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Charles Denby is a scientist turned entrepreneur. Working under UC Berkeley professor and metabolic engineering pioneer Dr. Jay Keasling, Charles’s early scientific career involved bioengineering yeast to produce next-gen biofuels (i.e., clean diesel). His career path, however, would be redrawn by a hobby. While exploring home brewing as a way to engage his passion for beer, Charles saw how the same technology he was using to make biofuels in the lab could be applied to the production of beer and wine, making them more consistent, efficient, and less reliant on resource-intensive agricultural products such as hops and fruit. In 2017, he founded Berkeley Yeast to commercialize this technology and its transformative benefits. Today the company sells bioengineered yeast with extraordinary capabilities to hundreds of breweries and wineries across the country.