If at first you don’t succeed, try again. So it goes with the Irish pub band Danú and the beer forum (complete with beer tasting) that was supposed to go with the band’s concert earlier this year at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
An equipment problem above the Jackson Hall stage forced the move of Danú’s March 10 concert to Freeborn Hall. And the beer forum was canceled.
Now, Danú is back, leading off a string of holiday programs at the Mondavi Center. And with Danú’s return, the center is trying again with Concerning Beer, a free Forum@MC. It is scheduled for 5 p.m. Dec. 2 in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, with preregistration required (due to limited seating).
Danú’s concert, Christmas in Ireland (An Nollaig in Éirinn), is set for 8 p.m. Dec. 2 in Jackson Hall. (A school matinee for grades kindergarten through 12 is scheduled for 11 a.m. Dec. 3.)
Benny McCarthy of Danú is expected to join in the forum discussion with Charlie Bamforth, the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences, and chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology.
Among the questions to be addressed: “Is beer good for you?” — selected, no doubt, to allow these two experts to roam informatively, anecdotally and even jovially around a golden topic.
The Mondavi Center announced that Jeffrey Callison, host of Insight on Capital Public Radio, will be the forum moderator.
At the conclusion of the discussion, organizers said, Bamforth will lead the audience through a tasting of four beers. All those attending must be at least 21 years old and show ID at the door.
Concert tickets: (530) 754-2787 or (866-754-2787, or mondaviarts.org. Educators interested in purchasing school matinee tickets should call (530) 754-4689.
Preregister for the forum: mondaviarts.org/concerningbeer.
Media Resources
Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu