Grand Rapids day four

Another day, another breakfast meeting with the Langlies. And another plate of fried stuff. For me.

I wander around the hall a bit taking a last look at the shiny things. And drinking more beer, of course. They're getting more generous with the measures, which is good. I get stuck into the Lagunitas beers. Then unwisely get a homebrewed peanut butter Porter. I only realise what it is after tasting it. Not a big fan of peanuts in stuff.

I've a very important appointment at 12:30. Mark Linsner, whom I met in Chicago has a very special treat for me. It's a beer I've read about, but never expected to get to drink: Ballantine Burton Ale. I'm eternally grateful to him for giving me the cahnce to try this legendary beer. Me and Paul and Jamie.

"Brewed May 12th 1946, bottles November 1966" it says on the label. that's quite an impressive bit of age. It's difficult to get the crown cork off. Which might explain why it's surprisingly well carbonated for its age. This what I scribble down as I sip:

"Sherry, butterscotch, wood and toffee aroma. Sweet/bitter flavour. Raisin, toffee, caramel and perfume aroma. Bitterish finish. In amazing shape for a beer that's older than me. No trace of Brettanomyces."

As a follow-uop there's a 10-year-old bottle of Bass P2.

"Tar, toffee and liquorice aroma. Sweetish/bitter taste. Liquorice, treacle, raisin wood and alcohol aromas. Bitterish finish. Smoke, liquorice, treacle and tar aromas. Pretty nice, if a little thin. Definitely drinkable."

That's me done with tasting notes for another year.

The conference is starting to wind down with the final seminars taking place in the morning and early afternoon. There's only one I'm really interested in, Randy Mosher's about designing beer.

It's one of the better talks. Except it's clear that he has more than 45 minutes worth of material. Even rushing through the slides he still overruns. I get a chance to chat a little with him at the end end. He seems like a really nice bloke.

He says one thing that really sticks. He mentions one of his family telling him: "Remember you're only beer famous." I'll have to remind myself of that. I'm several ranks down from beer famous.

When I get out, the exhibition hall is closed. Things are really running down. Paul and Jamie are in another seminar for a while. What to do in the meantime? Find a bar.

I don't have to go far. Reserve is just a couple of blocks away. It's a wine bar selling 100-odd wines by the glass. But they have a few decent beers. And more importantly a decent bourbon selection. I chat with the barman as I sip. He shows me a video on his phone from last winter. It's him outside the bar with a pan of boiling water. It's so cold that when he throws it in the air in turns into a cloud of ice particles. Very impressive.

Soon it's time to go. Not just from the bar, but Grand Rapids, too, I meet the Langlies to say good bye then jump in a cab to the airport.

After checking in I drop by the bar. They're showing the England Italy game. I get a beer, but can't eat because the kitchen is closed. By the time I've finished my beer the bar itself is closing. It's only 7 pm.

The barman suggests I go airside where a bar will be open. It isn't. Well there are still people sitting there drinking, but they've stopped selling drinks. The England game is on. They're losing 2-1. Great. And my flight is delayed. Bloody United.

I don't have far to go when I get to Chicago. Just over the road from the terminal. I'm staying at the Hilton in the airport. I eat a hamburger in the bar and go to bed. I've a very early start. My flight is at 6:45 am. Let's hope I wake up.








Look, we both know what's coming next. I gently remind you that I have this wonderful book sitting on the shelves just longing for you to take it home with you.

The Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer.








Reserve
201 Monroe Ave. NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
http://reservegr.com/

Grand Rapids day three

My breakfast date is earlier today, 7:45. We need to be at the convention centre by 8:30.

I stick to convention and have bacon, egg and those potato things. With toast coffee and orange juice, of course. Sugar, caffeine and fat: all the major food groups. Paul unwisely sticks to oatmeal. Very unhealthy.

This time we're in a larger hall, ballroom D. It's not quite as weirdly arranged as testerday, meaning I can actually see the slides on the screen. The crowd is bigger, but more subdued. It's being filmed, which has its up and down sides. Good that there will be a recording, shame it wasn't done yesterday when both me and the crowd were livelier.

Annoyingly, Stan Hieronymous was scheduled at the same time. Which means I've missed his talk. Bit of a bummer, that. A price you have to pay for being a participant rather than a punter.

I do a bit more wandering around the hall and get accosted several times while I'm on my eternal search for beer. I guess people know what I look like now. It's quite pleasant getting to chat for a few minutes with various people. I'm a sociable chap at heart.

I've a book signing scheduled at the, er, book stall. Stan is on before me and has a huge queue waiting for him. Mine is rather more modest. Queue, I mean. Impressive when you think Stan has already been at it for over an hour. I'm surprised when I'm handed examples of my self-published books to sign. I guess a few must have escaped over the Atlantic.

I make sure to get myself a big beer before I start. Someone has given me the glass from the ball park do last night. It's at least double the size of the conference glass. Using it is a pretty obvious choice.

I'm the last author scheduled for the morning signing sessions. So no-one on immediately after me. I hang around for a while after my allotted time for any stragglers, a few of which do show up.

