Research and Education in Brewing

At the Court meeting which took place in July, this year’s distribution from the Brewers’ Research and Education Fund (BREF) was approved. The BREF is a major brewing industry grants award which aims to support the brewing industry by funding relevant scientific research and education.

During the latest funding cycle, which began in January 2017, eighteen applications were considered by the Advisory Committee to the BREF, who were excited to see a great variety and quality represented. Ultimately the Advisory Committee recommended, and the Court approved, funding in the amount of £81,925 for eight projects which include: “Understanding the perception of ‘body’ in beer”, from the University of Nottingham; “A Study into UK female attitudes towards beer, their drinking habits and their relationship with beer” from Dea Latis; “British hops: genetic marker population material - maintenance of plant material” from Wye Hops; and support for the National Brewing Library at Oxford Brookes University.

We were also very excited to be able to provide, for the first time, a scholarship for the MSc programme in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot Watt University to an alumnus of Dame Alice Owen’s School.

The Company is very grateful to the members of the Advisory Committee who give their time and expertise to ensure that the BREF is able to support relevant, beneficial projects and is looking forward to seeing the outcome of this year’s batch.

The next BREF funding round will begin in 2018, applications will be accepted between January and March for projects starting after August 2018. To find out more about BREF funding, please visit www.beerandpub.com/events-awards/brewers-research-and-education-fund.