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Kudos to Barclay Perkins and Ron Pattinson…

I know that mutual back-slapping is de rigueur in the ‘blogosphere’ (god do I hate that word), but I don’t really consider myself a ‘blogger’ (hate that word too). With that said, I’ve been keeping an eye on beer-related blogs for the past year or so, starting with my colleague Jay Brooks’ bulletin. The recent exponential rise in the number of beer blogs has diluted my interest in the topic. After perusing a thread on BeerAdvocate, I came across a beer blog curiously entitled, ‘Shut Up about Barclay Perkins.’ I have no idea what the blog is about except to say that its author has written some very interesting thoughts on topics I long considered to be stale and worthy of a drain pour.

One post, ‘Are you a Stalinist or a Trotskyist,’ in late July was one of the inspirations for the column I wrote for the September issue of BeerAdvocate Magazine.

A recent post, simply titled ‘Epiphany,’ contained some startlingly simple yet erudite words on how brewers in the celebrated brewing region of Franconia in Germany have managed to create wonderfully expressive beers with only a single malt and hop variety.

The author, Ron Pattinson, is all the more interesting because he is also a beer historian and a beer travel writer. Ron’s historical research is fascinating for beer and history geeks who want to gain greater appreciation about the development of beer, recipes, breweries, and the changing palates of beer drinkers over the course of centuries of brewing.

Any beer lover who has traveled to Bamberg is likely familiar with Ron’s travel writing. Along with the recently departed John White, Ron is a great chronicler of German pubs. His ‘European Beer Guide’ website is an excellent resource for novices and seasoned travelers visiting Franconia and a host of other European beer destinations.

So I wanted to say ‘cheers’ to Ron for his efforts.  Now only if Fred Eckhardt would start a blog…

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2 thoughts on “Kudos to Barclay Perkins and Ron Pattinson…

  1. I must declare an interest – I know the guy – but I agree wholeheartedly with your praise for Patto’s blog, I’d go so far as to call it the best running commentary on European beer available – and the European Beer Guide is a fantastic resource, with things like an insightful, thoughtful analysis of Czech beer styles I don’t think even the Czechs have matched.

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