The afternoon sees the seminar I most want to attend: John Mallett (of Bell's) and Andrea Stanley (of Valley Malt) talking about making blown malt. Couldn't be more perfect for me. I'm dead jealous when I see that they're both in costume. I should do that myself.

The talk is as informative as I had hoped. And I get to chew some malt and drink beer brewed with it. Hard to think of a better use of an hour. I get chatting to John and Andrea when they've finished talking. They ask me out for dinner. Cool.

But before that I've a second seminar to attend. Jason Oliver (of Devil's Backbone) is giving a talk on Lager brewing. He knows a thing or two about the topic, having won several awards for bottom-fermenting beers. I had the pleasure of brewing a Barclay Perkins Dark Lager with him a couple of years ago.

I'd like to chat with Jason but unfortunately don't have time.

Dinner is at Grove, a foodie sort of restaurant. We all get a three-course tasting menu. What can I say, other than that the food is knockout. They've a decent beer list, too. The conversation, which roams around various historical topics, malting technicques and barley varieties, is totally fascinating. I rarely get to have beer chats of this quality.

That's not the end of the evening. Back in the town centre we nip into Hop Cat for a beer or two. And who should be standing at the bar but Jason Oliver.Isn't that a happy coincidence. He's chatting with Neil Spake, a longtime blog reader of mine. It's the perfect finsh to a great day, as I get to talk Lager for a while.

Just one day of the conference to go. Unfortunately I'll miss the banquet. I'll be on my way to Chicago then.







How many different ways can I say "Buy my book, you bastard"? I think we're going to find out over the next few weeks. Aggression this time. Perhaps intimidation next. Let's see what works.

The Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer.







Grove
919 Cherry St SE,
Grand Rapids,
MI 49506.
Tel: 616 454 1000
http://www.groverestaurant.com/




HopCat
25 Ionia Ave SW #100,
Grand Rapids,
MI 49503.
Tel: 616 451 4677
http://www.hopcat.com/

Grand Rapids day two

I've a busy day ahead. I jump in the shower and hurry down to my breakfast meeting.

I find Paul and Jamie already there. Paul is getting stuck into some oatmeal. I've gone for the healthy fried option: eggs, bacon, those potato things. It's only when I'm on holiday, is my excuse. True enough, too.

Paul is my co-presentor. We've still a little work to do nailing together our slides. Once breakfast is done, we head up to Paul and Jamie's room for the final editing. There's no rush. We've several hours before we're presenting. It doesn't take long to get everything sorted out. What to do now? Registering at the conference seems the obvious choice.

The conference is just a short stroll down the river from my hotel. The river is very swift. Wouldn't fancy dropping in there. Probably never come out again. It's called the River Grand. I think it may have something to do with the name of the city.

At the convention centre, I get my pass. It has a special bit stuck on the bottom saying "Speaker". As long as it gets me free beer I don't care what it ways. I pick up a bag full of stuff, some of it useful. Like a programme and a glass.Some of it - stickers and assorted bits of paper kack - not so handy.

Wyeast have a little stand giving away beer. It seems silly not to have any. Gives me something to do with that glass. I arrange to meet Jamie and Paul back by the registration desk at 14:30. We're due on at 15:15.

Inside the hall, first thing I do is check out the book stall. Yep, they've got my book there. Even have a little shelf talker on it. Hope they manage to shift a few.

I wander around, pausing to look at particularly tempting shiny things. The miniature stainless steel breweries are a sight to behold. I find myself working out excatly where I could shoe-horn one into my flat. If only I could persuade Andrew to move out. His bedroom would make a perfect little brewery.

I manage to snap out of my brewing daydreams and get myself some beer. I didn't know what to expect on the beer front. Lots of homebrew had been my guess. But that isn't what it's like. Most is from commercial breweries, either sponsors of the event or beer bought by one of the sponsors. I'm not complaining. There's a whole array of Lagunitas stuff.

Which is an opportunity I can't miss, as the servers are from the brewery. It's a question that's been nagging me for a while. How do you pronounce Lagunitas? I ask the friendly chav with a beard behind the bar. I can't have been the first to ask. It's written on one of their labels. La-gu-NEE-tas. There's one mystery cleared up. Any theories of the meaning of life while we're at it? Thought not. Worth a try, though.

Various people talk to me as I trundle around the hall. Some seem to know who I am. I do, that's something I'm very strict about in my head, remembering who I am. Makes life so much simpler. Not really used to anyone else knowing, other than those people who hang around in my house. Family, I think you call them.

There is some homebrew to be had, in a special section at the back. I wander down there to try some out. I can discern no appreciable difference in quality between the professional and amateur brews. Not that I had expected to. I've had plenty of experience with American homebrew. Almost all of it good.

Our talk is in Grand Gallery A-D. One of the smaller spaces. Or should I say less huge spaces, because it isn't exactly small. It's slightly oddly arranged, with screens showing the slides either side of the stage where me and Paul are.

