Beer aficionados can now enjoy a university-level brewing course, minus the final exams, presented by one of the world’s leading brewing scientists.

Charles Bamforth, head of the brewing science program at the University of California, Davis, presents the new audio series “Brewmaster’s Art: The History and Science of Beermaking.” The 14 35-minute lectures examine modern brewing, including commentary on the complexity and balance of the flavors in the wide range of beer styles.

“This audio series is intended for everyone from the casual beer enthusiast to brewing professionals,” said Bamforth, the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences at UC Davis. “It offers listeners the opportunity to increase their knowledge of the history and science of beer brewing at their own pace from their homes or offices.”

Bamforth is a professor and former chair of UC Davis’ Department of Food Science and Technology, where he teaches and conducts research on malting and brewing.

He began his work in the brewing industry in 1978 and joined the UC Davis faculty in 1999. Before coming to UC Davis, he was the deputy director-general of Brewing Research International and research manager and quality assurance manager of Bass Brewers.

He now also serves as a special professor in the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham, England, and is a fellow of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, the Society of Biology, and the International Academy of Food Science and Technology. He is editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists.

Bamforth has written several books on beer and brewing, including the release this year of the third edition of “Beer: Tap into the Art and Science of Brewing,” first published in 1998. He is also the author of “Grape Versus Grain” (2008), which he considers to be a “completely unbiased” comparison of wine and beer; "Scientific Principles of Malting and Brewing" (2006); "Food, Fermentation and Micro-organisms" (2005); "Beer: Health and Nutrition" (2004); and "Standards of Brewing: Formulas for Consistency and Excellence" (2002).

The audio lecture series, produced by Modern Scholar, is available on cassette or CD. It is accompanied by a detailed, full-color course guide, which includes Bamforth’s outline and lecture notes, numerous reference resources and options for further study.

The Modern Scholar is a new series of recorded college-level courses presented in lecture-style format by Recorded Books. The “Brewmaster’s Art” series can be purchased online at: http://www.recordedbooks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=scholar.home.

About UC Davis

For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has 32,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $600 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges -- Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools -- Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.