MSc Course Structure

Core Modules

Advanced Research Topics Principles of Biochemical Engineering Culture and History of Brewing Malting and brewing process Making Ideas Happen, Enterprise Module

Styles, taste and profiles of beers Microbiological basis of brewing Practical Microbiology for Brewing Project in Industry

	Advanced Research Topics Specialist seminar series from invited speakers from academic institutions across the country together with specialist from the brewing industry from Europe and the USA.
	Principles of Biochemical Engineering The controlled Fermentation processes that are central to the brewing process require an understanding of the general principles of industrialised microbial fermentation. This module combines theory with practice and underpins the later practical modules in the course.
	Culture and History of Brewing In this module the students will be introduced to the history and culture associated with the brewing of beer. Drawing on the rich history of the brewing process and habits from its earliest foundations in the Middle East to contemporary aspects of brewing and associated social, legal and commercial practices, students will be given the context in which a brewing has played and will continue to play a role in society. This course will run in parallel with the seminar programme.
	Malting and brewing process In this module the students will be introduced to the methods and practices associated with the brewing of beer. Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a carbohydrate source in water followed by fermentation with yeast. The most common ingredients of beer are malted barley used to drive the fermentation process in conjunction with yeast (which is a major component responsible for defining the character of a given beer) together with hops. These ingredients can be combined using a range of different vessels and processes in order to produce the final brewed beer.
	Making Ideas Happen, Enterprise Module This campus wide module introduces all of the elements associated with starting up your own microbrewery. It combines business planning, sourcing finance together with the issues relating to regulation and the sourcing of materials and health and safety issues surrounding brewing.
	Styles, taste and profiles of beers In this module the students will be introduced to the subtleties that are essential for generating the diversity in beers. This module will compare and contrast the scientific basis of taste, texture etc of beers, with the methods employed by traditional brewers. Students will learn about "stylistic diversities of beer" and the variances within a particular style. This will include a discussion of the tastes and smells associated with beer. This theoretical appreciation will be accompanied by visits to a number of breweries (or tasting sessions) in order to combine theory with practice.
	Microbiological basis of brewing The fermentation process, in which yeasts ferment the sugars in the wort to produce alcohol plus CO2, is key to brewing. The microbiology and biochemistry of fermentation reactions will be discussed, including the dual use of “fermentation” to describe the biochemical process of alcohol formation and to describe the large scale culture of yeasts used in brewing. Methods of identifying yeasts involved in brewing will be covered using classical and molecular methods. The differences between top fermenting yeasts and bottom fermenting yeasts will be explained and the significance of the yeast used for the final product will be examined.
	Practical Microbiology for Brewing In this module, students will take part in a series of practical classes to develop the necessary skills to safely handle microorganisms and enable the axenic culture of yeasts and other microbes of relevance to the brewing process. The course will start with laboratory sessions introducing scientific units and calculations, safety in the laboratory and use of basic laboratory equipment including spectrophotometers. Further sessions will microbial safe practice, microscopy, microbial growth and its measurement, industrial biotechnology and introduction to the key techniques of molecular biology (e.g. preparing and running agarose gels, extracting genomic DNA).
	Project in Industry All candidates will be allocated a placement in a local microbrewery. This will provide hands on experience of the entire process. These placements have been selected carefully to ensure that the student receives high quality experience, providing the student with the necessary skills to establish their own microbrewery at the end of the course.