members,
the exchange of current information in
our Technical-Scientific and BusinessManagement Committees as well as the
proximity to our customers guarantee
that our services are anchored in practical
experience.
We use our industrial community and
mission-oriented research, our close links
to the Technische Universität Berlin and our
intensive contacts with associations and
institutes on a national and international
level to continually extend our expertise.
This is used to the advantage of our members and customers for the development
of innovative solutions to current problems
and long-term core topics within our industry.
We provide up-to-date analyses, customeroriented services and competent consult­
ing. Our high standards are secured by
means of modern technical equipment as
well as the high motivation, qualifications
and communication capabilities of our
employees.
The knowledge gained in our work is also
integrated into our education and training
courses which are very practice-oriented.
As the organiser of national and international specialist conventions, we provide
a platform for an interdisciplinary, crosscompany exchange of information.
Since 1883, VLB Berlin has been an independent institute at the interface of
research, teaching and industrial practice.
We are continually developing our competencies also at an international level,
and adjust our service offers to meet the
continually changing requirements of our
members and customers as well as the
whole beverage sector.
Let us know your demands!
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en
The Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brau­
erei in Berlin, VLB, (Research and Teaching
Institute for Brewing in Berlin) is a German
institute with a focus on beer brewing and
malting.
It was founded in 1883. Today around 140
staff are engaged in the fields of research,
teaching, service and information for the
brewing, malting, beverage and distilled
spirits industries as well as their suppliers.
3
VLB Berlin
   Our portfolio
Content
Research S. 3
Barley and malt
S. 4
Technological consulting
S. 4
Quality control for beer, intermediate goods and auxiliaries S. 5
Water and waste water treatment
S. 5
Pure yeast cultures S. 6
Testing of packaging
S. 6
Training and conventions
S. 7
Publishing
S. 7
Portfolio for the soft drink and non-alcoholic beverage industry
S. 8
Portfolio for the spirits industry
S. 9
Portfolio for craft brewers
S. 10
Laboratory equipment
S. 11
Contact
S. 11
   Research
Innovations are the key to success. Hence
VLB invests a large share of its resources in
research. As well as having a close co-operation with Technische Universität Berlin, collective and contract-oriented research play
an important role. In addition our experts
are deeply involved in the working groups
of international research organisations like
EBC, MEBAK, ASBC, CNIFFI, DLG etc.
Application-oriented research and development is one of VLB's core tasks. Our projects
are financially supported by different public
institutions as the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology with its different
boards and associations like “Otto von Guericke“ (AiF), EuroNorm and the Advance­
ments of the German Brewing Industry, a
branch of the German Brewers‘ Association.
Additional support comes from private institutions and also not least from the VLB's
membership fees. In addition to this, many
industry clients co-operate with VLB – also
in international projects.
VLB's research institutes cover the entire
value-added chain of the brewing industry
– from raw materials to logistics. Our interdisciplinary approach enables us to develop
solutions with a high practical relevance.
Our research institutes work in the following
areas:
• Brewing raw materials
• Water and waste water
• Brewing and malting technologies
• Fermentation technology
• Microbiology
• Plant and packaging technologies
• Analysis, quality assurance, product
development
• Logistics and management
Last, but not least, the results of our research work contribute to the development
of innovative services and high-quality training courses and are thus available to the
whole industry.
 brewmaster@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/research-development
4
VLB Berlin
   Barley and malt
VLB’s Research Institute for Raw Materials
of­fers consulting and analyses on all questions related to raw materials for brewing
purposes.
Our service profile:
• Development of agronomic techniques
to maintain the quality of malting cereals
• Varietal testing and recommendations
worldwide: Spring barley, winter barley,
wheat and hops
• Varietal identification of barley and malt
in commercial samples using protein
electrophoresis
• Evaluation of the technical quality of
cereals involving hand evaluation, grain
analysis, micromaltings (50 g to 50 kg)
and malt analysis
• Examination of the hygienic status of
malting cereals and malt – mould contamination, mycotoxins, gushing
VLB’s Research Institute for Raw Materials is
a reference laboratory and a board of arbitration for the cereal trade in Germany.
• Special analyses: DNA testing, PCR,
mycotoxins, pesticides
Our laboratories meet the requirements of
the international standard DIN EN ISO/IEC
17025:2005.
• Contract research in all areas of the production of raw materials for breeders,
farmers, grain traders and the malt and
brewing industry
 fir@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/fir
   Technological consulting
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en
Our research institutes and consultancy
services are reliable partners for all questions of brewing and malting technology,
engineering and packaging technology.
