Since the formation of the International Centre for Brewing & Distilling, a panel of senior figures within the malting, brewing, distilling, and allied industries has been involved with supporting teaching and research. Through regular meetings and interaction with staff, the board provides advice and information on current trends and innovations within the industries, opportunities to collaborate, and career support.

Our members include:

• Roddy McEwan (Chair): Driven by a passion for beer and brewing professionally and at home, Roddy has worked in the drinks industry since 2000 in various production, quality, R&D and Technical roles. He was most recently Head of Technical & Innovation at C&C group PLC, a role covering all aspects of innovation, quality, and project governance within the company. In previous roles Roddy held a global technical leadership position with Molson Coors, where he built the company’s brewing process innovation program and he worked with SABMiller in London as a global brewing consultant. A very productive spell in Kronenbourg, Strasbourg, leading the Carlsberg pilot facility and French innovation projects opened his eyes to how to really get things done in an international environment and of course, in French! Before this he held various production and technical roles within Scottish & Newcastle PLC. Roddy’s first role fresh from the ICBD was at Young’s Brewery in London where he was happily immersed in the industry and has loved brewing and distilling ever since.

• Dr James Brosnan: James is the Director of the Edinburgh based Scotch Whisky Research Institute (SWRI), the research and technology organisation representing the majority of the Scotch Whisky industry.  He entered the distilling industry in 1991 as a Management Trainee and Process Development Scientist with Diageo.  James joined SWRI in 1994 as a Cereals Research Scientist where his work focused on engaging with the supply chain and academia to improve the quality of barley and wheat for Scotch Whisky production.  In 2007 he was made Research Manager with overall responsibility for the SWRI research programme “from barley to bottle” which provided plenty of scope to enjoy both the scientific challenges and precompetitive camaraderie of Scotch Whisky production.  James was appointed Director of SWRI in 2015 and has continued his interest in collaboration with the wider world of science to benefit the Scotch Whisky industry.  He is Director of the Barley Industry Training Network (BARIToNE), an industry/academic collaboration led by SWRI, to train 30 future barley sustainability experts and is on the Board of the International Barley Hub.  James is an Honorary Professor at Heriot Watt University and member of the ICBD Industry Advisory Board and Scottish Bioeconomy Council.  Prior to employment in the Scotch Whisky industry, James was trained as a plant biochemist at Oxford University and gained a PhD on Beetroot from the University of York – a subject he notes was harder to engage with socially than whisky!

• Steve Stewart: Since starting Brewing at the age of 16, Steve has chosen beer and brewing as his professional foundation. From degrees at Heriot Watt and Glasgow Caledonian, he has had the opportunity to work in varied roles within the brewing industry, with many great people in larger companies such as Bass, Mitchells & Butler, Harpoon and various smaller independents. Watching his brother’s fight against Cancer strengthened his determination to do his own thing, which led to the launch of Stewart Brewing Ltd in 2004. His motto is to have fun brewing great beer. Together with his wife, Jo, they have built a great team and business in Edinburgh and look forward to the many plans they have for developing and growing. There’s lots going on…!

• Chris Hayman: Christopher Hayman is Chairman of Hayman Distillers – part of the family Group HG&Co Ltd. Christopher joined James (James was his great Grandfather), who were Distillers of Beefeater Gin, after leaving University. He became Operations Director before the Company was sold to Whitbread. Christopher brought back the Alcohols and Solvent business which has grown, at the same time as continuing his love for gin creating Hayman’s Gin and assisting with establishing the Hayman’s Gin Distillery in Balham. Christopher has been Chairman of the Gin & Vodka Association (now part of the WSTA) Trustee of the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust and is a member of the Spirits Committee at the WSTA. He has been Grand Rectifier and is Chairman of the Gin Guild. He is also a Pastmaster of the Worshipful Company of Distillers.

• Bhavya Mandanna: Bhavya is the Immediate Past President and the third female President of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling. She was the youngest woman appointed to this position, bringing with her a strategic, innovative mind-set and strong leadership skills. Originally from Bangalore, in India, Bhavya started her professional career at Molson Coors Beverage Company in the UK, in 2010 as a Supply Chain Brewing Student, and progressed to become a Technical Brewer before she joined Carlsberg UK in 2014. Since then, Bhavya has gained extensive, multicultural leadership experience in the supply chain, in various positions including Regional Brewing Lead for Western Europe, Production Director for Olympic Brewery S.A. (a part of Carlsberg Group) in Greece, Senior Director of Production for Carlsberg Denmark, and Head of Innovation & Focused Improvement for Western Europe for Molson Coors Beverage Company. Currently, Bhavya works as the Science & Technology Director (Global) for Diageo leading technical strategic R&D and supply chain transformation programmes. A proud brewer, with a great passion for continually developing herself and others, Bhavya became one of the youngest Master Brewers from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) in 2014, winning the James Hough Award. She also has an MBA from Warwick Business School, and an MSc. In Brewing and Distilling from Heriot Watt University. Her other vocational studies have included Business Sustainability Management from Cambridge University, Digital Transformation from Imperial College London and Project Management from Cornell University. Throughout her career to date, her hallmark has been her delivery of fantastic results through amazing teamwork, continually striving for excellence alongside the development of great relationships. In her spare time Bhavya enjoys spending time with family and friends. She also likes to travel and experience new cultures and ideologies, alongside trying something entirely new, in line with her love of learning.

