New Beer Friday: Ron Pattinson Edition (May 16)

Mr. Pattinson's new book

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

I have to admit that I had never heard of Ron Pattinson until Stan Hieronymus mentioned his name in an email a couple of months ago. Stan informed me that Ron’s new book, The Home Brewer’s Guide to Vintage Beer, had been recently published by Quarry Publishing and that the author was coming to Grand Rapids in June for the American Home Brewer’s Conference. Stan suggested that I might want to contact him to set up a speaking engagement.

After doing some internet research on Mr. Pattinson, I discovered that the Netherlands native has published over a dozen books about a wide range of beer related topics, was a recent guest on a Beersmith podcast and is considered to be an expert on historical brewing. He also writes a blog incongruously titled Shut up about Barclay Perkins. He certainly sounded like someone our customers would like to meet and have a few beers with.

I am pleased to announce that Ron will be giving an informal talk and holding a book signing at Perrin Brewing Company on Wednesday, June 11 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. As an added bonus Mr. Hieronymus will be accompanying Ron, and I’m quite sure we’ll be able to coax our good buddy into sharing some of his encyclopedic knowledge about beer and homebrewing.

Copies of both authors’ books will be available for purchase at the event which is free of charge and open to the public.

New (and Returning) Beer

• Schöfferhofer Hefeweizen, $1.69/12oz - "Schöfferhofer German Wheat Beer Hefeweizen is brewed in Bavarian tradition using wheat malt. The live yeast gives bottle "conditioning" guaranteeing a refreshing fruity flavor. The yeast sediment also leads to the "cloudy" nature of the beer. Care needs to be taken when pouring. Tilt glass and poor slowly. Before pouring last quarter, roll bottle gently back and forward until sediment is dissolved" (source).
• Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster Double IPA, $3.29/12oz - "An Imperial IPA with huge hop flavor" (source).
• Stone Saison, $2.09/12oz - "Ale brewed with with lemon zest, lemon thyme & lavender" (source).
• New Belgium Gruit, $9.19/22oz - "Experimentation doesn’t mean new. With our Gruit, the latest Lips of Faith release, it’s all about revisiting the ancient craft of bittering with herb mixtures, not hops. In here horehound, bog myrtle, yarrow, wormwood and elderflowers get together with rich malts to create a bitter, dry, velvet-like sweetness worth revering" (source).
• Brewery Vivant Zaison, $4.29/16oz - "Imperial saison ale. Beer brewed with Tellicherry Black Peppercorns and Orange Peel" (source).
• Frankenmuth Twisted Helles, $1.39/12oz - "The "twist" of its namesake comes from the mild but memorable zests of orange and lemon, which are kept in perfect balance by the unmistakable presence of German noble hops and elegant notes of malt proving that bitterness has no place in a true Helles lager (nor a well-lived summer)" (source).
• Sierra Nevada Hoptimum, $2.59/12oz - "Hops, hops and more hops are the stars of this big, whole-cone Imperial IPA. Resinous ‘new-school’ and exclusive hop varieties carry the bold and aromatic nose. The flavor follows the aroma with layers of aggressive hoppiness, featuring notes of grapefruit rind, rose, lilac, cedar and tropical fruit – all culminating in a dry and lasting finish" (source).
• New Holland Paleooza, $1.59/12oz - "This beer has a golden colored body with a creamy white head. Its slightly sweet malt flavor makes up the base and offers a supporting role to the refreshing hop profile. Cascade hops provide a floral, citrus and almost fruity character to this well balanced easy drinking ale" (source).
• Brooklyn Summer Ale, $1.69/12oz - "Brooklyn Summer Ale is a modern rendition of the "Light Dinner Ales" brewed in England throughout the 1800's right up until the 1940's. They were also called "luncheon ales" or even "family ales", because they were refreshing and flavorful without being too heavy. We brew our Brooklyn Summer Ale from premium English barley malt, which gives this light-bodied golden beer a fresh bready flavor. German and American hops lend a light, crisp bitterness and a citrus/floral aroma resulting in a beer with a very sunny disposition" (source).

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