Grateful For His Opportunities, Man Who Helped Launch Corona In US Donates $1M To UC Davis Beer Science Program

SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) -- The University of California Davis is using $1 million donated by a Texas-based brewer to buy new equipment for its beer science program.

Mexican immigrant Carlos Alvarez says in a university news release that opportunities in America have enabled him to donate to the education of future craft brewers.

A biochemical engineering graduate from Mexico's Monterrey Institute of Technology, Alvarez is a former Modelo export manager who led the launch of Corona in the United States.

Gambrinus Co. has a brewery each in Berkeley, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Shiner, Texas.

UC Davis started offering beer education in 1959. Since 2011, the program has been housed at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.

Alvarez's donation funds the purchase of brewing and lab equipment.

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