• Iain Kenny: Iain Kenny is the Head of Technical at Murphy and Son Ltd in Nottingham. Murphy and Son is a leading manufacturer and one stop shop supplying the brewing, distilling, Cider and Wine industries, primarily with process aids, fining agents and liquor treatments. As Head of Technical, he is responsible for the Laboratory (which carries out analysis on customer samples as well as in house QC), Research and Development, Engineering and Sustainability. This role has allowed him to pursue his passion for helping producers overcome challenges and difficulties through the application of sound technical analysis and information. This role also provides very close links with academic and research bodies such as The ICBD and the University of Nottingham. Iain is also an active member of the Great Northern Section of the IBD. >Graduating in the BSc programme at from the ICBD in 2006, Iain’s early career was spent as Head Brewer at Kelham Island Brewery in Sheffield, followed by a short stint owning his own contract brewing and consultancy business. Iain joined Murphys in 2017 as a Technical Sales Representative before taking up his current role three years later.

• Dr Yushi Noguchi: Yushi Noguchi is a Senior General Manager of the Whisky Blending & Planning Department of Suntory Spirits Limited. He earned his BSc and MSc degree in Applied Chemistry from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2000 and joined Suntory Limited as a researcher at the same year. He has worked for whisky R&D and production for more than 20 years including two dispatches to Scotland. In the first time to Scotland 2007, he studied for PhD degree at Heriot-Watt University. His current role is management of the department work for product development, inventory control and R&D of global whiskies.

• Dr Sylvie van Zandyke: Sylvie studied biochemical engineering and fermentation in Belgium; she completed her degree in 1996. She then obtained her Ph.D. on Saccharomyces cerevisiae in 2000 from Oxford Brookes University in the UK and stayed for a 4-year postdoc. In 2004 she accepted a post with Lallemand and moved to Montreal, Canada as project manager for their genetic identification laboratory. In 2007 moved to the USA and became the Technical Sales Manager for Lallemand Brewing looking after dry yeast and nutrition products on a global basis. At the end of 2011 she joined DSM Food Specialties focusing on brewing enzymes for the next 5 years. Finally, she re-joined Lallemand in December 2016 as the Director of Sales and Marketing for brewer’s yeast, bacteria and nutrients. She was also appointed Director of Ethics for the Siebel Institute of Technology (part of Lallemand) in 2022. Sylvie has been a member of the American Society of Brewing Chemists for 20 years and she is currently the president of the organization. She also is the 2023-2025 Pink Boots Society Chapter Leader in Las Vegas, NV.

• Andy Leman: Andy discovered the delights of beer and brewing as a teenager. His father taught him home brewing as a way to keep him and his school friends out of the village pub, this backfiring as they still frequented the pub, but all piled back to his house to drink home brew until the early hours. Eventually, the interest in brewing led him to Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, where he achieved an Honours degree in Brewing and Microbiology. Andy started working at Timothy Taylor’s in 1987 as 3rd Brewer and Bottling Manager, under Allan Hey and Peter Eells, and became Head Brewer in 2015. He continues to brew to the same values as his mentors – no compromise on raw materials or in the process of crafting our renowned beers.

• Georgina Young: George’s passion for brewing started during her student years at King’s College London. She studied Biotechnology at undergraduate level, before completing a Master’s degree in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh. Her career began in her hometown of Bristol, at Smiles Brewery, where she learnt from the floor upwards – starting in the lab before progressing to shift brewing. She then moved to Brewing Research International (now Camden BRI) to run the pilot brewing facilities where she worked with the likes of Prof Charles Bamforth. She then joined Fuller’s as Production Brewer in April 1999 under the wing of John Keeling, Brewing Director. George worked in a shift brewing position and also manged many areas of the brewery; installing a new tank farm to increase the fermentation capacity, recreating beers such as Gales’ HSB and Prize Old Ale as well as developing many new beers for Fullers such as Honeydew, many seasonals and Session IPA as well as assisting with the ISO9002 Quality program. Following her second maternity leave, she took a break from brewing and became a science teacher for four years at a comprehensive school in Richmond, Surrey. It was not long before the draw of Fuller’s brought her back to the Griffin Brewery and in October 2013, George re-joined Fuller’s as the Brewing and Packaging Manager. George coordinated the installation of a new Crossflow membrane filter and a CBS system (continuous beer stabilisation system) and transited the brewing of Dark Star Hophead up to Chiswick George was promoted to the role of Head Brewer in 2017. Following the acquisition of Fuller’s brewery by Asahi George joined St Austell Family group as Head Brewer for Bath Ales’ in May 2019 optimising the new brewing and bottling facilities that had recently been installed. The fermentation capacity was increased to 50K barrels by the end of 2019, so George introduced a second shift and also went on to install a new kegger and robotic palletiser. Following the untimely passing of Roger Ryman, George was promoted to Brewing Director in July 2020 and she now splits her time between both breweries. She has recently launched a permanent new cask beer, Anthem, and successfully commissioned a new canning line. George was part of the Trailblazer group for the national Brewing Apprentice scheme and with the St Austell team has successfully helped 6 brewers to date to graduate through the program. George has been Chairman of the Southern Section of the IBD, a Director of Cask Marque, and is a member of the Worshipful Company of Brewers.