Brewing and Distilling with Entrepreneurship MSc

Overview of Programme
MSc Brewing and Distilling with Entrepreneurship provides you with the unique blend of a high-level education in brewing and distilling and key transferable professional skills, to enable you to enter careers in these industries, including private entrepreneurial ventures upon your graduation. The programme will give you the skills to assess and address both technical and entrepreneurial challenges as they arise in the malting, brewing and distilling industries.

You’ll learn a broad range of subjects, from malting, brewing and distilling science and chemical engineering to optional units in business studies and production management, to set you up for a variety of careers including malting, brewing, and distilling production, sales, marketing, and technical sales. You'll explore the underlying principles, relevant defining concepts, theories, and methods of the malting, brewing and distilling industries whilst understanding the current and emerging characteristics of and problems faced by industry. You’ll explore the global, regional, and local contexts and structure of industry, and be made aware of the political, legal, ethical, health and safety issues in producing, selling, and marketing alcoholic drinks and beverages.

During the masters programme, you’ll develop a broad spectrum of expertise, covering topics in cereal science and technology, yeast science, microbiology, biochemistry, process technology, business strategies, management, food safety, quality control and quality assurance, flavour assessment, and analytical chemistry. You’ll explore policy, legislation, ethical, health and safety issues of concern as they relate to the design, manufacture, marketing, and sale of alcoholic drinks within the brewing and distilling industry.

Our Expertise
Teaching in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt began in 1903, which led to the establishment of the highly reputable International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD) in 1989. The International Centre for Brewing and Distilling is a unique teaching and research facility which meets the needs of the brewing, distilling and malting industries worldwide. You will learn directly from academics involved in this world leading research.

Your learning environment
During your studies, you’ll benefit from our specialist equipment, software and laboratories used by industry, including our on-site nano-brewery (2 HL), distillery, and rectification laboratory. You will have the opportunity to work on research addressing real-world problems, and work across disciplines to deliver practical solutions with global impact.

Graduates of the programme will become members of their own branch of The Watt Club, known as The Watt Club: Brewing and Distilling. This group of alumni were established in 1958 as Heriot-Watt University Former Brewing Students Association, and still gather annually in Edinburgh to network and to meet with new students providing an excellent but informal opportunity to meet alumni working in the industry.

Customise your learning
You’ll have the opportunity to focus on the areas of brewing and distilling, entrepreneurship, and bioscience that interest you the most. You can customise your degree to match your specific interests or desired career pathway by studying seven mandatory courses and choosing one further option from beverage microbiology and biochemistry, foundations of energy, and introduction to process technology. You can choose whether to study the programme full-time or part-time. If you decided to study part-time, you register for two courses per semester and progress to the dissertation at the end of your second year.  

Accreditation
The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) offer MSc graduates the opportunity for exemption from the Diploma in Brewing, or Diploma in Distilling should they wish to undertake the IBD Master Brewer or Master Distiller qualification.