Collegiate Times

During a recent visit to the River Company restaurant and brewery in Radford, Virginia Tech graduate student Eric England was greeted by a familiar sight on the menu. Alongside the usual beer offerings was Belgian Blonde Ale ­— his very own creation.

Seeing his own beer for sale was a unique thrill for the animal science doctoral student and home brewing aficionado.

“(It was) a little bit surreal,” he said, “it was a pretty neat experience.”

The Blonde Ale’s selection as the River Company’s seasonal recipe marks a milestone in England’s relatively brief brewing career. After only two-and-a-half years since beginning the hobby while studying at Purdue University, he now has a professionally produced beer to his name.

England enjoys casual brewing but never expected such quick success. He let out a hearty laugh when asked if the ale was his first distributed beer.

“Yes, it definitely is. It was a little surprising to be selected,” England said.

The beer’s journey from England’s home workshop to the restaurant menu began with his membership in the New River Valley Brewer’s Guild, a local beer enthusiast group.

Joshua Colt Gambrel, Tech philosophy instructor and fellow group member, said the group provides local beer lovers with an outlet for their passion.

“(It’s) all beer lovers, lots of fun to hang out with,” he said. “I mean you can imagine, our meetings are all about beer, we just go and hang out and talk about beer.”

In addition to providing a forum for home-brewers looking to improve their craft, the Guild promotes brewing competitions in the area. England’s first big success was at one of these contests: the Blacksburg Brew Do, held in October 2009.

England submitted his newest European-inspired recipe to the event, billed as the area’s first ever craft beer competition. His yeast-based Blonde Ale was rated highly and won first place in its category as well as third overall.

Good fortune continued for England. In attendance at the contest was Mike Pensinger, chief brewer at the River Company.

“I felt that the beer itself was outstanding,” Pensinger said. He contacted England the same day and offered him professional distribution.

For Pensinger, a burly ex-Navy veteran who turned down a six-figure network security salary for the chance to brew as a career, the move was a no-brainer.

“It had the right marriage stylistically, and honestly it’s a way for us to connect out to the home brewing community, and therefore the rest of the community,” he said.

Pensinger told England that when the restaurant started running out of the seasonal beer at the time, the Apple Brown Ale, he would begin production of the Blonde Ale batches. Several months later, England was summoned to Pensinger’s self-described “office” to see the brewing process.

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A version of this article appeared in the May 4 issue of the Collegiate Times.