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Pat is a National BJCP Judge with mead certification. Pat grew up in Midland Michigan. He has been drinking beer for half a century and from the start he pursued small local and regional brands and anything he hadn't seen before. He brewed his first home brew in the mid 60's - a complete flop and then dabbled a little during the 70s. A three month trip to England (2 weeks) and Amsterdam (2 1/2 months) in the early 70s was an eyeopener to the world of beer. He followed that up with 4 years in Toronto during grad school in the 70s when the major Canadian brewers there produced a much broader range of brands and he drank every one of them. At the end of the decade, a trip to Portland introduced him to the first vestiges of craft beer.
Settling into Minneapolis in 1979 the lack of beer diversity rekindled his interest in Homebrewing and he brewed around 300 batches between 1980 and 1990. By 1990 craft beer had spread enough where he could feed his craft beer habit without spending the entire weekend in his basement. During the 90s frequent road tips through Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan were at times required to ensure sufficient diversity in beer but by the dawn of the new century it required far less travel to find good craft beer.
Pat publishes a monthly newsletter Romancing the Foam about the enjoyment of good beer and has just launched a website at www.romancingthefoam.com. If you do not see him biking around Minneapolis to the various craft breweries and excellent craft beer bars, he is either in his garden sampling craft beer or siting on his computer adding to his website. It is a great time to love beer.
Wee Demon 95-Calorie IPA by Two Roads Brewing Co. was judged as a Session IPA (Style 21B per BJCP 2015 Style Guidelines).
For the times in your life when you the thought of another big bold beer is more than you can handle and a light beer that tastes like... Read More
Groovy Juice by Urban South Brewery was judged as a BJCP Style 28C, Wild Specialty Beer.
This is that beer for hot sticky summer afternoons when you just want to do nothing else but sit and watch the river flow. This light-bodied, spritzy beer pours hazy pink under a moderate white cap... Read More
I am told Mexican Lager and I think “oh no, another fizzy yellow beer” and am tempted to slam it down faster than a frat boy on spring break. It has the smell and flavors – light corn, floral, faint cracker and hints of apple and it looks the part – brilliant straw, 2” cap, effervescent, but... Read More
Riegele Kellerbier by Brahaus Riegele was reviewed as a BJCP Category 7C, Pale Kellerbier. The beer has a hazy, murky gold unfiltered look sitting under a dense off-white foam cap with fair retention. Moderate floral, earthy hops, faint green apple, a trace of creamed corn, mild butterscotch and... Read More
Situational Ethics - Maple Scotch Barrel-Aged S'mores Imperial Stout by Monday Night Brewing was reviewed as a Specialty Wood-Aged Beer, BJCP style 33B per the 2015 guidelines.
This beer is over the top. It smells like a bakery with a wood-fired oven in the back, exuding aromas of... Read More
Throw Back Vibes by Urban South Brewery was judged as a BJCP Style 21A, American IPA.
The brewer describes this as a West Coast IPA but it lacks the assertive West Coast bitterness, which, in this case is not a bad thing. Hoppy, citrus and tropical fruit fill the aroma with less pine that... Read More
