4th Kulmbach Beer Law Day on 4 July 2025: “Beyond Beer”

The beer sector is under pressure – not only in Upper Franconia, but across Germany. Falling demand, rising costs and increasing regulatory hurdles are posing major challenges for breweries. At the same time, technological and societal developments are opening up new opportunities, such as alcohol-free products and new approaches in marketing, tourism and gastronomy. Fermentation is becoming a focal point – not only as a central process in brewing, but also as a key technology for sustainable food systems. Fermentation enables the production of nutritious, long-lasting and healthy food that can be manufactured in a climate- and resource-friendly way. It opens up new ways to utilise plant-based and microbial raw materials, for example for alternative proteins or alcohol-free beverages. Even by-products of food processing can be used efficiently through fermentation. Thus, fermentation as an age-old cultural technique combines tradition with the future – a topic of increasing relevance beyond the brewing industry.

This year’s Beer Law Day will therefore take a broader perspective: What opportunities lie beyond the traditional core business? What legal challenges arise in this context? How can practitioners, researchers and policymakers work together to shape the transformation? The Kulmbach Beer Law Day offers a platform for in-depth exchange, fresh ideas and targeted networking – bringing together professionals from science, law, politics and the brewing industry. The aim of the event is to help prepare breweries for the future of the beer sector and of food law.

The Beer Law Day will be preceded by a networking evening at the Kulmbach Mönchshof Museum on 3 July 2025 starting at 6 p.m. This will provide ample opportunity for informal exchange. A keynote address by Dr. Jörg Lehmann, CEO of Kulmbacher Brauerei AG, will set the stage for the main event.

The event is organised by the Association for the Promotion of the Research Centre for German and European Food Law at the University of Bayreuth. It is held under the academic direction of the Chair of Food Law and the Research Centre for German and European Food Law at the University of Bayreuth.

Registration: https://www.lmr.uni-bayreuth.de/de/anmeldung/index.php

Members of the press are warmly invited to report on the event. We are happy to facilitate interviews ahead of time – just send a short email to: pressestelle@uni-bayreuth.de.