An Essay on Brewing, with a View of establishing The Principles of the Art published in 1758 is the first text to recommend the use of the thermometer in a brewery. The author, Michael Combrune, was an ale brewer in the small village of Hempstead just north of London.

This work is the first practical guide that applies the principles of early chemistry to malting and brewing. This is a departure from treating brewing solely as an art and arguably heralds in the beginning of the field of brewing science.