Our areas of expertise are:
• All fields of brewing and beverage
technology as wort production, high
gravity, yeast management, fermentation
control, filtration, stabilisation
• Filling lines: validation, optimisation
• Optimisation of all processes in brew­eries,
malt houses and at filling operations
• Brewing trials in our pilot brewery
(wort production up to filling)
• Trouble-shooting with special equipment
(high-speed camera, endoscopy “Tank-oScope“, acoustical camera)
• Microbiological and hygiene check-ups
• Engineering and validation of plants
• Feasibility studies/expert opinions
• Water and energy management
• Status control of hygienic design of
machines and corresponding equipment,
CIP strategy checks, CCP identification
• Product development
(alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages)
• Validation of storage and transport
conditions
Whether your requirements are for a short
term intervention on-site, a regular review
or the final inspection of new machinery –
VLB experts provide support for your company and help you to optimise your product
and your production processes efficiently.
 brewmaster@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/services
5
VLB Berlin
   Quality control for beer,
intermediate goods and auxiliaries
Our laboratories offer a broad variety of
analytical services for breweries and malt
houses and the whole beverage industry:
• Beer/wort analyses: e.g. Ingredients,
head retention, dissolved gases, phenols,
non-biological stability, gushing
• Tasting: Sensory evaluation of beer,
spirits, soft drinks, water and juices
• Microbiological analyses of beer, wort,
water, beverages
• Particle measurement and identification
of sources of turbidity
• Special analyses: Gas chromatography
(GC), high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), atomic absorption spectro­
scopy (AAS) for trace and residue analyses (NDMA, flavour ageing, mycotoxins),
enzymatic analyses, isotonic measurement with osmometer, ion chromatography (IC), mass spectography combined
with gas chromatography, thermal desorption (TD-GC-MS), HPLC (HPLC-MS-MS),
inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), (e.g. for detecting
heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, nitrosamines), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR),
fingerprint analyses (ion patterns, aroma
profiles, aging carbonyls)
Our experts can also assist you in questions
concerning the development of new bev­
erages.
All analyses are performed in laboratories
which meet the demands of the interna­
tional standard DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005.
• Hops and hop contents
• Intermediate products and auxiliaries
like wort, filter aids etc.
 labor@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/labor
   Water and waste water treatment
Water purification, cleaning, disinfection
and waste water treatment are usually
areas with a high potential for optimisation
in the brewing and beverage industries.
Our Research Institutes can assist you.
Take advantage of our broad experience in
the fields of:
• Water purification: Removal of iron and
manganese, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, disinfection
• Water management: Saving, recycling
• Water quality: Assessment of drinking
water, brewing and process water
• Analyses: Ingredients, anions, cations,
residues, chemical and biological demand (COD, BOD)
• Waste water treatment: Aerobic and
anaerobic treatment, engineering and
optimisation of waste water treatment
plants, trouble shooting
• Efficiency tests for disinfectants and
preservative agents
• Spray shadow tests
• Legionella test
Officially accredited laboratory for water
analyses according to EU Drinking Water
Ordinance.
 fiwat@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/fiwat
6
VLB Berlin
   Pure yeast cultures
The VLB yeast collection offers around 100
yeast strains for application in the brewery.
Most of them are bottom (e.g. Pils, Lager
or Märzen) or top fermenting types (e.g.
wheat beer, Alt beer or Kölsch). We also
offer yeast strains for beer specialties like
Porter or Berliner Weisse (sour beer). Additionally some wine, champagne and spirits
yeasts are also available.
We deliver the pure yeast cultures worldwide:
• Slope cultures in test tubes
• Dry yeast on filter paper
• Liquid concentrates in aluminium bottles (7 litre liquid cultures concentrated
down to 700 – 800 millilitres)
Additional services
• Screening and growing of special yeast
strains in EBC-test tubes
• A variety of culture media for quality
assurance
• Maintanance of breweries‘ house yeasts
Take advantage of the diversity which is
offered by the application of special yeast
strains in the brewery!
 biolab@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/biolab
   Testing of packaging
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en
For more than 40 years the VLB conducts a
laboratory that is specialised on testing of
packaging and means of packaging for the
beverage industry.
Whether glass or plastic bottles, crown
corks, screw caps, crates, cans, secondary
packaging – our Testing Laboratory for
Packaging can assist you with nearly every
problem.
