author
Michael Combrune
d. 1773
An 18th-century brewer with a practical scientist’s mind, he helped bring careful measurement into the brewhouse. His writing turns beer-making into a lively mix of experiment, observation, and craft.
1 Audiobook
The Theory and Practice of Brewing
by Michael Combrune
About the author
Michael Combrune was a brewer and writer who died in 1773. Sources describe him as a first-generation brewer of wealthy Huguenot parentage, and place his ale brewery in Hampstead, then on the edge of London, in the 1740s and 1750s.
He is best known for An Essay on Brewing (1758) and the expanded The Theory and Practice of Brewing (1762). His books explored malt, fermentation, and brewing technique in a notably analytical way, aiming to explain the principles behind the craft rather than simply list recipes.
Combrune is often remembered for promoting the thermometer as a useful brewing tool. Later historians and library notes credit him as an early pioneer of brewery thermometry, helping move brewing toward more systematic measurement and observation.