At the 97th MEBAK meeting on 24.09.2021, which took place at the invitation of the company IREKS GmbH in Kulmbach, two events were particularly in focus: MEBAK e.V. celebrated its 50th anniversary and the methods database went online!
"A historic moment of which we can be particularly proud," said 1st Chairman Dr. Martin Zarnkow and thanked 2nd Chairman Dipl.-Ing. Matthias Hansen in particular, without whose tireless efforts the online launch would probably not have been possible. The mention of the honorary member Dr. Gerd Bender, who accompanied and promoted the genesis of the Online-Gang over the years, should also not be omitted at this point. And of course thanks went to all the other MEBAK members who were involved in making this feat possible.
Further due thanks went to Dipl.-Ing. Marcus Jentsch from Institut Romeis Bad Kissingen GmbH, who had agreed to brew a pale doppelbock for the 50th anniversary. In keeping with the spirit of MEBAK's long existence, the old barley variety "Steffi" and the historic hop variety "Hersbrucker" were put into the brew kettle for the "Analysator". Furthermore, the yeast strain "Frankonia" was used, which fermented for several days at a cold fermentation of 9.5 °C and a proud 18.5° P to a great Doppelbock with 8.14 % by volume. After a long and cold maturation, the beer was bottled in 0.33 l bottles and with the help of Dr. August Gresser, a special label was designed for the honorary brew. At the meeting, each participant was given a bottle of the "Analysator" to take with them. Further bottles will be sent to members and honorary members who could not attend or could only attend via video conference, as well as to sponsors.
"That is what is great about MEBAK. Everyone is fully committed and does what is necessary to achieve our ambitious goals". This is how Dr. Zarnkow put it, once again describing the spirit of MEBAK e.V. and praising the voluntary commitment of all members. Another review of 50 years of MEBAK will appear in the trade press, in which Dr. Wilm Bartels, among others, will report on the first hours of MEBAB e.V..
A pre-session evening meeting was held at the Mönchshof Brauhaus in Kulmbach at the invitation of Dr. Frithjof Thiele of Kulmbacher Brauerei Aktien-Gesellschaft. An evening followed which, after the long pandemic-induced lean period, was certainly fully enjoyed by every participating member. Many thanks to Dr. Thiele and the Kulmbacher Brewery for the beautiful and culinary evening with excellent Franconian cuisine!
As the first item on the agenda of the historic 97th meeting starting the next morning, in which some members participated via video conference, the founding father of MEBAK Prof. Dr. Drawert as well as his successor Prof. Dr. H. Pfenninger were posthumously appointed honorary chairmen, thus completing the list of honorary chairmen.
Then, in turn, the meeting focused on the online launch of the Methods Bank and Matthias Hansen, group leader of the Online WG, looked back in a presentation on the many steps and events without which the new online presence of MEBAK would not have been possible today. When the decision was made in 2005 to put the methods compendia online, no one could have imagined the steps and the effort that lay ahead for the MEBAK and especially for the online working group, which was still headed by Dr. Gerd Bender at the time. 16 years later it was finally done and Mr Hansen was able to present the relaunch of the MEBAK website and the methods database to the "MEBAKers".
But the "usual daily business" was not neglected at the meeting. The treasurer Dr. Gerold Reil presented the treasury report and other internal matters of the association, the reports of the working group activities and future larger and smaller work items were discussed. Dr. Silvija Abakuks from Döhler AG attended the meeting as a guest.
The company IREKS GmbH deserves great thanks for the opportunity to hold the meeting in Kulmbach and for the smooth and flawless proceedings. The next MEBAK general meeting will probably take place on 01 April 2022. The venue is still to be determined. In conclusion, the 97th Members' Meeting on the occasion of the 50th anniversary was a complete success and MEBAK e.V. is looking forward to many more successful years and meetings.
