Sir Geoff Palmer is Professor Emeritus in the School of Life Sciences at Heriot-Watt University. He is the inventor of the barley abrasion process for which he won the American Society of Brewing Chemists Award of Distinction – the brewing industry equivalent of a Nobel Prize. In what promises to be an entertaining evening, Sir Geoff will reflect on his career which started with a PhD in grain science and technology at Heriot-Watt in 1965. It was under his direction that Heriot-Watt established their unique International Centre for Brewing & Distilling which continues to attract students from around the world.

Sir Geoff was knighted in 2014 for his services to human rights, science and charity. He is less well known as one of the founders of the Scottish Brewing Archive which is now a gem in the collections of the University of Glasgow Library. Without his intervention, the history of the Scottish brewing industry could have been lost forever.  During the event he will share some recent discoveries about the early history of the Brewing Research Foundation in Surrey where he began his world leading research on the science and technology of barley.

For one night only a selection of items from the Scottish Brewing Archive will be on display during a drinks reception hosted by the University of Glasgow Library.