Academic Staff

Lecturer

Email: brian.gibson@tudublin.ie

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gibson-brian-47a5b817/

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=44BwPNYAAAAJ&hl=en

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Gibson-7?ev=hdr_xprf

Orcid: https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0002-1270-6532

Background

Dr Brian Gibson obtained a first-class honours degree in Science from University College Dublin. He then went on to pursue a PhD at the same institution, where he studied plant–microbe interactions in the context of stress and bioremediation. After receiving his doctorate in 2004, he undertook post-doctoral research in the UK in the Food Science Departments at Oxford Brookes University and the University of Nottingham. This work ultimately led to an offer from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, where he spent 11 years as a Senior/Principal Scientist managing research projects related to malting, brewing, fermentation, beer quality, and microbiology. Alongside brewing research, he worked with a wide range of fermented foods and beverages, including bread, wine, and cider. His work at VTT employed diverse methodologies such as genome analysis, microbial ecology, process technology, and chemical analytics. In 2020, Dr Gibson was employed by TU Berlin as Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Brewing and Beverage Technology within the Institute for Food Technology and Food Chemistry. He taught a range of courses at TU Berlin and has played a key role in updating degree programmes and modernising the department’s approach to teaching. Together with his colleagues, he delivered courses covering the entire beer brewing process as well as the production of various other fermented beverages. In January 2026, Dr Gibson accepted a position at TU Dublin in the School of Food Science and Environmental Health, where he is involved in teaching a number of modules related to brewing, fermentation and microbiology. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at TU Dublin, he currently serves as an external examiner for brewing degree programmes at two other universities. He is also a member of the board of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) and is Chair of the ASBC technical committee. He is a member of the editorial board of a number of publications including Yeast, the Journal of the ASBC, and the Journal of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. He additionally holds an adjunct professor position at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

 

Research Interests

Dr Gibson’s primary focus is the brewing process, with a particular interest in brewing yeast physiology and how this impacts fermentation performance and beer quality. Recent research has dealt with yeast strain selection and modification for more efficient processes and for product development. In recent years, his research work has extended to other fermented products, including chicha, cider, coffee, kombucha, rice wine, and plant-based yoghurt. Throughout his career as a professional scientist, he has consistently secured funding from both public bodies and industry and has maintained a strong publication record, with 90+ peer-reviewed publications (H-index = 37), in addition to numerous invited conference presentations. His work has been featured in outlets such as

MIT Technology Review, Newsweek, New Scientist, and Scientific American. He is regularly involved in outreach work and communicating scientific results to a general audience. This has included interviews for news media, appearances on podcasts and articles in non-specialist publications.

 

Publications

· Abedi, E., Gibson, B., Wietstock, P.C. (2025) Biochemical processes, chemical compositions, and nutrient profiles of germinated barley grains after steeping with thiolated and aminated spent brewer's yeast hydrolysates. Food Chemistry. In press.

· Abedi, E., Wietstock, P.C., Gibson, B. (2025) Amino and thiol-functionalized brewer’s spent yeast hydrolysates: physicochemical and antioxidant properties. Food Science and Nutrition. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fsn3.71164.

· Herdt, D., Wühler, F., Kunz, T., Schiwek, V., Kühnemuth, S., Gibson, B., Rädle, M. (2025) Mid-infrared spectroscopy and machine learning for chlorogenic acid quantification in coffee. Chemie Ingenieur Technik. https://doi.org/10.1002/cite.70049.

· Katsch, L., Sokolowsky, M., Gibson, B., Schneider, J. (2025) Influence of pasteurization on the chemical, physical and sensory properties of apple juice. Applied Food Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afres.2025.101471.

· Katsch, L., Weishaupt, I., Sokolowsky, M., Gibson, B., Schneider, J. (2025) Impact of equivalent sterilization processes with different time-temperature combinations on the chemical, physical and sensory properties of carrot juice. European Food Research and Technology 251: 3649-3668, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-025-04860-5.

· Flores, J., König, S., Hutzler, M., Kunz, O., Krogerus, K. Lehnhardt, F., Magalhães, F., Svedlund, N., Grijalva-Vallejos, N., Gibson, B. (2025) Genetic pre-adaptations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Andean chicha isolates facilitate industrial brewery application. Food Microbiology 104815, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2025.104815.

