Heriot-Watt unveils £35m vision for a new Centre for Sustainable Brewing & Distilling

Heriot-Watt's internationally recognised centre of excellence in brewing and distilling is set to undergo a 21st century transformation to ensure a sustainable and profitable future for both industries.

The university is seeking to raise £35 million in order to realise our vision of building a new Centre for Sustainable Brewing and Distilling (CSBD), which will embrace the latest green technologies and sustainable practices so Heriot-Watt can evolve its world-renowned teaching and research to meet the challenges of the future.

The CSBD will be a new state-of-the-art version of the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD), which since 1989 has been one of the world's leading educational establishments, with prestigious undergraduate and graduate courses that have breathed new life into brewing and distilling - of huge importance to the Scottish and UK economies.

Many of today's best-known Scotch Whisky master distillers and brewers - including BrewDog co-founder Martin Dickie, Master Distiller at Arbikie Highland Estate, and David Wilkinson: Head Distiller at Edinburgh Gin - have studied at the ICBD.

Our ambition is for the new CSBD to function as a living laboratory, with the aim of constructing it solely with low-carbon materials, and utilising the university's iNetZ+ research institute to drive forward plans to access all of its power through clean energy. By turning vision into reality, Heriot-Watt believes that CSBD can be a showcase for best practice in sustainable industrial design.

Inside, the plan is for the centre to house plug-and-play brewing and distilling testbeds, enabling companies to trial new production methods before full-scale adoption, as well as advanced sustainability research labs to develop low-carbon distillation techniques and circular economy solutions. A dedicated entrepreneurial hub will also support startups, spinouts, and SMEs in bringing innovative products to market.

In doing so, we aim to tackle head-on a fresh set of challenges facing brewing and distilling worldwide as they aim to play their part in tackling the climate crisis while bidding to remain huge drivers of employment and economic wealth around the world.

This includes a significant skills gap facing the brewing and distilling industry today. The CSBD will play a key role by training the next generation of industry professionals through its specialist training programmes, including Graduate Apprenticeships, executive education, and research-led industry collaborations, equipping talent with both technical excellence and sustainability expertise.

Professor Gillian Murray, Deputy Principal for Business and Enterprise, said:

“Heriot-Watt’s association with teaching brewing and distilling dates back to 1903. However, it was over 35 years ago that our unique brewing and distilling teaching and research facility – recognised by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling – was established.

“Ever since it has been home to vibrant research and unique innovation that has revolutionised both industries. Our teaching provides the perfect breeding ground for groundbreaking new ideas from the brights and best students – from use of raw materials and fermentation to chemical engineering, bottling, packaging and marketing.

“Our links with business also provide graduates and postgraduates with the opportunity to apply their learning to industry, and provide the best preparation for their careers, many of whom are now thriving.

“But we have big aspirations for the future. That is why we are unveiling a revamped and revitalised approach to academic research into brewing and distilling through a new world-renowned centre for excellence, the Centre for Sustainable Brewing and Distilling. We want to encourage people from around the world to help us fund this multi-million pound vision that sets the next generation of brilliant minds the challenge of finding ever more economically viable and environmentally sustainable ways of driving both industries forward into the 22nd century.”

Ewan Andrew, President Global Supply Chain & Procurement and Chief Sustainability Officer, Diageo said:

“As a global leader in alcoholic beverages, we recognise the importance that brewing and distilling makes to Scotland’s – and indeed the world’s – economy. That is why we back Heriot-Watt’s plans for a Centre for Sustainable Brewing and Distilling. The CSBD will provide a new, modern environment for innovation, support the development of groundbreaking sustainable processes, and develop a new highly-skilled workforce that helps future-proof this vitally important economic contributor for decades to come.”

Jo Marshall, Brand Director at Carlsberg Britvic, said:

“As the proud owner of McEwan’s – a world-famous beer born in Edinburgh and steeped in brewing heritage – we’re delighted to see Heriot-Watt investing in the future of the industry. Over a century ago, McEwan’s founder William McEwan collaborated with the university’s very first Professor of Brewing, Emil Westergaard, to drive forward brewing innovation. It’s inspiring to see that same pioneering spirit lives on today in plans for a new centre dedicated to sustainable talent development and innovation. This centre will not only shape the brewers of tomorrow but also equip them with the business acumen needed to thrive – just as McEwan did generations ago.”

Find out more here: https://www.hw.ac.uk/proofing-the-future

Timeline: Heriot-Watt’s 123 years of brewing and distilling academic excellence

1903

The first Heriot-Watt College brewing summer school is established, under Professor of Brewing Emil Westergaard. Born in Copenhagen in 1873, and a qualified pharmacist, he introduced lager brewing to Scotland. He ran a two-month intensive class with students attending classes at the college’s Chambers Street lecture rooms and laboratories, while Edinburgh’s Campbell Hope & King Brewery provided practical training. Students received a joint certificate of brewing between Heriot-Watt and the Brewers’ Association of Scotland.

