Dipl.-Ing. Sandro Cocuzza was unanimously elected as a full member of the Mitteleuropäische Brautechnische Analysenkommission (MEBAK) at the 96th plenary meeting held on March 26th 2021.
Sandro Cocuzza was born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. He studied Brewing Science and Beverage Technology from 1999 to 2007 at the Technical University of Munich-Weihenstephan, graduating with the academic title of Diplom-Ingenieur.
He subsequently worked as a research assistant at the Chair for Microbiology at the Technical University of Munich-Weihenstephan.
Since September 2008, he has served as the Director of Technical Support at Simon H. Steiner, Hopfen, GmbH in Mainburg, Germany. In this capacity, he advises the company’s customers around the world. He also conducts research projects relevant for the brewing industry, both at the company as well as in collaboration with universities and institutes.
In November 2020, Sandro Cocuzza was announced as the recipient of the 6th Annual Ludwig Narziss Prize. The prize is awarded to the authors of the most influential research contribution in terms of practical brewing application and is chosen from all submissions appearing in the journal BrewingScience in 2019. The winning contribution, authored by Sandro Cocuzza and his colleagues and co-authors Alexander Stallforth and Frank Peifer as well as Dr. Martin Zarnkow and Prof. Fritz Jacob, examined the extent to which the physico-chemical properties of beer are affected by linear increases in the quantities of hops used for dry hopping. Their research also explored which effects of dry hopping can be traced to the plant material brought into the brewing process. The hop bitter substances, polyphenols, beer foam, pH, turbidity, alcohol and extract content all responded differently as the hop additions increased. The outcomes were assessed for each linear increase of 100 g of hop pellets per hl. Their results provide brewers with important information on the “secondary effects” of dry hopping which are not linked to hop aroma.
The members of MEBAK are pleased to welcome Sandro Cocuzza, a recognized specialist in hop technology with a focus on practical brewing, to their team of experts.