Andreas Gahr, Diplom Braumeister, has been unanimously elected to become a full member of the Central European Commission for Brewing Analysis (MEBAK®). His membership was officially announced on March 22nd 2019 during the 93rd plenary session held in Berlin, Germany.
Andreas Gahr was born on December 12th 1965 in Munich, Germany. After completing his Abitur (general qualification for university study) and his compulsory military service, he elected to pursue vocational training at the Augustiner Brewery in Munich as a brewer and maltster apprentice. Subsequently, he studied brewing science at Weihenstephan, obtaining a degree of Diplom Braumeister in 1994. He spent the following four years working under Prof. Werner Back at the Chair for Brewing and Beverage Technology I. His responsibilities in this position included quality management in the laboratory, the administration of research funds and coordination with WiFö, the agency for funding scientific work for the German brewing industry (Wissenschaftsförderung der deutschen Brauwirtschaft). He also served as the head of the beer laboratory for part of this time.
Since 1998, Mr. Gahr has been in charge of the Forschungsbrauerei St. Johann, a pilot brewery which belongs to Hopfenveredlung St. Johann GmbH, a hop processing company. There, the primary focus is on conducting research that is relevant to hops and testing various raw materials. Brewing trials and product development round out the services offered by the brewery. This work is carried out for its partners Johann Barth & Sohn and HVG as well as other clients in the brewing industry from both Germany and abroad.
Since his time spent at Weihenstephan as a DLG judge, sensory analysis has played an essential role in Mr. Gahr’s professional endeavors. He not only heads the tasting panel at the Hopfenveredlung in St. Johann, but he also evaluates the beers entered at many domestic and international competitions.
Over the years, he has been a member of several boards overseeing projects supported by WiFö and the Research Association of the German Food Industry (Forschungskreises der Ernährungsindustrie e.V. or FEI). Mr. Gahr has co-authored numerous publications as well as a book on hops. Along with his co-authors, he received the Inge Russel Best Paper Award from the MBAA in 2010 and the Ludwig Narziss Award for Brewing Science together with Dr. Adrian Forster in 2015.
An esteemed expert in the field, he has conducted research on hops for many years while also testing the applications of hops in brewing. The members of MEBAK® are very pleased to welcome new member Andreas Gahr to the analysis commission.