Courses

Beer Recipe Development Course

Guided by the IBD and the Creators of Some of the World’s Most Iconic Beers.

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As we transition to becoming the Chartered Institute of Brewers and Distillers (CIBD) on 1st January 2025 with a new website, you will not be able to book any courses or qualifications between 1st January and 5th January 2025. If you have already booked a qualification or a short course with us, you will continue to have access to the learning material on Moodle.

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Master commercial beer recipe development. The Beer Recipe Development course provides the knowledge for recipe development at a commercial scale, along with insights and expert advice from brewers who have developed some of the world’s most iconic beer brands.

It is aimed primarily at experienced commercial brewers and should also benefit serious home brewers. The learning text and videos created by the IBD are based on established science and best practice, while brewers' opinions are based on decades of personal experience. The course delivers key facts and enables brewers to develop a critical approach to the advice received, online research or books on brewing.

The course features text, videos, animations, quizzes, and games that allow you to check your understanding of each section and extend your learning. There is also a downloadable PDF containing technical information, important recipe calculations, and equations.

Your learning is assessed as you go through the course and when finished, you will receive a Certificate of Completion as a record of continuing professional development. 

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

Learning Time: Approximately 5 hours

90 days full access to unique interactive content from date of enrolment

Price: Just £99

 

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The brewers who have contributed with their knowledge and expertise are:

  • Jean-Marie Rock – Former Brewmaster, Brasserie Orval
  • James Conery – Manager of Innovation Sierra Nevada Brewing
  • Georgina Young – Brewing Director, St Austell Brewing Group
  • Charles Nouwen – Beer and Brewing Consultant and former Global Head of Beer Passion, Ab InBev
  • Professor Charles Bamforth - Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California
  • John Keeling – Former Brewing Director, Fuller’s Brewery

What previous candidates are saying?

Having completed the GCB and having been so impressed with the materials and support involved in that course, the opportunity to expand my knowledge with another IBD course was very welcome. I am a new brewer working in a small cask brewery where there is no central figure from whom to take a lead from. These courses are invaluable for brewers looking towards their professional development without the support of a brewery. As such they represent excellent value for money and I feel my brewing has benefitted enormously from my participation.
Assistant Brewer
Loch Leven Brewery, Kinross, Scotland.
I really enjoyed the in-depth calculations and discussion of recipe parameters. It was refreshing to have an unbiased view of beer ingredients.
Research and Development Brewer
Fremont Brewing Company (Seattle, WA, USA)
I decided to do this short course as a part of continual professsional development. I am grateful that I did not only did it sharpen my edge it also taught me some really valuable basics! The course was very well put together and the information was straight to the point and flowed together logically and seamlessly.
Lead Brewer
Beaches Brewing Co. Bali
I took this course as I needed more technical information surrounding the creation of a beer recipe which was not readily available to obtain in my workplace. Through this course I was able to examine the wide range of technical parameters used to create a recipe using specific calculations & equations as examples.
Brewing Team Leader
AB InBev/Camden Town Brewery
I have taken the General Certificate and wanted to expand my knowledge practically - I felt that after the General Certificate I still didn't know how to write a recipe or what industry standard ingredients to use despite knowing a fair bit about the science behind the process - I wanted to turn the theoretical knowledge in more applicable and tangible skills. I enjoyed the course with its easy formatting, pictures and diagrams, examples of products, a wide variety of perspectives, and motivation by the guest speakers who encourage the reader to be a better brewer and actually know their stuff.
Production Brewer
Capital Brewing Company, Canberra, Australia
The course was extremely thorough. It not only covered every aspect of developing a recipe but offered a crash course in many fundamental brewing topics simultaneously. I highly enjoyed the videos; they provided a nice departure from reading and note taking and gave the course a bit of personality from the people involved. Overall a wonderful, educational experience.
Process Quality Manager
Pinthouse Brewing
The course provided the calculations used frequently and the quizzes were a snappy way to test and apply what I learnt.
Brewer
4 Pines Brewing, Sydney, Australia

With the course you will:

  • Master the concept of beer recipe

  • Understand the recipe development process

  • Discover the origins of beer styles and learn why they are not the law

  • Learn how to calculate the malt required to achieve a target gravity, ABV and colour

  • Calculate the hops required to achieve a target bitterness level

  • Discover the effect of water on beer quality

  • Calculate residual alkalinity and the salts required to achieve a target ionic profile

  • Learn the effect of brewhouse, fermentation and maturation parameters on quality

  • Understand the effects of speciality yeast and bacteria

  • Discover the effect of finishing on beer quality

Key features

  • Learn at your own pace, when and where it is most convenient for you
  • Have access to the course material for 90 days from the date of enrolment
  • Learn with a rich blend of engaging text, illustrations and videos
  • Get tips from the industry’s most experienced and accomplished brewers
  • Download PDF with recipe calculations and information
  • Check your understanding at the end of each lesson
  • Receive a Certificate of Completion from the most recognised brewing learning provider in the world

Who is this course for?

  • Commercial brewers wanting to improve their recipe development knowledge

  • Serious home brewers who want to learn from the pros

Why choose the IBD?

The IBD provides the most widely recognised professional beverage qualifications in the world. The IBD has existed since 1886 and has built up a reputation for trust in the industry due to the quality of its learning material, support for learners and rigor of its exams. 

Since we began professional qualifications in the 1950s, we have qualified over 100,000 brewers and distillers across the globe.