World of Beer Craft: Institute of Brewing & Distilling presents awards

Talented young brewers from South African Breweries and Carlsberg UK took the top prizes in the Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD) 2014 examinations. The J S Ford prize was awarded to Kavir Parthab of South African Breweries, who achieved the highest score in the Diploma in Brewing examinations in 2014, among all candidates around the world. Taking the J S Hough Award for the best global performance in the IBD Master Brewer examinations was Bhavya Mandanna, based at Carlsberg’s brewery in Northampton, UK.

The winners received their awards from IBD President Charlie Bamforth of the University of California Davis at the Institute’s Midlands Section annual dinner held in Burton-upon-Trent. He said, “It gives me great pleasure to reward these brewers who have achieved such excellent results. Our exams are designed to be taxing of candidates’ beer knowledge, so to have scored so highly speaks volumes for our winners’ talent and dedication.”

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“We are proud to have such outstanding individuals within the IBD and confident they will all enjoy a long and rewarding career in brewing.”

Parthab commented, “The IBD exams are a great way to break into the international brewing industry, by forcing you to go beyond what is done locally in your brewery and country. Understanding every module demands long hours and dedication and I’m grateful to the support of my colleagues and the brewery. Winning the J S Ford Award is truly an honour.” Parthab is now Sustainable Development Engineer at SAB’s Rosslyn Brewery.

Mandanna said, “To quote Thomas Jefferson, I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more luck I have. To be awarded the J S Hough Award is an exhilarating, yet humbling, testament to that great luck. In the long term, this win sets me apart for a career in a profession I am passionate about, while in the short term, I can’t wait to ask my manager for a raise!”

There were a total of 901 examination papers across the IBD’s Diploma in Brewing examinations in 2014, with 94 candidates completing all three modules. Eight candidates completed all five modules in the Master Brewer examinations.

About the awards

The J S Ford Award: This award is named after John Simpson Ford, a valued member of the IBD and chairman of its Research Fund Committee from 1924 to 1926. In 1945, his widow endowed a memorial to her late husband, requesting that it should be of a nature to encourage young brewers. It was agreed that this should take the form of a monetary prize or prizes in perpetuity for the best student of the year passing Part I of the Institute’s Examinations.

The J S Hough Award: This prize is awarded by the University of Birmingham, on the recommendation of the IBD Board of Examiners, for the Master Brewer examinations for the most outstanding performance. The residue of income from the trust established by the University of Birmingham is to be used to promote the academic, or applied, interests of the past students of the British School of Malting and Brewing at the University of Birmingham.

Fun fact: The IBD originated as the “Laboratory Club” in 1886 and now has an international membership of over 4,500 people based in over 80 countries world-wide. For more info, check out the IBD website.