· Wietstock, P., Michalek, D., Treetzen, T., Pinto, M., Biendl, M., Gibson, B. (2025) Enzymatic activity of German hop cultivars with respect to variety, crop year, and separated hop cone parts. ACS Food Science & Technology fs-2025-002177. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.5c00217

· Gibson, B., He, Y. (2025) Why settle? A review of timely and premature brewing yeast flocculation. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 131: 3-26. https://doi.org/10.58430/jib.v131i1.64.

· Gibson, B. (2025) Brewing yeasts: An overview. In Brewing Microbiology, 2nd Ed., Editor Hill, A. Woodhead Publishing. Cambridge, Mass., USA. ISBN 978-0-323-99606-8.

· Svedlund, N., Kiepert, A., Rodriguez, J., Magalhães, F., Wietstock, P., Gibson, B. (2025) Enhancement of dry-hopped cider aroma through selection of apple cultivar, hop variety, and yeast strain. Food Microbiology, 129: 104755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2025.104755.

· Pinto, M.B.C., M., Schmidt, F., Chen, Z., Rappsilber, J., Gibson, B., Wietstock, P. (2024) The influence of barley proteome on hop bitter acid yield during brewing. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 72: 21166–21180. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c04396#.

· Linnakoski, R., Veteli, P., Cortina-Escribano, M., Eerikäinen, R., Magalhães, F. Järvenpää, E., Heikkilä, L., Hutzler, M., Jyske, T., Gibson, B. (2023). Brewing potential of strains of the boreal yeast Mrakia gelida. Frontiers in Microbiology 14: 1108961. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1108961/abstract.

· Mertens, T., Kunz, T., Gibson, B., De Rouck, G., Aerts, G., De Cooman, L. (2023) Effect of mash chelator addition on transition metal content and oxidative stability of brewer’s wort. BrewingScience, 76: 58-72.

· Pinto, M.B.C., Schmidt, F.L., Rappsilber, J., Gibson, B., Wietstock, P.C. (2023) Unveiling the hop bitters acid linkages to protein aggregate profiles during wort boiling. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 71: 5700-5711.

· Krogerus, K., Rettberg, N., Gibson, B. (2022) Increased volatile thiol release during beer fermentation using constructed interspecies yeast hybrids. European Food Research and Technology 249: 55-69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-022-04132-6.

· Gerőcs, A., Nagy, T., Nemes-Barnás, K., Májer, J., Szőke, B., Kővágó, R., Magalhães, F., Gibson, B., Szekeres, A., Posta, K., Olasz, F. (2022) Characterization of Saccharomyces strains isolated from “Kéknyelű” grape must and their potential for wine fermentation. Fermentation, 8: 416. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8080416.

· Svedlund, N., Evering, S., Gibson, B., Krogerus, K. (2022) Fruits of their labour: Biotransformation reactions of yeasts during brewing and other fermentations. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 106: 4929-4944. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00253-022-12068-w.

· Mozzachiodi, S., Bai, F.-Y., […], Gibson, B., […], Yurkov, A., Liti, G., Boynton, P. (2022) Yeasts from temperate forests. Yeast 39: 4-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/yea.3699.

· Mozzachiodi, S., Krogerus, K., Gibson, B., Nicolas, A., Liti, G. (2022) Unlocking the genetic potential of sterile industrial polyploid yeasts by return-to-growth. Nature Communications 13, 2580. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30221-x.

· He, Y., Yin, H., Dong, J., Yu, J., Zhang, L., Yan, P., Wan, X., Hou, X., Zhao, Y., Chen, R., Gibson, B., Krogerus, K. (2022) Reduced sensitivity of lager brewing yeast to premature yeast flocculation via adaptive evolution. Food Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2022.104032.

· Nikulin, J., Aisala, H., Gibson, B. (2022) Non-alcoholic beer production via cold-contact fermentation with Torulaspora delbrueckii. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 128: 28-35. https://doi.org/10.1002/jib.681

· Wietstock, P.C., Winter, F., Michalek, D., Biendl, M., Gibson, B. (2022) A method for the determination of hop diastatic power – Part II. BrewingScience 5: 37.

· Krogerus, K., Eerikäinen, R., Aisala, H., Gibson, B. (2022) Repurposing brewery contaminant yeast as production strains for low-alcohol beer fermentation. Yeast. doi.org/10.1002/yea.3674.

· Wietstock, P.C., Lützenberger, T., Biendl, M., Gibson, B. (2021) A method for the determination of hop diastatic power – Part I. BrewingScience 74: 92-99.

