# Charles Denby

> Charles Denby is a yeast geneticist, homebrewer, and the co-founder and CEO of Berkeley Yeast. After earning a PhD at UC Berkeley and engineering yeast for biofuels in Jay Keasling’s lab, he recognized that the same molecular tools could give brewers finer control over aroma, flavor, consistency, and production. He co-founded Berkeley Yeast with Rachel Li and Nick Harris, translating a 2018 peer-reviewed demonstration of yeast-produced hop aromas into commercial strains for craft beer, sour beer, and non-alcoholic brewing.

- **Role:** CEO and co-founder at Berkeley Yeast
- **Organizations:** Berkeley Yeast, University of California, Berkeley, Joint BioEnergy Institute, National Cancer Institute
- **Education:** PhD, Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Berkeley, BA, Biophysics, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology, Whitman College
- **Known for:** Co-founded Berkeley Yeast and translated academic metabolic-engineering research into commercial brewing yeast strains., Led author of the 2018 Nature Communications paper on industrial brewing yeast engineered to produce primary hop-aroma determinants., Co-authored the 2012 PNAS paper on negative feedback and mutational robustness in yeast transcription-factor regulation.

## Career timeline

- **2005-2006** — Worked as a predoctoral cancer research fellow at the National Cancer Institute.
- **2006-2012** — Completed a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology at UC Berkeley, studying yeast genetics and regulation.
- **2013-2017** — Conducted postdoctoral research in Jay Keasling’s UC Berkeley laboratory, engineering yeast for biofuels and training in metabolic engineering.
- **2017** — Co-founded Berkeley Yeast with Rachel Li and Nick Harris.
- **2018** — Co-authored a Nature Communications paper showing engineered brewing yeast could produce the hop-aroma compounds linalool and geraniol.
- **2021** — Served as principal investigator on an NSF SBIR project to develop yeast that produces hop-associated thiols during beer fermentation.
- **2023** — Led Berkeley Yeast as it raised a reported $10.5 million Series A and spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt on food, beer, and climate.
- **2025** — Berkeley Yeast moved into a 9,500-square-foot R&D and pilot-brewery facility in San Leandro.
- **2026** — FDA issued a no-questions response to the company’s GRAS conclusion for BY-927, a strain designed to prevent formation of diacetyl in beer.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Berkeley Yeast and translated academic metabolic-engineering research into commercial brewing yeast strains.
- Led author of the 2018 Nature Communications paper on industrial brewing yeast engineered to produce primary hop-aroma determinants.
- Co-authored the 2012 PNAS paper on negative feedback and mutational robustness in yeast transcription-factor regulation.
- Served as principal investigator on federally funded small-business research for flavor-active brewing yeast.
- Helped develop yeast applications spanning hop aroma, tropical thiols, sour brewing, diacetyl control, and non-alcoholic beer.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Co-authored a technical article comparing maltose-negative yeast strains for non-alcoholic beer.
- **2026-03** — FDA completed its evaluation of GRN 1285 and stated it had no questions regarding Berkeley Fermentation Science’s GRAS conclusion for strain BY-927 under its intended brewing conditions.
- **2025-11** — UC Berkeley profiled Berkeley Yeast’s founders and its expansion into a 9,500-square-foot R&D facility and pilot brewery.
- **2025-06** — Berkeley Fermentation Science submitted a GRAS notice for BY-927, a yeast strain intended to prevent diacetyl formation during brewing.
- **2025-01** — Signed the company’s GRAS notice for BY-1568, intended for brewing beer below 0.5 percent ABV.

## Links

- Website: https://berkeleyyeast.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadenby
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BerkeleyYeast
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berkeley_yeast
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Berkeley-Yeast-100077974238644/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/charles-denby
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-18