Often simply called “Davis” within the wine world, UC Davis is among the world’s most influential teaching institutions in matters regarding fermentation. In April 1880 the Regents of the University of California were mandated by the California State Legislature to establish a program of instruction and research in viticulture and enology, reflecting the clear potential for California to develop an international wine business. Upon the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the department became established on the campus at Davis, near Napa Valley. In 1956 Ruben Schneider, Technical Director of San Francisco’s Lucky Lager Brewing Company, wrote to Emil Mrak, then Chair of the Department of Food Technology at UC Davis (later Chancellor), urging the establishment of a brewing program to complement the wine focus. The brewing program was established in 1958 with a grant from the Master Brewers Association of the Americas. See master brewers association of the americas.

The brewing technology course was the first of its kind to be offered in a major American educational institution. The first pilot-scale brewery was dedicated on December 8, 1958. The brewing program started with eminent fungal taxonomist Herman Phaff, who gave lectures within an Industrial Applications of Yeast course. The first appointed teacher for brewing was T.O.M. (“Tommy”) Nakayama, who later moved on to the Miller Brewing Company. From 1964 Michael Lewis took over the teaching of the brewing program. See lewis, michael j. Charles Bamforth was appointed to the Anheuser-Busch Professorship of Malting and Brewing Sciences in 1999. See bamforth, charles w. A new 1.5-barrel brewery was formally opened in 2006 and transferred to new accommodation within the August A. Busch III Brewing and Food Science Laboratory in 2010. There are extensive brewing programs both on campus and through University Extension, through which off-campus students can pursue top-level brewing qualifications. UC Davis also retains a long-standing barley breeding program.