Our testing and service programme covers
• Glass bottles: Testing of dimensions,
internal pressure resistance, quality of
surfaces and coatings, line simulation
• Plastic bottles: Testing of gas permea­
tion through bottles and closures, testing
of preforms, detection of acetaldehyde
• Cans: General quality tests (dimensions,
metal thickness, capacity), resistance to
vertical load
• Crates: Compression tests, testing of
soft-touch handles and inmould labels
• Secondary packaging: Testing of corrugated board trays, six packs
• Testing of adhesives
Contractual laboratory of the German
Association of Brewers and of the Association of the German Juice Industry. VLB‘s
Packaging Laboratory develops the STLBs
(special technical terms of delivery and
standard conditions) for beverage pack­
aging in cooperation with the beverage
sector‘s associations.
• Making of stencils for fill height
inspection
 vp@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/vp
• Assistance for the choice of adequate
packaging
• Labels: Evaluation of paper and printing
quality, ultrasonic tests
• Glases: Testing of stability, decor
7
VLB Berlin
   Training and conventions
VLB Berlin offers a wide range of education
and training programmes for brewers and
employees of the beverage and distilling
industries, also in English and Russian.
Certified Brewmaster Course
This popular training course for prospec­
tive brewing professionals starts every year
in January in Berlin. All lessons are held
entirely in English. The course provides the
basic knowledge for the technical management of a brewery. The total duration is 6
months including a lot of practical work in
our pilot brewery and laboratories.
Study programmes for brewers at
university level
In co-operation with the Technische Universität Berlin regular study programmes
for brewers (e.g. B.Sc./M.Sc., DiplomBraumeister) are offered. Although some
lectures of the main-study period are held
in English, advanced German skills are necessary.
Brewing in a Nutshell
2-day residential course providing the
basics of beer brewing – also available as
online course
Course Programmes in Russian
Every second year in January a 8-week training course is held for professional brewers
from the CIS countries in Berlin. In alternating years, a 4-week seminar for craft
and micro­brewers is offered. All lessons are
entirely in Russian.
Craft Brewing in Practice
“Craft Brewing in Practice” is a 10-day full
time training course providing up-to-date
knowledge in the field of pub and micro
brewing.
Portfolio for craft brewers  P. 10
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/training
Inhouse training courses
We also offer customised inhouse seminars
in English, Russian and Spanish.
Conventions and symposia
VLB organises several regular congresses
for the brewing and beverage industries
– nationally and internationally. In addi­
tion we offer Workshops and symposia for
special topics like analyses or packaging:
• October Convention in Berlin
• Brewing and Engineering Congress
• Iberoamerican Symposium Brewing &
Filling Technology
• Russian Brewers Seminar
• Brewing Conference Bangkok
• Brewing Conference Beijing
• European MicroBrew Symposium
• IfGB-Forum for the distilled spirits industry
 brewmaster@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/events
   Publishing
”Technology Brewing and Malting“ by Wolfgang Kunze is the English translation of
the leading German textbook for the train­
ing of brewers and maltsters. The book
with its practice oriented descriptions has
become an unique source of knowledge
for all brewing professionals. Since first
being published in 1961 the book has been
translated into 7 languages including English, Russian, Chinese and Spanish. All in all
more than 55,000 copies have been sold
all over the world.
Other English titles are “The Yeast in the
Brewery” and “Processing of Varius Adjuncts in Beer Production“.
In addition the VLB publishes various reference books and the journal “Brauerei
Forum“ 9 times a year in German, twice a
year in English. Another source of information is our frequent email newsletter.
 pr@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/publications
8
VLB Berlin
   Portfolio for the soft drink and non-alcoholic beverage industry
Non-alcoholic drinks belong to a growing
segment of the beverage market world­
wide. VLB Berlin offers for alcohol-free beer,
soft drinks or mineral water etc. suitable instruments for quality assurance. We also offer compatible services for production and
filling processes.
