Breweries experimenting to create that unique new craft flavour may be eligible for R&D tax credits, providing they’ve faced a degree of ‘scientific uncertainty’ qualified by a competent professional.

But what do these terms mean and what impact do they have on your brewery’s R&D tax credit eligibility? Pop the cap off a bottle a craft ale, sit back and relax as we delve deeper in today’s blog post...

What are scientific uncertainties?

Proving you’ve sufficiently addressed scientific uncertainties is key to any research and development (R&D) project. This is defined as the pivotal moment of a project where the development process becomes ambiguous. In short, it’s not knowing how to progress beyond a certain point.

How does this translate in a brewery environment? Well, brewers actually face scientific uncertainties all the time when experimenting with new recipes. We don’t have to tell you that brewing is an intricate process, with even the slightest changes in pH, temperature or yeast ratios resulting in widely different tastes, ABV levels and appearances. Of course, this can be particularly problematic when trying to mass produce a specific flavour.

The sharp rise in the popularity of craft beer has seen scientific uncertainties in breweries worldwide, with brewers innovating through the introduction of new ingredients in an attempt to achieve a unique taste. How exactly these new ingredients will react with one another, as well as with the beer’s core ingredients, is unknown until the point of brewing.

Be warned, though. This doesn’t mean any Tom, Dick or Harry can begin home brewing with random ingredients in the name of research and development. Scientific uncertainties are instead validated by a competent professional, who confirms that this uncertainty can only be overcome through R&D, as opposed to existing industry knowledge or resources.

Who qualifies as a competent professional?

A competent professional is an expert within your company who has significant knowledge and experience within your sector. For a brewery, this would likely be a chemist with experience in brewing, rather than Dave the ale enthusiast from the corner of your local pub.

HMRC identifies a competent professional as a worker with sufficient technical expertise to determine whether there’s a genuine need for research and development. According to official guidance, a competent professional is:

• knowledgeable about the relevant scientific and technological principles involved
• up to date on all the latest progress within the relevant field
• recognised as having a successful track record

If your brewery is already meeting the above criteria, or you’d like to find out more about how you can launch an R&D eligible project, get in touch with Lumo today.