Michael Combrune Promotes Thermometer-Controlled Brewing

In 1762, London brewer Michael Combrune published The Theory and Practice of Brewing, one of the earliest detailed brewing manuals to make systematic use of the thermometer. Combrune recommended measuring and recording temperatures during malting, mashing, wort cooling, and fermentation rather than relying only on touch, experience, or customary rules. Thermometry gave brewers a repeatable way to control heat-sensitive stages of production and compare one brew with another. Adoption was gradual and met resistance from some traditional brewers, but Combrune’s work helped establish temperature measurement as a foundation of increasingly quantitative and consistent brewery practice.