Filling lines
• Evaluation and optimisation of technical and quality performance
• Validation of aseptic processes
and much more  P. 4, Consulting
Testing of quality properties
• Determination of Degrees Brix (sugar
content) in all beverages
(down to milli-Brix)
• Stability of colours
• Analyses of vitamins
• Fingerprinting in terms of quality
assessment of beverages
• Determination of all relevant ions
• Determination of all relevant organic
acids
• Sugar spectrum of beverages (reducing
and non-reducing sugars)
• Determination of ethanol (down to
trace analysis)
• Determination of ingredients like caffeine, taurine, gluconic acid and others
• All kind of testing for non-alcoholic beers
• Water analyses  P. 5
Residue analysis
• Detection of heavy metals
• Detection of pesticides and mycotoxins
• Identification of contaminations with
organic compounds (acetaldehyde,
formaldehyde and others)
Miscellaneous test
• Evaluation of oxygen sensitivity of bev­
erages
• Assessment of flavours (natural, artificial, fermented)
• Sensory evaluation of soft drinks, water
and near-water products
• Microbiological stability in terms of
selected contaminants
• Species-specific identification of bev­
erage-spoiling microorganisms
Product and process development
• Sensory evaluation/chemical properties
• Non-alcoholic beers
• Fermented non-alcoholic beverages
• Soft drinks
• Pure yeast cultures and mixed cultures
for non-alcoholic beverage production
• Optimising the stability and shelf-life of
naturally cloudy beverages
• Application of functional carbohydrates
in beverages
 brewmaster@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/services
9
VLB Berlin
   Portfolio for the spirits industry
Under the label “IfGB“ (Institute for Fermentation Technology and Biotechnology) the
VLB Berlin offers since 2003 various services
and trainings for the spirits industry.
Standard and special analytics
Analytics is an essential instrument for qual­
ity assurance. Analyses are e.g. used for documentary evidence of origin of raw materials and products. Analyses help to detect
turbidity sources and are essential for prov­
ing counterfeits.
• Measuring of density, extract and
alcohol
• Gas chromatography (GC) detecting
volatile components
• High pressure liquid chromatography
(HPLC) for measuring non-volatile sub­
stances
• HPLC-MS/MS (mass spectography combined with liquid-Chromatography) for
detecting structures of organic substances, pure or in a mixture. Quan­tifying
e.g. pesticides
• Ion chromatography (IC)
• Stable isotope analysis for documentary
evidence of origin
• ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass
spectrometry) for detection of trace
elements
• Characterisation of proteins
Convention IfGB-Forum
The IfGB promotes professional and scien­
tifical communication between research institutes and industry, between producers of
spirits and their supplyers. The IfGB-Forum is
an annual convention since 2003 which takes
place at variable locations and with technical
visits to various spirits companies or those of
the supply industry.
Distillers course
2-week training for staff of distilleries and
producers of spirituous beverages. Theoretical and practical knowledge from water
concepts via product development up to
quality assurance.
Master distillers course
10-week training. Preparation for the discipline-specific part of the examinations
Master Distiller at the German Chamber of
Commerce and Industry.
Special trainings
Tailor-made trainings in-house or at the VLB
Berlin, Germany. Quality assurance for lab
staff, sensory evaluation, technology
Publishing
 P. 7
• Text books
• Special pages “IfGB aktuell” in the technical journal “Brauerei-Forum“. 3 to 4
times a year.
• Internet: www.ifgb.de
Interpretations and trouble-shooting will
be added to all analyses results if required.
All analyses are performed in laboratories
which meet the demands of the interna­
tional standard DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005.
 info@ifgb.de
 www.ifgb.de/en
Analytics of raw materials
• Cereal analysis for grain distillers
• Malt analysis for malt whisky distillers
• Documentary evidence of origin of raw
materials
Yeast collection: distillers yeasts
Water and waste water treatment  P. 5
• Water quality: Assessment of drinking
water and process water
• Waste water treatment: Aerobic and anaerobic treatment, engineering and optimisation of waste water treatment plants,
trouble shooting, stillage processing
Laboratory equipment 
P. 11
• Alcoholometer
• Official Alcohol Tables
• Lab stills
• Equipment for the quality assurance
laboratory
Testing of packaging  P. 6
 www.ifgb.de
• Analyses: Ingredients, anions, cations,
residues, chemical and biological demand (COD, BOD)
10
VLB Berlin
   Portfolio für craft brewers
Craft beer is a prosperous segment in the
international beer market. Since 2006 VLB
Berlin offers trainings and services especially for this target group. Since 2012 we
also organise conventions for the craft
brewing movement in English and Russian
in Europe and Russia respectively.
