Sponsor

Brewers Association (BA)

Program

2020 Research and Service Grants

For More Information

Program guidelines, access to the application portal and supplementary information are available at the following links:

Research and Service Grants Funding Policies [1]

Research and Service Grants Proposal Guidelines [2]

Draught Beer Quality Manual [3]

Description

Brewers Association (BA) is proud to fund craft beer research and service grants in support of BA member breweries.  In recent years, BA funding has supported research and service grants for:

• public barley and hop variety development
• hop disease and hop aroma research

Projects which appeal to more than one area in particular are welcome. For example, development of hop or barley grower best practice guidance, based on resource use analysis to improve sustainable growth.

Funding Priorities

Sustainability priorities include (but are not limited to):

• improving the efficiency of natural resource use and energy efficiency of the entire brewing pipeline;
• protecting the long-term viability of watersheds in which we operate;
• identification and implementation more sustainable growing practices, and;
• identification and implementation more sustainable packaging options.

Supply Chain priorities include (but are not limited to):

• understanding the affects of kilning conditions and practices on hop amylase activity;
• identifying genetic markers in hops for purposes of breeding;
• understanding flavour outcomes of "bound" versus "free" thiols;
• understanding cone nitrate concentration and sensory outcomes related to fertility timing and amount;
• understanding the beer sensory outcomes of barley malt flavor deciders;
• assessing long-term risk to barley and hop crops related to climate change;
• understanding and measuring the benefit of ongoing geographic spread of barley and hop crops, and; 
• identifying practical markers to replace dry matter values for rapid, accurate assessment of hop maturity and harvest timing.

Draught Beer Quality priorities include (but are not limited to):

• validation or invalidation of current draught line cleaning recommendations found in the Draught Beer Quality Manual;
• assessing the impacts of various materials and components used in draught systems, and;
• identification of  the components in varying craft beer styles that contribute to the development of biofilm in draught beer lines.

Eligibility

There are no specific eligibility requirements to apply to this program.

Submitters are encouraged to be as specific as possible regarding the objectives, methods and desired outcomes of their projects. Projects that benefit the broadest set of BA-member craft breweries will be priorities. For example, breeding efforts that focus on multi-state, collaborative programs are more likely to receive funding compared to those focused on developing varieties or strategies for growing in very specific locations.

The BA also expects that the results of funded projects will be made public, to benefit the wider craft brewing community.

Funding Availability

Approximately US$500,000 is available for the 2020 intake.

Maximum Project Value

No official maximum project value has been set.  Typical project funding is approximately US$30,000.

Indirect Costs

0%

Project Duration

Projects are funded for one year in duration.  For projects requiring more than one year to be completed, continued funding will be evaluated on an annual basis.

The BA budget year runs from January 1 - December 31.

Special Notes

Applicants do not need to partner with a BA member.

Although co-funding is not required by this program, it is not uncommon.

How to Apply

New applicants will need to create an account [6].

Proposals are submitted via the BA online portal [5].