Michael Combrune

Michael Combrune was an eighteenth-century brewer and writer, remembered for applying careful observation and measurement to brewing. Sources describe him as a brewer in Hampstead, near London, and credit him as an early pioneer in using the thermometer to make brewing more consistent and better understood.

His best-known works include An Essay on Brewing (1758) and The Theory and Practice of Brewing (1762), an expanded version of the earlier book. These works helped frame brewing not just as a trade skill but as something that could be explained through principles, experiment, and close attention to temperature, malt, and fermentation.

Although biographical details about his life are limited, his influence survives through the long afterlife of his books. He is typically listed as having died in 1773, and he remains a notable figure in the history of brewing literature.