Photo by Léo Gilmant
Europe’s leading annual trade fair for the beverage industry, BrauBeviale, organised by events company YONTEX, returns to the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre from 10–12 November. This year’s programme will address the growing challenges facing breweries and beverage producers as they navigate investment decisions, evolving consumer preferences and an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. Through technology showcases, workshops and industry discussions, the event will explore the innovations shaping the future of beverage production.
From advanced fermentation processes and non-alcoholic beverages to water treatment, cleaning technologies and lightweight reusable packaging, the trade fair will bring together 769 exhibitors from 34 countries across eight exhibition halls. The layout follows the entire beverage production process, taking visitors from the early stages of manufacturing and brewing through to packaging and final logistics. The solutions on display cater to a broad range of producers, including breweries, wineries and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturers.
A central theme throughout the exhibition is the practical application of innovation in everyday operations.
“Many of the solutions at BrauBeviale do not start with abstract visions of the future, but with specific tasks in day-to-day operations,” says Markus Kosak, Executive Director of YONTEX GmbH. “This is not about one particular trending beverage. What matters is making production facilities flexible enough for producers to manufacture new product variants economically.”
Making Existing Infrastructure Work Harder
Rather than investing in entirely new production facilities, breweries are increasingly exploring ways to adapt their existing infrastructure to accommodate changing market demands. BrauBeviale will showcase design concepts and alternative production processes that make better use of established brewery equipment, technical infrastructure and existing staff expertise.
One area of development involves modular bypass and external process solutions, which allow existing tanks to be adapted for different beverage applications. External units can handle functions such as sterile aeration, dosing, pH and temperature control, inline measurements, process data collection and automation. This enables producers to introduce additional capabilities and use the same tanks for different products without having to upgrade every vessel individually.
Such flexibility offers breweries an opportunity to diversify their portfolios while keeping investment costs and operational disruption under control.
Non-Alcoholic Beverages Take Centre Stage
The growing non-alcoholic drinks market has created new opportunities for beverage brands looking to diversify their product portfolios. At BrauBeviale, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the latest developments in alcohol reduction and dealcoholisation technologies, including nanofiltration.
This membrane-based process separates water and ethanol from more complex beverage components, including sugars, acids, polyphenols and aromatic compounds. The resulting ethanol-rich fraction can subsequently undergo vacuum distillation. These technologies offer potential applications across beer, wine, cider and other beverages, helping manufacturers develop products with an alcohol content below 0.5% ABV while retaining important flavour characteristics.
Non-alcoholic beer will also receive particular attention, especially in relation to dispensing systems and hygiene requirements. As production volumes and consumption continue to evolve, maintaining hygienic dispensing conditions becomes increasingly important. New approaches to conventional line cleaning and dispensing technology aim to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination and support product safety.
Efficiency, Water Management and Smarter Cleaning
Improving resource efficiency is another important consideration for food and beverage manufacturers, particularly when it comes to reducing freshwater consumption in production facilities.
One circular water management concept addresses this challenge by separating wastewater streams according to their contamination levels and applying tailored treatment processes to enable reuse. The system combines technologies such as biological treatment, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis. Depending on site-specific requirements and validation, the recovered water can be reused in applications such as cooling towers, boiler feedwater, selected rinsing and cleaning processes, and other utility operations. This approach helps conserve freshwater resources and reduces dependence on external water supplies.
Cleaning technology is another area where manufacturers are looking to improve operational efficiency. Compared with static cleaning systems, rotating jet cleaners can reduce cleaning times and the consumption of cleaning agents. However, one potential drawback is that an interruption in rotation during operation may go undetected.
A newly patented sensor technology aims to address this challenge through continuous, contact-free monitoring. Performing more than 1,000 optical measurements per minute, the system detects whether the cleaning jet is rotating as intended. This additional level of monitoring could make rotating jet cleaning technology suitable for applications where strict process and product safety requirements have traditionally favoured static cleaning systems.
Exploring What’s Next for the European Beverage Industry
From brewing and winemaking to non-alcoholic product development, packaging and production efficiency, BrauBeviale provides a platform for exploring the technologies and practical solutions influencing the European beverage industry.
Alongside its exhibition programme, the event will host panel discussions, workshops and presentations featuring industry specialists and innovators. For beverage producers navigating shifting consumer expectations, sustainability targets and evolving regulations, the fair offers an opportunity to exchange knowledge, discover new technologies and assess where future investments could deliver the greatest value.
As the beverage landscape continues to change, the focus is increasingly on making existing operations more adaptable, resource-efficient and ready for the next generation of drinks.
More information about BrauBeviale here.
