Newsletter #5 | All around the product

VIP Guest at the KATZ Stand—The Beer Pope Pays a Visit

A familiar face among German-speaking beer fans, Conrad Seidl is better known as the “Beer Pope.” For decades now, he has been writing about beer culture, testing beer varieties from around the world and championing the art of brewing. With his trademark outfit, consisting of traditional Lederhosen, red-framed glasses, colorful hat, and bow tie, plus his unrivaled specialist knowledge, Conrad is a living legend in the industry. There are few people who can speak so passionately about hops, malt, and brewing traditions as he can. So, imagine our delight when he visited the KATZ stand at the BrauBeviale 2024 trade fair!

The Journey to Becoming the Beer Pope—A Life between Journalism and the Art of Beer Appreciation

Conrad Seidl has an impressive career behind him, and one which ultimately took him to the world of beer. For 50 years, he worked exclusively in journalism. He began his career while still in school, eventually becoming the editor of a daily newspaper – a post he held for a long time. “I wrote about politics day in, day out, until one day I noticed that conversations tend to become livelier in an atmosphere like a bar than they do over a coffee in a typical Vienna coffee house. After all, although I’m a true Viennese, I don’t actually drink coffee and prefer to go for a beer.” That marked the start of his fascination with beer, including its history, production and, of course, taste.

“The fascinating thing about beer was that nobody had really talked about it back then. Beer was simply taken for granted, but I made it exciting.” The Beer Pope knows what he is talking about: Thirty-five years ago, he published his first book on the subject of beer, which has since been followed by another 40, most recently “Biermythen” (Beer myths), published by Verlag Der Apfel. Seidl is convinced that there is still plenty to explore in the story of beer and continues his journey in the world of beer to this day. “I am always discovering new stories about beer to tell. Whether it’s new varieties, forgotten myths and aspects of beer history, or the characteristics of different beer cultures.”

From Beer to Advertising Slogans

rauBeviale brought together a wide variety of companies that have more in common than you might think at first glance. Both brewers and we as a manufacturer of beverage coasters rely on high-quality raw materials to achieve the best result and experience. And that’s exactly what we discussed with the Beer Pope: how important it is that beverage coasters are more than just a functional product. They also allow breweries to get their message closer to the customer than practically any other form of advertising. “The beer mat is an unbelievably good opportunity to start a conversation with people. They pick it up and look at it, that’s the real benefit of a beer mat,” underlines Conrad Seidl.

Seidl talked about traditional brewing methods and new trends, about craft beers and the most recent big surprise in the industry, an alcohol-free Bock. “The quality of alcohol-free beers is constantly improving, and they are getting closer and closer to the taste of beers that contain alcohol.”

After an inspiring chat, one thing was clear: Whether it’s the perfect beer or the right beverage coaster for a well-rounded brand experience, quality and passion are the key to success.