Publications  P. 7
Services / Consulting
• Textbook “The Yeast in the Brewery” by
Dr. Hans-J. Manger/Prof. Gerolf Annemüller. Advanced knowledge about handling
and application of yeast in the brewing
process. Available in English and German
• Pure yeast cultures: Our yeast collection
offers German style bottom and top
fermenting brewing yeasts (e.g. Pilsner,
Kölsch, Alt, wheat beer), Brettanomyces
strains and other micro-organisms for
beer and beverage production  P. 6
• Process optimising: Raw materials,
brewhouse, fermentation/maturation,
yeast management, filling
• Hop addition strategies/product development: Individual consultancy and
product development in our 1.5 hl pilot
brewery Consulting  P. 4
• Assessment of malt, hops, intermediate
products, beer and beverages. Counter
checks and ring analyses
Quality Control  P. 5
• Laboratory equipment and consumables
up to turn-key labs  P. 11
Workshops / Training courses
• Workshop “Craft Brewing in Practice”:
2-weeks of comprehensive practical
training for pub- and microbrewers in
Berlin, Germany
• VLB Certified Brewmaster Course:
comprehensive 6-month training course
for prospective brewing professionals in
Berlin, Germany
• “European MicroBrew Symposium”:
2-day symposium for professional craft
and micro brewers from European countries – in cooperation with Brau Beviale
in Nuremberg, Germany
• Workshop ”Applied Microbiology”:
1-week course on practical microbiology
for the brewing and beverage industry,
Berlin, Germany
• Russian MicroBrew Symposium: 2-day
symposium for craft and microbrewers
in Russia and CIS countries, Moscow,
Russia
• Textbook “Technology Brewing & Malting” by Wolfgang Kunze. The complete
technology of malting, brewing and
filling explicitly and picturesque explained (1058 pages). Available in English,
German, Spanish, Russian and Chinese
• Technical Journal “Brauerei Forum“:
twice a year in English, 9 times in German
• Email newsletter
 brewmaster@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en/craftbrewing
11
VLB Berlin
   Laboratory equipment
VLB LaboTech GmbH is a 100 % subsidiary
of VLB. It offers experience and assistance
in all questions concerning laboratory
equipment.
The delivery programme encloses new and
approved laboratory devices and special
products for quality assurance in the brewing, malting, beverage and spirits industries. VLB LaboTech also supply consumables
in the area of chemical and technical analyses and microbiology.
Since we are independent of individual
suppliers VLB LaboTech guarantees objective consulting which leads to an optimal
solution of the customers problems.
The product range includes
• Thermometers
• Saccharometers
• Auxilliary tools for aerometry
• Apparatus and instruments to analyse
raw materials
• Equipment for the identification of
hop compounds
• Tools for water analyses
• Devices to analyse mash, wort and beer
• Articles of general use
• Equipment for the microbiological
laboratory
Our product catalogue is available on
request in English, German, Russian and
Chinese.
In addition we offer comprehensive tailormade solutions for turn-key laboratories.
Our portfolio includes assessement of
floor space requirements for technical
equipment as well as staff training for the
implementation of new analytical devices.
We evaluate your supliers‘ settlement offers and offer assistance for investment
decisions.
 labotech@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/labotech
   Contact
Managing Director
Dr.-Ing. Josef Fontaine
 fontaine@vlb-berlin.org
Head of Finance
Dipl.-Kauffrau (FH) Manuela Hauffe
 hauffe@vlb-berlin.org
Department for Brewing and Beverage
Science & Applications (BBSA)
Dr.-Ing. Roland Folz
 folz@vlb-berlin.org
Research Institute for Raw Materials (FIR)
Prof. Dr. Frank Rath
 rath@vlb-berlin.org
Research Institute for Engineering and
Packaging (FMV)
Dr.-Ing. Roland Pahl
 pahl@vlb-berlin.org
Testing Laboratory for Packaging (VP)
Dipl.-Ing. Ingrid Weber
 weber@vlb-berlin.org
Research Institute for Water and Waste
Water Technology (FIWAT)
Dr. rer. nat. Alfons Ahrens
 ahrens@vlb-berlin.org
Central Laboratory
Dr. rer. nat. Diedrich Harms
 harms@vlb-berlin.org
Research Institute for Management
and Beverage Logistics (FIM)
Dipl.-Ing. Norbert Heyer
 heyer@vlb-berlin.org
PR and Publishing Department /
Editorial Office “Brauerei Forum“
Dipl.-Ing. Olaf Hendel
 hendel@vlb-berlin.org
Research Institute for Special Analysis
(also TU Chair for Bioanalysis)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Leif-Alexander Garbe
 Leif-A.Garbe@tu-berlin.de
VLB LaboTech GmbH
Dr.-Ing. Roland Folz
 labotech@vlb-berlin.org
VLB Berlin
Seestrasse 13
13353 Berlin – Germany
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en
+4930 450 80-0
 +4930 453 60 69
 brewmaster@vlb-berlin.org
 www.vlb-berlin.org/en
© VLB Berlin, 2013
Photo credits: SphinxET.de, fotolia.com, VLB