We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Patrick Allen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Patrick, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Since I did not go to school for brewing or fermentation science I learned mostly through the experience of brewing itself. Brew, taste, adjust, repeat. Reading books and then doing it through trial and error. Taking notes. Learning from mistakes. Pushing to make it better. Im not keen on the words “self taught” because there have been so many lessons and tips I have learned from others in the industry. Learning did not happen in a void but in a community of others passionate about the craft and willing to share.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the head brewer at a very remote brewery called West Kill Brewing in the heart of the Catskill Mountains. I have been brewing for 12 years but its actually my second career after photography and fine art printmaking. It’s the kind of career I found when my hobby turned into a passion turned into my life. Brewing in a small apartment in NYC once a week and then twice a week and then finding an owner of a bar who wanted to add a small brewery to his basement to allow me the opportunity to do it full time. This allowed me the time I needed to really create and learn what flavors could be achieved in the brewing process. After several years I got to a point where I wanted these flavors to be matched by the experiences of the other senses. We don’t just taste with our tongue, its the interaction of all 5 senses that creates the experience and the other senses needed more space outside of a busy Brooklyn Bar.

I found my way to a dead end road in the heart of the mountains where a couple, Mike Barcone and Colleen Kortendick, were building a brewery on 127acres that would no doubt open up these other senses. I knew the craft and flavors I had developed would truly shine in this place, and people would not just taste the beer but they could experience it. Theres a strong connection between taste and memory and the beers, brand, people and location of West Kill Brewing strengthens this connection.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

To continue to have fun, learn, and innovate while making the best beer possible. Brewing as with many arts is very repetitive, its what we do with that repetition that either keeps the doors to creativity open or closes them. It’s constantly opening and closing for me. I want to continue to explore new and historical flavors as well as focus in on more specific parts of the process.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Sharing in the experience of the artwork which for me is tasting the beer at the West Kill Brewing taproom with other people. Everyones palate is different and I love discussing how their experience to a beer compares to mine. These conversations may start with the flavor of the beer but they quickly move on to where they are from, how they got here, and what’s going on in their life. So it started with the beer, it started with West Kill Brewing but now we are connected beyond this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.westkillbrewing.com/
• Instagram: @westkillbrewing
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westkillbrewing

Image Credits
Patrick Allen & Ashley Bohan