There's a reasonable crowd when we kick off. Especially considering we're not in the programme. Another speaker cancelled and we agreed to give our talk twice. Our real slot is tomorrow morning.

It goes pretty well. I get several laughs, which is always a good sign. Jamie's idea of holding up signs with the remaining time was excellent. I manage to finish just about exactly on time so there is time for questions. Oh well, job half done.

We hang around for the reception. Where we have a few beers and a bit of nosh before walking back to the hotel.

There's an event out at the ball park but we aren't going. Too much trouble and a bit expensive. Instead we head for a brewpub, Grand Rapids Brewing, not far from our hotel.

It's pretty busy and we have to wait for a seat. We have food, beer and not too late a night. We're on at 9 am tomorrow. Can't afford to stay out too late.






These plugs are getting ever feebler. Maybe I should start begging . . . please buy my book . . . . please . . . . I'll stop beating the kids if you do . . . .

The Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer.











Grand Rapids Brewing Co.
1 Ionia Ave SW,
Grand Rapids,
MI 49503.
Tel: 616 458 7000
http://www.grbrewingcompany.com/

Grand Rapids day one

I don't lie in too late. I don't want to be in a rush at the airport. I hate rushing, and especially at airports.

I take Monday's drive in reverse, down the same dully tan motorway. It's no prettier today. Nor are the rusting subway stations stuck between it carriageways. Occasional battered silver trains rock past.

I'm flying with United again. There's something disturbingly anarchic about self-service checkin in the USA. Confusion reigns. My confirmation number isn't recognised so I scan my passport, then enter the first three letters of my destination "GRA". I pick Grand Rapids from the list and it says . . . .  it can't find a reservation for Mr. Pattinson for that destination in the next 12 hours. What?

I try again and get the same result. Then I realise I've been trying to check in on the hand baggage only section. I try the deeply anarchic checked in bag section. It's like a refugee column, bags and confused people strewn everywhere.

Eventually the Chinese youth in front of me finishes checking in and it's my turn. Where the hell has my booking gone? I scan my passport again and enter "GRA" once more. Hang on - there are two Grand Rapids in the list: MN and MI. I'm going to Grand Rapids MI, not MN. Silly me. I gratefully clutch my boarding pass and dump my bag.

I'd counted on getting some breakfast here at the airport. But I'm too late. Everywhere stops breakfast at 10 am. Seems a bit early to me. I have to make do with a hamburger instead.

I get to my gate but can't see any mention of my flight. That's not good. I find a screen and sure enough "Delayed - awaiting aircraft.". Damn. Same shit as Monday. The gate has changed, too. I traipse off to the new gate. And wait. Isn't this fun?

I'm lucky. Today the flight's only a couple of hours late. Stan Hieronymous is supposed to be picking me up it 17:00 for a joint event this evening. Looks like I'll be just about there in time.

It's 16:45 when I drop my bag on the floor of my room. I've got enough time to put my toothbrush in the bathroom and quickly check my mail on my flipflop before rushing off to the lobby. Stan arrives a few minutes later.

Great to see Stan again. We've only met in the flesh once before, many years ago. Had plenty of email contact in the meantime. Steve Siciliano is waiting in a car outside. He's organised the event tonight out at Perrin Brewing, where me and Stan will be signing books. There will be a bunch of homebrewers there with beer, too. Sounds like fun.

But first Steve takes us to look at his shop, Siciliano's Market. He sells not just homebrewing supples and but commecially-brewed beer, too. It's pretty neat. We can't stay long because we need to get to the brewery and set up.

"Do you need the PA?" Steve asks me.

"Nah, I don't think so. I talk pretty loud, especially after a couple of beers."

I change my mind after going inside. It's a echoey barn of a place and all the noise from the crowded bar rises straight up to the upper level where we'll be. I'll be on a hiding to nothing without a mike.

Homebrewers start to trickle upstairs. They've got beer with them. A special beer that was brewed at a big outdoor event in a city square. Everyone got the same basic Brown Ale recipe but were free to play around with it by adding extra ingredients of leaving ones out. They're surprisingly diverse.

Stan speaks for a couple of minutes, then it's my turn. Twenty unscripted minutes on historic brewing. It goes OK, despite the din. I'm getting quite used to this, standing up and saying, sort of, "Buy my book." for a while. Well. not quite as upfront as that, but you get the idea.

When I've done talking bollocks, I flog a few books, sign rather more, chat, drink beer, meet people and do all the fun things you can do in a pub. Quite a lot of beer is drunk.

I don't get back too late. I've a breakfast appointment with the Langlies. We still have quite finished othe talk we'll be giving tomorrow. Oh well, what's the worst that could happen?








You'd be disappointed if I didn't take this opportunity to push my book. And I wouldn't want to disappoint you.

The Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer.









Siciliano's Market
2840 Lake Michigan Drive NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Tel: 616 453 9674
info@sicilianosmkt.com
https://www.sicilianosmkt.com/   



Perrin Brewing Company
5910 Comstock Park Dr NW,
Comstock Park,
MI 49321
http://perrinbrewing.com/