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.
Sumo Sumatra Imperial Stout by Austin Brothers Beer Co. was judged as BJCP 2021 style 30A, Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer.
This imperial stout is rested on Sumatra coffee, cocoa nibs and Madagascar vanilla beans and provides rich, alternating coffee, cocoa and roasty vanilla aromas that... Read More
DDH Hoppopotamus w/Strata by Metazoa Brewing Co. was judged under BJCP Style 21A, American IPA.
DDH (Double Dry Hopping) is the next new thing and translates into more hops and more flavors. It takes some artistry to squeeze the right aroma and flavor notes out of the hops and produce an... Read More
Enter Night Pilsner by Stone Brewing Co. was judged as a German Pils, BJCP Style Category 5D (German Pils).
Like hops but are getting tired of all the hazy, milkshake IPA and looking for something clean and bitter? This is your beer. It looks and smells like a German Pils, pouring... Read More
Hopzilla by Lawson's Finest Liquids was judged as BJCP Style 22A, double IPA.
There are a lot of double IPAs out there – this one stands out for the quality of the dry hopping, which delivers rich flavor without harshness or sharpness, making this beer a double IPA that hopheads will fill... Read More
Riegele Dunkel by Brauhaus Riegele was judged as BJCP category 8A, Munich Dunkel. This beer’s rich malt aromas and flavors remind me of Nutella on lightly toasted bread with the sweetness toned down. The rich malt is soft and complex with bread crust, hints of chocolate, nuts and a clean... Read More
Fluffy by Night Shift Brewing was judged according to the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines, Style 21C (Hazy IPA).
This is a beer you want to stock your fridge with. Cracking the can releases rich, complex fruit aromas laced with orange, citrus and stone fruit. There are no grassy or herbal... Read More
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