28. January 2026 Generational change at the IGN Association: Georg Kraus becomes the youngest chairman in the association's history
Wolnzach – At the annual general meeting of the IGN Association on January 28, 2026, at Gasthaus Reich, a significant generational change took place at the top of the association.
After six years as first chairman, Sebastian Kürzinger handed over the office to his successor Georg Kraus. Kürzinger, who had served the association since 2011, initially as an assessor and then as first chairman from 2019,
wishes to focus more of his energies on his role as chairman of the advisory board of IGN Qualitätshopfen GmbH in the future, while also making room for the younger generation.
With Georg Kraus, the members unanimously elected the youngest chairman in the history of the IGN association at the age of 25. Born in Raitbach, he comes from a hop-growing business near Pörnbach and has been working at IGN Qualitätshopfen GmbH as head of hop purchasing and in international sales since November 2024. Bernhard Weichenrieder was confirmed in his position as second chairman.
In addition to Kürzinger, the association bid farewell to other long-standing board members: Helmut Schmid, who had served as secretary since 2003 with great commitment and reliability, and assessors Michael Eisenmann and Stefan Finkenzeller, who had been loyal to the association for more than 15 years. Ludwig Ettenhuber also stepped down from the board.
In the new executive committee, Theresa Eisenrieder, the reigning Hallertau Hop Queen, was confirmed as 1st secretary, Kathrin Lutz as 1st cashier, Anton Kiermeier as 2nd cashier, and Johannes Hagl as assessor. Christof Lechner was newly elected as second secretary, and Leonhard Breitner, Michael Breitsameter, and Thomas Haage were newly elected as assessors. The outgoing board members Sebastian Kürzinger and Helmut Schmid will remain with the association as cash auditors.
The cash report was positive: the association's finances were sound and the cash audit did not reveal any irregularities.
Before the new elections, the outgoing 1st Chairman Sebastian Kürzinger thanked the Managing Director of IGN Qualitätshopfen GmbH, Mario Scholz, as well as the partners and associations, in particular the State Institute for Agriculture (LfL) and the Hopfenring Hallertau, for their many years of trustful and good cooperation.
Managing Director Mario Scholz also praised the outgoing board members for their consistently constructive cooperation on an equal footing. He emphasized that the hop industry is facing challenging times. This makes it all the more important for the board to stick together, set new priorities, and promote the pioneering spirit of the IGN. Scholz welcomed the rejuvenation of the board and warmly welcomed all new members to the IGN family. Since its foundation, the IGN Association has formed the foundation of the entire IGN organization and brings together over 100 hop-growing families from the Hallertau region.