Prof. Heinz Miedaner - 70 Years Old
On July 27th 2011, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Heinz Miedaner will celebrate his 70th birthday, and upon this occasion we, his former colleagues, staff members, graduate and undergraduate students, wish him all the best!
Prof. Miedaner was born in Munich, studied at the Faculty for Brewing Science at Weihenstephan from 1960 to 1964 after finishing his final secondary school examinations and an internship at Löwenbräu in Munich. Upon completion of his university degree, he became a doctoral student at the Institute for Brewing Technology and received his PhD in 1969. Next, he became director of the department of quality assurance and technology at the Erste Kulmbacher Aktienbrauerei, where he remained from 1969 to 1971. There he created not only a clear and comprehensive technological and microbiological quality control system but also through application of his analysis practices supplemented the brewery’s move from their previous site to the new site, a “greenfield project”. It was then that the brewery would become equipped with cylindro-conical tanks, a novelty at that time.
In 1971, Heinz Miedaner withdrew from the day-to-day routine of brewery quality control to return to Weihenstephan. There, as senior engineer, he dedicated his efforts within the framework of postdoctoral studies towards increasing the range of analytical procedures available to brewing scientists, in particular those incorporating gas chromatography. His work focused primarily on the topics of fermentation and maturation. At that time, the energy crisis had forced the industry to evaluate its consumption and find alternatives to save energy: The processes of kilning technology and above all wort boiling procedures in use at the time were modified. New ground was broken in improving wort boiling processes. This could only been carried out with the accompanying analysis methods, which ensured that only modifications were developed that did not compromise quality.
Another topic of interest for him has been flavor stability, which involves tracking the aging processes in beer by measuring how aroma components, so-called “aging substances”, change over time and what corrective technical measures may be taken to slow them down. His findings are still valid today and have served as the basis for an abundance of further research. Therefore, numerous publications in brewing science and technology bear Prof. Miedaner’s name as author or co-author.
Prof. Miedaner presented these research results not only at conferences held at Weihenstephan but also on an international level, such as the EBC (at the congresses, symposia or meetings of research groups). He also integrated these findings into his lectures at the university, which was met at all times with enthusiasm by the students. Skillfully and succinctly, he has always been able to convey highly complex subject matter to his listeners in a form they can grasp. Prof. Miedaner served as a very competent advisor and supervised countless theses and dissertations. Even today, he provides support and assistance to many of his former students.
As a specialist in technology and analysis, he has always been interested in advancing the analysis methods used in brewing science and, for this reason, worked closely with MEBAK (Mitteleuropäische Brautechnische Analysen Kommission) for 15 years and served as its chairman from 2000 to 2004. As an honorary member of the board he is always welcome at conferences, since he never fails to provide relevant insight from his vast experience and extensive knowledge. This is how he – thanks to conducting innumerable brewhouse assessments – came to work so intensively on developing a systematic and well-founded calculation for overall brewhouse yield, which has been of great commercial significance for suppliers and their customers.
In 1994, Prof. Miedaner took the helm as director of the State Brewing Technology Testing and Experimental Station (known today as the Weihenstephan Research Center for Brewing and Food Quality) and is still held in great esteem by his former employees there. He was able to expand the activities of the organization domestically, in Europe and around the world and also to strengthen contacts in related industries. In recognition of his effective articulation and communication of technical knowledge, he was presented with the Prof. Seifritz Award for his scientific contribution to the “Merlin” project.
From his retirement in the beautiful Allgäu region, he keeps an eye on things, “wherever innovation is needed”. This also holds true for breweries nearby – as well as for important or interesting topics “further from home”, where he is always happy to offer advice and assistance, often together with his wife PD Dr. Annette Schwill-Miedaner.
On his birthday we would also like to express our wish that he remain in the best of health for a long time to come.
Prof. Dr. Ludwig Narziß Dr. Fritz Jacob