"Donny, I love you," says man who flew 4,000 miles for pint at Doncaster pub
A beer lover took on an 8,000 mile round trip – to sample a pint of beer named after him at a Doncaster pub - and after his brew announced: “Donny, I love you!”
Brewer Patrick Fannin travelled from Kentucky in the United States to Doncaster Brewery and Tap to down a pint or two of Handsome Pat at the weekend – as well as making some brews of his own during the visit.
Patrick, head brewer at the Dreaming Creek Brewery back in the US, became pals with Ian Blaylock, owner of the bar, which is situated in Young Street in Doncaster city centre, when he contacted him for advice.
And to mark the link-up, both breweries have produced a new English brown ale with Bourbon Vanilla Tea which will be released next month in both South Yorkshire and the US.
Patrick described his visit to Doncaster as “the wildest dream I ever had,” and added: “Donny, I love you. We will be back.”
Mr Blaylock said: “We have people coming in saying ‘where’s Pat?
"I have been having to brew it more and more regularly to keep up with the demand
“It’s gone crazy, it is fantastic everyone’s so interested.”
Patrick, a brewer that specialises in the Kentucky Common style, met up with locals and served up pints behind the bar.
He added: "Doncaster Brewery asked me for advice for the recipe - that was three years ago. It is a little known style that I don't think anyone in the UK has brewed before.
"I came to visit simply because there's a beer named after me on the other side of the ocean.”
Ian came up with the brew – Handsome Pat – as a thank you to Patrick for his help crafting the beer, a type of ale that was once popular in the state from the 1850s until Prohibition.
It is a top-fermented, highly carbonated beer, typically consumed fresh as a draft beer.
A range of t-shirts was produced to mark Pat’s visit, with food, music and of course, plenty of beer laid on for his trip.