Man is an expert on beer’s 5,000-year history
By Andrea Goodell
The Holland Sentinel
HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Lance Rice is a beer historian with a photographic memory and a disability.
Being on the autism spectrum has made it more difficult for Rice than some to meet new people or even leave his house, but at 55 he is conquering his fears and growing as a person.
And he’s doing it through a nationwide brewery tour that will, next spring, spawn a book and a documentary.
When asked “Why beer?” Rice, as he always seems to, has a straightforward answer: “I think it’s a much more interesting beverage than wine or hard liquor,” and points to beer’s 5,000-year history, something on which he is an expert.
New Holland Brewing Co. was one of the first to sign on to sponsor Rice on his journey, according to The Holland Sentinel.
“Lance’s journey is one of not settling for the status quo, for doing the unexpected and for bringing people together,” New Holland President Brett VanderKamp said. “Lance is a reminder to all of us to pursue our passion.”
The project started out as a book Rice wanted to write about pre-prohibition breweries in America. That has since morphed into a tour, book (about American breweries, new and old) and documentary. His nephew, Aaron Rice, is helping direct the project.
The book is due out in the spring. The documentary’s final cut should be in late spring, after which they hope it will be picked up for TV and DVD release as well as a limited major city theater run.
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Lance, Aaron and a small crew wound their way through New Holland’s brewing facility in Holland Township.
“They have literally been from one coast to another,” said Emily Haines, New Holland communications manager.
From the fermenting tanks, malt and grain rooms all the way to the cellar where Dragon’s Milk Stout ages in bourbon barrels — the tour was extensive.
If you’ve seen one brewery, have you seen them all? It seems an inane question to someone like Rice, for whom beer is a passion. Not one particular brand or kind of beer, but everything from lager to IPA to stout.
“I like them all at one time or another,” he said.
His fascination started with his younger brother’s beer can collection. He began collecting in 1980 and became a brewery researcher the following year.
They started out on their tour at the end of June and have traveled to the Pacific Northwest, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Long Island, New York and Denver, where Rice helped pour New Holland beer at the Great American Beer Festival.
Before all that, Lance and Aaron Rice toured a few small breweries around Cleveland to see if Lance would be up to the challenge.
The craft brewing community has embraced him.
“They were just so nice and so warm and so welcoming to us,” Lance Rice said.
He was always shy with people he doesn’t know, but the tour has helped Rice become more comfortable in new situations with new people, he said.
“It definitely has. You’ve been amazing,” his nephew chimed in.
The crew also visited Belle’s in Kalamazoo. Then it was on to Saugatuck Brewing Co., where an evening fundraiser was held for Lance’s Beer.Autism.Hope campaign.
It’s a foundation they are working to establish that would raise money for educational efforts for children with autism, create job training opportunities for them and encourage sustainable farming in the brewing community — all the things about which Rice is passionate.
Proceeds from the documentary and book will benefit Beer.Autism.Hope.
An initial kick-starter campaign mostly covered equipment costs. Many of the craft brewers along the way, including New Holland, have sponsored the project.
The tour is about 80 percent done, Lance estimated. They’ll wrap up after the holidays.
“We’ve done 7,000 miles in three-and-a-half weeks on our latest leg,” Aaron Rice said. “He’s grown every step of the way.”
Even his family has noticed that Lance seems “excited,” and “so full of life.”
“That’s what this has been about,” Aaron said, “to help Lance realize his dream.”
