The Beer in Mind project
Making innovation a lever for transition in the brewing sector
Beer in Mind is a brewing hub, a spin-off from ULB, that connects research, circular economy and production to develop concrete, accessible and sustainable solutions for the brewing sector.
Why Beer in Mind?
A sector in full transformation
The brewing sector must today reduce its consumption of energy, water and raw materials, better valorise its by-products and face the rise in its production costs.
At the same time, consumption habits are evolving. Consumers are seeking more diversity, transparency and low-alcohol or alcohol-free alternatives.
However, small and medium-sized breweries rarely have the resources, infrastructure or skills necessary to develop and test new solutions on their own.
Beer in Mind est né pour rapprocher la recherche du terrain et rendre l’innovation plus accessible au secteur brassicole.
Environmental challenges
Energy and raw material consumption
By-product management
CO2 emissions
Economic challenges
Rising costs
Pressure on margins
Limited access to innovation for SMEs
Societal challenges
Changes in consumption habits
Responsible consumption
Need for diversity and alternatives
Our vision
Create an open and collaborative brewing innovation hub
Our ambition is to create an environment in which researchers, students, brewers, businesses and citizens can design, test and deploy new solutions together.
Beer in Mind aims to contribute to a different way of producing, valorising resources and developing the drinks of tomorrow.
Production is therefore not an isolated activity. It constitutes a tool for research, experimentation, demonstration, and awareness.
What we do
Three complementary activities serving a common ambition
Research & Innovation
We develop applied research projects to better control brewing processes, reduce energy and raw material consumption, recover by-products, and make new technologies accessible to small and medium breweries.
Recovery
We develop and implement solutions to transform brewing by-products — including spent grains, yeasts, hops, and CO₂ — into new ingredients, materials, products, or sources of value.
The objective is also to pool certain solutions so that they can benefit several breweries.
Production & Living Lab
Our production facility will be used to produce fermented or non-fermented beverages with or without alcohol.
It will be a living laboratory allowing us to test research results, evaluate new equipment, optimise processes, and demonstrate solutions in real conditions.
From research to application
The three activities of Beer in Mind are designed to work together
1
Research designs solutions.
2
The Living Lab tests them in real conditions.
3
Revalorization allows for their implementation and mutualization.
4
Production and recycling sectors fund research projects.
An open project
Beer in Mind brings together the academic, brewing, entrepreneurial, and civic worlds around a common ambition.
Students, alumni, researchers, brewers, partners, institutions and enthusiasts of fermented drinks can contribute to the development of the project, participate in the experiments and support the transition of the sector.
