Congratulations Ian Purvis on winning the coveted PTB Brewer of the Year.
Ian brought it every month, and he brought it well! He FAR out paced everyone else, even more than doubling the second place score!
Just for funsies, here is a reprint of his Between 2 Beers bit from 2017...
The Brit...
Our club has grown over the years. We welcome many new members that enrich our scene. We have become a truly multi-national club. PTB is better because of it. The next subject for the Between 2 Beers series is our foreigner. He is one of the newest members, a loyal subject of the crown, and true world traveler; Ian Purvis.
Ian comes to us from across the pond, both of them. He recently retired after a 46 year tour of the empire with a large company that makes food manufacturing equipment. If you need to make 13 tons of crumpets today, Ian is your man. While based out of the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, and most recently, the US, he has sold bread machines literally all over the world.
Purv is a Husband, Father, and Grandfather. Married for nearly 40 years to Vivien, they have 3 children and 4 grandchildren, with the latest grandchild arriving just this past fall. He and Vivien do enjoy travelling together, even though it seems where-ever they are going, there always happens to be a brewery nearby. Vivien may not share his passion for beer, but she does like Dragon’s Milk from New Holland.
A long time rugby player, his compact stature gave him remarkable agility. From this came his nickname, Purv the Swerve. Be clear, it is Purve with an “u” and not an “e”. If he had a super-power, it would be to be able to fly. Ian used to try to fly. At one time he was a competitive faller. He would get into a perfectly good airplane only to leap from it once it reached altitude. He referred to himself and his fellow thrill seekers by the very English term “Parachutists”. After safely completing nearly 100 falls, his mother-in-law managed to speak reason into his mind and got him to give it up in the interest of his unborn son. He decided to stick with avoiding getting pummeled by sweaty guys in a field rather than risking his young family by hurtling towards the ground at 125 mph.
This Brit ex-patriot, starting brewing in 1988 because good beer was hard to find. He stopped brewing around the mid-90s because then he could find more selection. In 2014 he picked it back up when his son showed interest. Ian would come into Jaden James semi regularly and heard about Primetime. Originally from Grand Rapids Homebrewers, Ian jumped that ship to join PTB last year. The comradery and knowledge in the club is what keeps him coming back. If in a travelling circus this bloke said he would be a clown. Why a clown? Because he want’s everyone to be happy and have fun. Ian, just buy me a beer sometime and leave the clown suit at home.
When Ian becomes fabulously wealthy, the first thing he will get is a state-of-the-art back yard brew shed, and golf clubs. Vivien says he should look into some golf lessons too. Until then, he will stick with Porter and Stouts in his garage, and frustration and cursing on the links. This Limey strives to recreate classic styles. Sours are not his thing, but if he could only drink one beer forever, it would be Bell’s Two-Hearted. He hopes to someday become comfortable with writing and brewing original recipes. Currently, How to Brew by John Palmer is his brewing Bible. He finds the book easy to understand as well as continually useful.
Where ever he may be from, he always brings a cheery attitude and quick humor. Bring us some more of those English styles. It is good to have you aboard, mate! --DT
