A senior research fellow at Australia’s University of Queensland has been named UC Davis’ new Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Science, succeeding Professor Charlie Bamforth.

Dr Glen Fox takes up the position from 1 July after the ‘Pope of Foam’ held the position from 1999 until his retirement last year.

Linda J. Harris, chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University, congratulated Dr Fox on his appointment.

“Dr. Fox brings a strong international research program focused on cereal chemistry, grain science and advanced analytical methods that he has applied to understanding the malting and brewing process,” she said.

“We look forward to continuing our department’s longstanding reputation for excellence in brewing science under his leadership.”

Dr Fox will be an associate professor of brewing science in the food science department, one of the leading brewing research centres.

As holder of the Anheuser-Busch Professorship, he will teach undergraduate courses in malting and brewing science, as well as mentor graduate students and conduct research in areas relevant to the brewing industry. He will be working with UC Davis’ Continuing and Professional Education to offer various programs in brewing science.

Dr Fox told the Beer is a Conversation podcast that he has big shoes to fill but will be bringing his own approach to the role.

“Charlie [Bamforth] has made huge inroads into working with the industry and digging deeper into improving beer quality,” he said.

“I come from a different part of the industry than Charlie and that is what I will bring to the position, something more about the raw materials and understanding the quality of the raw materials.

“Charlie’s knowledge of brewing was world revered, but I’d like tot hink that my knowledge of raw materials is equal to that. I think it will be a complement to what Charlie has done.”

Fox served as a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland’s Centre for Nutrition and Food Science from 2010 to 2019. His main areas of research are in barley, malt and beer quality, with a focus on cereal starch structure and its impact on wort quality, fermentation efficiency and beer quality.

He earned his PhD from Southern Cross University in the area of barley genetics related to barley and malt quality. He conducted postdoctoral research in food science at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, where he served as an adjunct professor. Fox also conducted research in Kenya on mycotoxins in maize, important food security work later recognized by the Global Change Institute.

He has more than 90 peer-reviewed book chapters and journal articles and is senior editor of the upcoming book Achieving sustainable cultivation of barley. In 2018, he was made a Fellow of the Institute of Brewing for his research contributions to the malting and brewing industries.

You can hear more about Dr Fox, his research and his plans at UC Davis on this week’s Beer is a Conversation podcast, presented by Cryer Malt.