All About Beer

“All About Beer” are short informative online workshops organised by the EBCU for delegates and members.

The workshops are run by the European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU) and are open to members of all affiliated organisations.

Do you wish to suggest a future workshop?

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All About… Norwegian Farmhouse Ale presented by Lars Marius Garshol

Held on 12 October 2023 Watch Now

Norwegian Farmhouse Ale has attracted great interest over the last years, partly because of the kveik yeast, but because it is so difficult to find many are not familiar with this type of beer. In this presentation we will go into where these beers come from, why they are the way they are, and what styles of Norwegian Farmhouse Ale there are. We will also visit some brewers to see what they do and how they brew these beers. Since the kveik yeast is used for some of these beer styles we will also look a little at what it is.

Lars Marius Garshol used to be a software engineer, but he gave that up to work full-time on researching and writing about traditional farmhouse brewing. He’s spent the last decade researching various aspects of farmhouse brewing throughout northern Europe. He is the author of Larsblog, a blog devoted to sharing his discoveries and travels, Historical Brewing Techniques: The Lost Art of Farmhouse Brewing, and a book on Lithuanian beer. He lives with his wife and daughter in Rælingen, Norway.

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All About… Mild presented by Will Taylor and Brett Laniosh

Held on 22 May 2023 Watch Now

Mild used to be England’s most popular beer style but now accounts for less than 3% of beer sold in British pubs. It’s a fascinating beer, typically, but not always, dark and low in bitterness. This presentation will cover the history of the drink and give some great examples of it that exist today. We will also be sharing information on brewing this particular style of beer. For many years, CAMRA has used the month of May to promote Mild, so we look forward to celebrating this great beer with you.

Will Taylor is the founder and owner of Woodcote Brewery, based in Worcestershire. Established in 2015, the brewery won six awards in 2022. They bottle condition their beers which are all vegan and unfined.  
Brett Laniosh is a project coordinator for the EBCU and a former director of CAMRA. He runs cellar training courses in pubs and breweries and runs a beer and pub magazine publishing company. 

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All About… Baltic Porter presented by Marcin Chmielarz

Held on 17 January 2023 Watch Now

In 2016 Baltic Porter Day was born, as a way to celebrate this style of beer. Often called the Polish Brewing Treasure (Piwowarski Skarb Polski), this dark, rich beer is especially popular in the Baltic Sea basin, as the name would suggest. Rightly so, as it was created here in the 19th century as a continental version of the famous British porters. Today Baltic Porter is known around the world, with fantastic examples of the style brewed in the USA. But still, it is most famous in the Baltic Sea basin, especially in Poland.

Marcin Chmielarz is a brewer, beer vlogger, and pub manager. Since he started discovering craft beer, he has been particularly interested in one beer style – Baltic Porter.

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All About… Grodziskie presented by Dawid Kulbicki and Marcin Ostajewski

Held on 21 November 2022  – Watch Now

Grodziskie is a beer style originating from the 16th century, from the little Medieval town of Grodzisk Wielkopolski, located in western Poland. However, in the early 1990s the style was forgotten and discontinued at its mother brewery, only to be rediscovered 20 years later by the community of Polish homebrewers and craft beer enthusiasts. Often called “Polish champagne” due to its carbonation, highly drinkable and refreshing, with a hint of oak smoke, it remains a unique Polish contribution to the world’s beer heritage.

Dawid is a beer judge certified by BJCP and PSPD (Polish Homebrewers Association). His experience spans numerous domestic and international competitions, as well as workshops on beer styles and sensorics for various audiences – from consumers to judges. He is also the Chairman of PSPD Judges’ Committee and Coordinator of Warsaw Homebrewing Festival.
Marcin is the Head Brewer at Browar Fortuna located in Wielkopolska region, the home of Grodziskie. He is also an experienced BJCP judge and the Head Judge of Grodziski Homebrewing Competition – an annual event entirely dedicated to the style. Together with Dawid, he recently delivered speeches on Grodziskie for the beer industry in Brazil.

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All About… Dutch Trappist Ale presented by Henri Reuchlin

Held on 26 September 2022 – Watch Now

Belgium has always been known for its Trappist breweries. But neighbouring The Netherlands can boast two Trappist breweries, making it the second country with respect to a number of trappist breweries. They are Koningshoeven (La Trappe) with a long and intriguing history and De Kievit (Zundert), one of the wave of new Trappist breweries. This workshop will focus on why the Trappist came to the Netherlands. We will discuss why they started brewing and of course the beers they brew.

Henri is director of StiBON beer education and has been advisor to Trappistbrewery De Kievit in Zundert since its inception. He has previously served as chairman of EBCU.

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All About… Sahti presented by Anikó Lehtinen and Marjokaisa Piironen

Held on 13 June 2022  – Watch Now

Sahti is a Finnish, ancient farmhouse ale and the beer style itself is at least 2000 years old.

Sahti is made from malted and unmalted grains, mostly barley and rye. Traditionally the beer is flavoured with juniper and sometimes with hops and has often a banana flavour due to the use of baking yeast.

Finnish Sahti has protected status in Europe, so in order to be described as Sahti a beer must be brewed following the traditional process and ingredients.

Every year the Finnish Sahti Brewing ´Championship is held on the first weekend in August.

Find out more about the past, present and future of this true Finnish beer style Sahti presented by Sahti Brewer Marjokaisa “Sahti-Kaisa” Piironen and Beer Expert Anikó Lehtinen.

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All About… Italian Grape Ale presented by Simone Uras

Held on 19 May 2022 – Watch Now

From tradition to innovation and beyond

Grapes aren’t just for wine! Grape based beers have been attracting a lot of interest in recent years. Italian Grape Ale (IGA) made with natural fruit bring together two different but very interesting partners.

IGAs perfectly represent the butterfly effect “does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? ” (Edward N. Lorenz)

Even if in Italy there is the largest number of butterflies species on the European continent, actually what caused a disruptive effect in the global brewing world was adding ingredients from the wine to the beer?

Find out more about the past, present and future of this modern style, presented by Unionbirrai Beer Tasters and some of the brewers winners of the IGA categories at Birra dell’Anno” Simone is an experienced brewer living in Bologna and the Chief Operating Officer of Unionbirrai.

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All About… Gose presented by Markus Raupach and Matthias Richter

Held on 3 March 2022 – Watch Now

There are many rumours about the historic German beer style of Gose. It did not originate in Leipzig, today’s main Gose brewing city. In fact, it all started in a benedictine monastery in the 14th century. What about the taste? How salty and sour should a real Gose be? What about fruits and spices? And what about the iconic Gose bottle with the long, almost endless neck?

Markus Raupach, Beer writer, Beer judge and President of the German Beer Consumers Union gives an interesting insight, together with a famous german Gose brewer.

Matthias Richter from Bayerischer Bahnhof in Leipzig is known to many as “Mr. Gose“