At that time, there were over 30 breweries in Edinburgh alone – including William McEwan’s Fountain Brewery with whom Emil Westergaard had carried out ground-breaking research into micro-organism, bacteria and yeast culture – and no shortage of potential students. Meanwhile in whisky distilling, it was common practice for the preparation of malt to take two weeks of hard manual labour and fermentation lasted one to two weeks, with lager fermentation taking even longer.

1906

Emil Westergaard’s lectures prove so popular, he is appointed on a full-time basis to head up the brand new Department of Mycology – the first brewing and distilling department in the world. By this time a two-year part-time Brewing Certificate course was in operation over the summer months.

1908

Heriot-Watt replaces its summer courses with the very first full-time one-year postgraduate Brewing Certificate course is launched, the forerunner of Heriot-Watt University’s current Diploma and MSc.

1917

Emil Westergaard left his post and the Department of Mycology closed, but the courses continued thanks to the establishment of a fermentation industries sub-section within Heriot-Watt College’s Chemistry Department. This was crucially supported by the Brewers' Association of Scotland.

1920

The Brewers' Association of Scotland provided funding to further consolidate brewing research and teaching. The Chambers Street attic remained the focal point of student research and learning – and did so for many decades to come – while practical training was still provided at the Campbell, Hope & King brewery.

1923

The college introduces its first full-time course for undergraduates, which is the equivalent of the current BSc in Brewing and Distilling.

1920s onwards

The college consolidates an Institute of Brewing, based at its Chambers Street laboratories, with teaching remaining part of the Chemistry Department.

1950

By now the courses enjoyed significant support from brewers and distillers across the UK. As a result, the Brewers' Association of Scotland funded a Chair of Brewing and Industrial Fermentations.

1957

Further donations from breweries, distilleries and the Scottish Education Department resulted in the establishment of more modern teaching and research facilities in Edinburgh’s Cowgate block of the Chambers Street building. This included new lecture and tutorial rooms, teaching laboratories, a research laboratory, staff and additional research space.

1962

A new Department of Brewing and Applied Biochemistry was created and a new degree-level qualification was launched, known as the Associateship of Heriot-Watt College.

1964

Additional laboratories and facilities were added to what already existed in Chambers Street. They remained there for the next 26 years.

1966

Heriot-Watt College becomes Heriot-Watt University, and the Associateship became a BSc in Brewing and Distilling. This year also saw a change from the previous regime, when only students sponsored by breweries, maltings or distilleries were accepted to the course, combining their studies with work. However, for the new full-time students, industrial training was still central to the course, and by the final year of their BSc they had to have completed at least one ‘long vacation industrial placement’.

1975

Professor Anna Macleod becomes the first female professor at Heriot-Watt but also the first female professor of brewing and biochemistry in the world.

1989

Heriot-Watt University created a new purpose-built International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD), a ground-breaking building with ultra-modern research and teaching facilities. A key role in attracting funding for the ICBD was played by Sir Geoff Palmer OBE, the current Chancellor of Heriot-Watt. Back in the 1960s, Sir Geoff studied jointly at then Heriot-Watt College and the University of Edinburgh where he completed his PhD in grain science and technology. After a research career in Surrey, he returned to Heriot-Watt University in 1977, where he invented the barley abrasion process before helping establish the ICBD.

Another key individual who was appointed the first Visiting Professor was Ronnie Martin OBE, Production Director of United Distillers – now Diageo. Together with United Distillers’ Dr John Philp, he introduced a new lecture module which paved the way for a course that offered practical training for Heriot-Watt students on distilling.

Thanks to Sir Geoff and Ronnie Martin, this was the start of a new ‘golden era’ in research and innovation for brewing and distilling at Heriot-Watt.

1990

The ICBD was officially opened. It housed facilities unrivalled anywhere in the UK, and even the world. They included a pilot brewery, pilot distillery (installed by United Distillers and which included a 25-litre wash still and 18-litre spirit still from its Glenochil Research Station), cereal cooker, single-head manual bottle-filling unit, and micro maltings.

ICBD grew in importance, becoming a vital partner between the brewing and distilling industries and the university. As well as United Distillers, it received substantial support from the Scotch Whisky Association, the Brewers' Society and the Maltsters Association of Great Britain, Suntory, Diageo, the Brewers' Association of Scotland, and Scottish & Newcastle.

2025

Heriot-Watt University unveils its multi-million pound plans to replace the ICBD with a new purpose-built Centre for Sustainable Brewing and Distilling, further extending its influence on brewing and distilling.

Heriot-Watt alumni

• Sir Geoff Palmer OBE, famous researcher and inventor of the barley abrasion process, who helped set up Heriot-Watt’s ICBD. Current Heriot-Watt Chancellor
• Martin Dickie: Co-founder of BrewDog
• Kirsty Black: Distillery Manager & Distiller at Arbikie Highland Estate
• David Wilkinson: Head Distiller at Edinburgh Gin
• Ross O'Hara: Became the youngest master brewer at Green King
• Bhavya Mandanna: A Master Brewer, executive leader at Diageo and chair of the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD) Industry Advisory Board
• Molly Troupe: A partner and Master Distiller at Freeland Spirits craft gin and whisky distillery in Portland, Oregon