The Pattern of Brewing Research: A Personal View of the History of Brewing Chemistry in the British Isles*

In covering the 160 years since the first appointment of a trained chemist to a brewery in Britain, a broad outline of the history of brewing chemistry is hung upon the framework of Irish contributions. Activity is traced through the careers of successive generations of brewers' chemists, from the early practitioners of the 1830s, through the golden age of the late Victorians, into a barren period embracing the two world wars and a second flowering in mid-century. The chronology culminates with the change in attitude to research and decline in open publication of the last decade. A cyclical pattern in the approach to brewing research affecting both the balance and the level of activity is detected and a correlation with social and economic factors demonstrated. The most productive periods are found to occur when an essentially fundamental approach is taken to brewing research thereby complementing the primarily technological interests of the practising brewer.