German program trains Chinese beer makers

A program to nurture managerial talent in a Chinese brewery has produced its first batch of graduates from a top German academy.

Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd in Qingdao, on China's east coast, selected 15 young employees from 50,000 hopefuls for a five-month course at Doemens Academy in Munich.

The group, who graduated on June 12, received training in brewing and beverage technology, as well as guidance on technical and commercial aspects of the industry.

"The company has invested heavily in these brewmasters," Tsingtao Brewery's vice-president Jiang Hong says, explaining that the group was given months of English-language training before departing for Germany.

"We hope the experience at Doemens will help them to broaden their horizons, as well as help them explore the world-renowned beer history and beer culture (in Germany)."

In China, she says, the company will track each individual's progress for three years and will work to maximize their value to the brewery.

Chen Lu was among the 15 students at Doemens. She took part in beer sommelier training, one of the academy's most popular courses, which teaches how to advise customers, distributors, retailers and restaurants about making beer and the characteristics of different styles, as well as what beers go with what kinds of dishes.

"We sat around a table and had to carefully observe 50 bottles placed in front of us," he says. "Not perfume, not oil, but reagents. We were then asked to identify each one's unique flavor, which included pineapple, peach, wheat, chocolate and some vegetable flavors."

Beer sommeliers are also taught about purchasing, how to maintain a beer's quality, and about presentation, and during the course students are expected to create menus and work with chefs and other restaurant workers on beer-related dishes.

"I didn't know what to expect before I arrived at Doemens, although we were given intensive training in preparation," says Huang Jinghui, one of the students.

"What I gained over those five months is more than I expected."

Huang says he was especially impressed with the wide range of beers and styles that German brewers offer. As an employee in the department responsible for flavor freshness and stability, he says he has learned techniques rarely used in China, including Flash Pasteurization commonly used in the German beer brewery that helps to maintain colour and flavour better.

"I'm considering trying them when I return to my post in China, so as to improve our beer's freshness," he says.

At a graduation ceremony on June 12, Tsingtao and Doemens signed a new deal on further collaboration, and a second batch of employees are set to arrive in Munich in January. The company has also invited experts from the academy to talk at lectures and seminars in China this year.

Tao Bailiang, the Chinese consul in Munich, hailed the collaboration between Tsingtao and Doemens as greatly significant.

"China and Germany, as global manufacturing giants, are the countries taking the lead in recovering from the recession, and are important driving forces to the world economy," he said at the ceremony. "Tsingtao and Doemens have histories that stretch back more than 100 years. Their collaboration is exemplary for Sino-German cooperation."

Doemens trained its first Chinese brewmasters 27 years ago, again in partnership with Tsingtao. Many of those graduates now hold senior positions at the Chinese brewery, says Wolfgang Stempfl, dean of the academy.

"We're proud to have had the chance to contribute to the career of these people, who today have reached chief positions in the brewery. It's a good demonstration that the best educated people bring the best business success."

wangmingjie@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily European Weekly 06/26/2015 page20)