Brewing with unmalted cereal adjuncts: sensory and analytical impacts on beer quality (MRes, 1yr)

This fully funded Masters by Research project is sponsored by Molson Coors, the world’s 3rd largest brewing company and includes direct collaboration with and access to facilities at their Burton-on-Trent site. In brewing, adjuncts are alternative sources of sugars to barley malt which are used for a variety of technological and economic reasons. This project will investigate the impacts of the usage of selected cereal adjuncts (e.g. ‘raw’ barley or wheat) at varying rates of incorporation on the sensory and analytical quality of lager beer. Impacts on key metrics of the brewing process (e.g. in wort production and fermentation) will also be evaluated.

Research Techniques
Multidisciplinary skills will be developed in malting and brewing science, analytical chemistry and sensory science.
The student will receive training in practical brewing (pilot plant scale), standard analysis of wort and beer, chromatographic techniques (e.g. GC-MS; HPLC) and sensory evaluation.
The research will deliver:
• Improved knowledge of the sensory impacts of the use of unmalted cereals in brewing
• Knowledge of the process and analytical impacts of using a range of adjunct materials and the factors which might limit commercial acceptability as the percentage of adjunct usage is increased.

Start date: 25/09/2017
Duration of award: 12 months

How to apply: Candidates are welcome to contact David Cook ([Email Address Removed]) with any queries and for an informal discussion. Applications, comprising a covering letter of application together with a detailed CV (including the names and addresses of two referees), should be sent to [Email Address Removed]