History
The European Brewery Convention was founded in 1946 as a direct result of the critical situation concerning raw material supply (specifically malted barley and hops) which had arisen due to World War II. The founding members included the first president of the organisation, Prof. Philippe Kreiss. The name European Brewery Convention was adopted at the first EBC congress held in 1947 in the Dutch seaside resort of Scheveningen; in the interim, it was briefly known as the Centre Continental de Brasserie (Continental Brewery Centre).
Its mission was largely focused on two areas of collaboration amongst brewers in Europe; namely, to strengthen their collective bargaining power in terms of securing adequate malting barley in both quantity and quality, as well as to encourage the leading brewing nations, which had seen their industry being ravaged by the war, to re-engage in scientific exchange leading to the increased implementation of modern brewing and fermentation techniques.
In the late 1990, discussions between EBC and the Confédération des Brasseries et Malteries du Marché Commun (C.B.M.C. - latterly to become The Brewers of Europe) were underway to investigate a merger of both associations. The aim was to expand both organisations' mutual knowledge base and explore the synergies afforded by a largely shared membership, the national brewing trade associations operating in most European countries. The merger documents were signed in November 2006 and, following the retirement of the EBC Secretary-General Marjolein van Wijngaarden at the end of 2007, the organisation moved from its former headquarters in Zoeterwoude, The Netherlands to Brussels, Belgium.
Not being an independent organisation any longer, the title of Secretary-General was abolished in favour of the EBC Executive Officer who manages the day-to-day tasks of EBC and is, at the same time, a full member of staff of The Brewers of Europe secretariat. The position is currently held by John M. Brauer. EBC maintains limited autonomy in budgetary matters whilst in most other respects has transformed itself into an integrated part of The Brewers of Europe aisbl.
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