Brewer held positions as organist at Gloucester churches while still a teenager. He later received the first open organ scholarship at the RCM in London, as well as a scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford. He was awarded music degrees from Dublin and Lambeth. Brewer served as organist at St. Michael's Church, Coventry, Tonbridge School and Gloucester Cathedral. He was the director of the Three Choirs Festival at Gloucester and founded the Gloucester Orchestral Society. A diligent composer, he wrote both secular and popular works ranging from songs to cantatas. Brewer was knighted in 1926.