IBD awards ’highest prize’ to talented young brewer

The Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD) has presented its prestigious Cambridge Prize to a talented young brewing scientist working for SABMiller UK.

Dr Stephen Lawrence, a member of SABMiller’s Brewing Innovation team, becomes only the fourth recipient this century of the Cambridge Prize, which is awarded for a ’highly significant’ contribution to brewing science by a younger member of the IBD. The award recognises projects completed and papers published by Lawrence during his time as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham, which advanced the brewing industry’s understanding around the impact of serial repitching on yeast.

In winning the Cambridge Prize, Lawrence joins a short list of brewing luminaries including Charlie Bamforth, President of the IBD, and its President-elect, Dr Katherine Smart, who won the award in 1984 and 1999 respectively.

As well as a cheque for £500 and a trophy, Lawrence receives a bursary to attend the IBD’s International Young Scientists Symposium on Malting, Brewing and Distilling, which takes place in California next April.