Event Date
Join us for an enlightening and entertaining evening with the "Pope of Foam," Distinguished Professor Emeritus Charlie Bamforth, as he shares his new book, Fermentation for Your Culinary Delight.
What do beer, bread, cheese, yogurt, cured meats, pickled fish, vinegar, cider, wine, distilled beverages, tea, coffee, cocoa, and chocolate have in common? They are all delicious products of fermentation. Microorganisms convert a raw material (say milk in the case of cheese; grain in the case of beer; grapes in the case of wine) into a longer-lasting and more enjoyable product. In Fermentation for Your Culinary Delight, Author Charlie Bamforth explores the basics of fermentation and the science behind your favorite foodstuffs in an easy-to-understand, humorous and colorful narrative.
Event Schedule:
5:30 pm: Doors open, book sales
6:00 pm: Presentation
7:15 pm: Post-lecture reception, book sales and signings by the author
8:00 pm: Event ends
Registration:
The event will be presented in person at the Sensory Theatre, Robert Mondavi Institute, UC Davis Campus.
- Ticket prices: $40 general, $35 UC Davis faculty/staff, $25 students (discount codes are listed on the registration page).
- Includes a reception with hosted beer, wine and appetizers.
- Limited seats are available. Parking details are below.
Registration opens soon.
Speaker Biography:
Charlie Bamforth became Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis after retiring in 2018 as the first Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences at UC Davis. He has been part of the brewing industry since 1978. He was formerly Deputy Director-General of Brewing Research International and Research Manager and Quality Assurance Manager of Bass Brewers. He is an Honorary Professor in the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham, England and was previously Visiting Professor of Brewing at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Charlie is a Fellow of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling, of the Royal Society of Biology and of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology. Bamforth served for 18 years as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. He is also a long-standing member of the editorial board of the Journal of the Institute of Brewing. He has published innumerable papers and articles and has written or edited more than 20 books, several of which have been translated into Portuguese, Russian and Italian. His latest scientific contributions have included a 6-part series on beer quality simply called Practical Guides for Beer Quality, as well as editing Brewing Materials and Processes: A Practical Approach to Beer Excellence (Elsevier) and (with Nick Bokulich) Brewing Microbiology: Current Research, Omics and Microbial Ecology (Caister). He served on the Advisory Board and a contributor of many entries in The Oxford Companion to Beer (2012). In 2020, Charlie released In Praise of Beer (Oxford University Press). In October 2010, he was on The Honor Roll as one of the 20 professors who are changing the classroom in the US (Playboy magazine). Charlie has featured extensively in the media, including the BBC, Discovery Channel, NPR’s Science Friday, PBS, New Scientist, Popular Mechanics, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Popular Science, Brew Dogs and many more. His IMDb credits include The Art & Science of Beer, How Beer Saved the World, How Stuff Works, Ultimate Factories and Kings of Beer. He has presented at innumerable venues including Google, the New York Academy of Sciences, the Smithsonian, the National Press Club and Xerox Parc Forum. In 2011, Charlie recieved the Award of Distinctioreceivedn from the American Society of Brewing Chemists for “exceptional contributions and long diligent service to brewing science and the brewing industry”. In 2016, Charlie was given the Lifetime Achievement Stewardship Award by the UC Davis Foundation. The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) awarded Bamforth the Award of Distinction in 2018. The award is “for eminent services on the scientific or technical side of the fermentation industries” and is the highest accolade in brewing science and technology. In 2018, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis presented him with the Award of Distinction. In recognition, he received a California Congressional Commendation and a California State Legislature Certificate of Recognition. In 2019, in recognition of his years of service to the brewing industry, the ASBC, and his students around the globe, the American Society of Brewing Chemists announced the creation of the Charles Bamforth Student Travel Award. The award recognizes Dr. Bamforth’s teaching, research, and publications by supporting young researchers. In 2021, the IBD unveiled the Stewart-Bamforth Educators Award, a competitive award seeking to “identify malting, brewing, distilling, packaging and cider educators who have made sustained and significant contributions to the global education of brewers and distillers”. In June 2022, Bamforth was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the MBAA, which is given to individuals who have distinguished themselves in advancing the association, the art of brewing, or the interest thereof. In January 2019, Charlie took on the role of Senior Quality Advisor with Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, a role that concluded in December 2025. In March 2023, Bamforth received the Craft Beer Pioneer award from the Brewers Cup of California as “an individual who has propelled the craft beer industry over the years and helped shape it into what it is today”. In April 2023, he was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the ASBC. He was elected to the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame in February 2026.
About:
This event is part of the Forum: Talks on Food & Wine Sciences series, which presents an array of research and scientific advancements in the disciplines of wine, brewing, and food sciences to demonstrate the importance of UC Davis to the food and beverage industry.
Venue & Parking:
This event will be in-person in the Silverado Vineyards Sensory Theater at the Robert Mondavi Institute, Sensory Building. Parking is available at the Gateway Parking Structure. Parking payment is enforced on weekdays. There are three options for parking payment:
- UC Davis uses AggiePark. Download the free AMP Park app on your iPhone or Android beforehand. When you park, you will enter the Zone (listed on the nearby sign) into the app and follow the instructions to pay for parking. This is the preferred and easiest method.
- If you do not have a smartphone to download the app, you can also sign up for an account online and follow the steps on the website: https://aimsmobilepay.com/
- Alternatively, permit machines in the Gateway Parking Structure accept credit cards. You will need to enter your license plate number into the machine to purchase a permit. We recommend this option as a last choice.
Questions?
If you have questions about this event, please email [email protected].