For over 130 years, Murphy & Son has been a trusted partner to the world’s leading breweries and beverage producers. Our legacy of research and innovation empowers brewers, winemakers, cidermakers, and distillers to achieve consistent, high-quality results through our expertise and product solutions.

To realise our ambition of becoming the number one provider of technical knowledge in the global beverage industry, we set out to develop natural, eco-friendly antioxidants for beer stability, manufactured right here in Nottingham and designed to be exported globally.

“The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) has exceeded our expectations. This was a pivotal project for Murphy & Son at a time when we were committed to furthering our innovation efforts. The KTP provided a supportive team around our Associate, which was invaluable. Additionally, the timing was perfect as we were positioned to take advantage of a residency opportunity at the University of Nottingham. Overall, this KTP experience has been extremely positive, leading to significant product development and solidifying our relationships within the university. This project has bolstered our reputation as technical experts on a global scale.” – Charles Nicholds, Managing Director, Murphy & Son.

What we did

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) are a three-way collaboration between a UK-based business or charity, a research organisation, and a qualified graduate known as a KTP Associate, who has the capability to lead a strategic business project.

Spanning two years and nine months, the collaboration saw Murphy and Son partnered with two consecutive KTP Associates. Experienced brewer and KTP Associate William Keeble ran the project for the first 17 months, followed by food engineer Aline Brito, who continued the partnership for the remainder of the project. Between them, they conducted literature reviews, data analysis, antioxidant testing, and an ageing study to assess beer colloidal and flavour stability – all under the supervision of brewing expert Professor David Cook from the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham.

The impact

Through this project, the team achieved several major milestones:

  • Identified and proved the benefits of natural antioxidants – tannic acid and pomegranate extract – added during the early stages of brewing.
  • Optimised the balance of these ingredients for cost and effectiveness.
  • Launched Mash Life, a pomegranate extract product designed to protect beer quality without creating waste.
  • Shared scientific findings at Trends in Brewing 2025, one of the world’s key brewing conferences, helping to enhance the company’s reputation on a global stage.
  • Developed new products for improving the freshness of packaged beer, opening further opportunities for innovation.

The KTP strengthened Murphy and Son’s relationship with the University of Nottingham, leading to the relocation of its customer-facing lab and research operations to the university’s International Centre for Brewing Science (ICBS), a pilot brewing facility at Sutton Bonington Campus.

For the university, the KTP has built a strong partnership between the ICBS and Murphy and Son, leading to the creation of the Murphy and Son Fellowship at Nottingham. This has already supported new research projects and PhD-level studies. As Professor David Cook, explains:

“The Knowledge Transfer Partnership has enabled us to establish a highly productive and collaborative relationship between the International Centre for Brewing Science and Murphy and Son. The creation of the Murphy and Son Fellowship at Nottingham has been instrumental in driving forward innovative research in brewing science, especially in the areas of yeast and fermentation. Thanks to this partnership, we have already launched eight new postgraduate research projects, helping to deliver real-world impact through advanced scientific study.”

New brewing protocols for antioxidant additions developed during the project will support future research. The close collaboration means Murphy and Son and the University of Nottingham now share strategic plans and have identified future research priorities.

During the project, KTP Associate Aline represented the collaboration at several international conferences, with the work expected to lead to peer-reviewed publications.

Aline shared, “The KTP has been a fantastic opportunity to grow professionally while tackling real-world challenges in product development. Representing our work at international conferences – including at Murphy and Son’s stand in the U.S. – helped build valuable connections and enhanced the department’s and the company’s reputation. The most rewarding moment was hearing directly from a brewer about the success he’d had with our product. I’m proud that this work will lead to peer-reviewed publications and create a lasting impact.”