· Mertens, T., Kunz, T., Gibson, B. (2022) Transition metals in brewing and their role in wort and beer oxidative stability: a review. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 128: 77-95. DOI 10.1002/jib.699.

· Krogerus, K., Fletcher, E., Gibson, B., Rettberg, N., Preiss, R. (2021) Efficient breeding of industrial brewing yeast strains using CRISPR/Cas9-aided mating-type switching. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11626-y.

· Krogerus, K., Magalhães, F., Castillo, S., Peddinti, G., Vidgren, V., de Chiara, M., Yue, J.-X., Liti, G., Gibson, B. (2021) Lager yeast design through meiotic segregation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae x Saccharomyces eubayanus hybrid. Front. Fungal Biol. doi.org/10.3389/ffunb.2021.733655.

· Hutzler, M., Michel, M., Kunz, O., Kuusisto, T., Magalhães, F., Krogerus, K., Gibson, B. (2021) Unique brewing-relevant properties of the non-domesticated yeast Saccharomyces jurei isolated from ash (Fraxinus excelsior). Frontiers in Microbiology, 12: 645271. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.645271.

· Catallo, M., Lattici, F., Randazzo, C.L., Caggia, C., Krogerus, K., Magalhães, F., Gibson, B., Solieri, S. (2021) Hybridization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae sourdough strains with cryotolerant Saccharomyces bayanus NBRC1948 as a strategy to increase diversity of strains available for lager beer fermentation. Microorganisms, 9: 514.

· Johansson, L., Nikulin, J., Juvonen, R., Krogerus, K., Magalhães, F., Mikkelson, A., Nuppunen-Puputti, M., Sohlberg, E., de Francesco, G., Perretti, G., Gibson, B. (2021) Sourdough cultures as reservoirs of maltose-negative yeasts for low-alcohol beer brewing. Food Microbiology, 94: 103629. doi:10.1016/j.fm.2020.103629.

· Magalhães, F., Calton, A., Heiniö, R.L., Gibson, B. (2021) Frozen-dough baking potential of psychrotolerant Saccharomyces species and derived hybrids. Food Microbiology, 94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2020.103640.

· Grijalva-Vallejos, N., Krogerus, K., Nikulin, J., Magalhães, Aranda, A., Matallana, E., Gibson, B. (2021) Potential application of yeasts from Ecuadorian chichas for controlled beer and chicha production. Food Microbiology 98: 103644. Doi:10.1016/j.fm.2020.103644.

· Nikulin, J., Eerikäinen, R., Hutzler, M., Gibson, B. (2020) Brewing characteristics of the maltotriose-positive yeast Zygotorulaspora florentina isolated from oak. Beverages, 6: 58.

· Nikulin, J., Vidgren, V., Krogerus, K. Magalhães, F., Valkeemäki, S., Kangas-Heiska, T., Gibson, B. (2020) Brewing potential of the wild yeast species Saccharomyces paradoxus. European Food Research and Technology, 246: 2283-2297 Doi: 10.1007/s00217-020-03572-2.

· Mardones, W., Villarroel C.A., Krogerus, K., Tapia, S.M., Oporto, C.I., O’Donnell, S., Minebois, R., Nespolo, R., Fischer, G., Querol, A., Gibson, B., Cubillos F. A. (2020) Genomic, transcriptomic and

metabolomics analysis reveal alternative regulatory mechanisms in natural Saccharomyces eubayanus isolates under beer wort fermentation. Microbial Biotechnology, 13: 1012-1025.

· Catallo, M., Nikulin, J., Johansson, L., Krogerus, K., Laitinen, M., Magalhães, F., Piironen, M., Mikkelson, A., Randazzo, C.L., Solieri, S. & Gibson, B. (2020) Sourdough-derived strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and their potential for farmhouse ale brewing. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 126: 168-175.

· Krogerus, K. & Gibson, B. (2020). A re-evaluation of diastatic Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and their role in brewing. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 104: 3745-3756. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00253-020-10531-0.

· Gibson, B., Dahabieh, M., Jouhten, P., Krogerus, K., Magalhães, F., Siewers, V. & Vidgren, V. (2020). Directed evolution of ale and lager yeast for improved brewing efficiency and beer quality. Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, 11: 23-44.

· Dahabieh, M., Thevelein, J. & Gibson, B. (2020) Multimodal microorganism development: Integrating top-down biological engineering with bottom-up rational design. Trends in Biotechnology 38: 241-253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.09.006