“Not only did they take the recipe, but they let me come in and see the process on a more commercial scale,” England said. “He really let me be involved with the entire process — it wasn’t just a watching thing.”
In April, two months after a Saturday of boiling, weighing and mashing, the Blonde Ale was introduced as the River Company’s featured spring beer. When England finally made it to the restaurant a few weeks ago to try it, his verdict on Pensinger’s adaptation of his recipe was positive.
“It’s pretty good,” he said, adding that the changes Pensinger made for scaling and ingredient purposes didn’t impact the fundamental appeal of the ale’s light on hops, yeast-based taste.
“There are very few specialty grains,” England said, when asked to describe the ale’s distinctive recipe. “It really is a yeast driven beer, and they produce a lot of flavor compounds that make it unique.”
Pensinger reported strong sales of the ale during its first few weeks available. He said that when the initial batch of five barrels (155 gallons) is sold, he will evaluate the beer’s performance in regards to a future return to the menu.
In the meantime, he is excited about the next seasonal beer, his own Peach Apricot Blonde, and more upcoming opportunities to reach out to the local brewing community.
“We like to participate in the local beer festivals,” he said. “I’m a big fan of orienting ourselves so that people go, ‘Oh yeah, the River Company. They had this guy coming out. They do things with the community.’”
England has already brewed another keg of Belgian and is also working on stout and wheat beers. He remains active in the Brewer’s Guild and plans on entering the Brew Do again this fall with a new recipe.
He’s grateful to Pensinger and the restaurant for helping him take his hobby to the next level, and he encourages people to give the Belgian Blonde Ale a chance.
“Go try it and support the River Company. They make some really good beers,” England said. “If you don’t like it, it’s OK — they make a lot of other options that are just fantastic.”
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A version of this article appeared in the May 4 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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