I’ve known my buddy Glenn for a very long time, since before he became a wild animal trainer and professional zebra rider actually and I’ve always loved his theatrical flair. We first crossed paths at the Halifax Buskers Festival in 1988 when Glenn was performing as a mime! A year later he was toying with the performance nom-de-plume “Howard I Know” who, amongst other things had just starting to play with a pantomime horse costume made out of bed sheets. The concept behind the costume is delightful! a miniature rider on a horse but the evolution of how that costume became Glenn’s trademark and indeed the inspiration behind this beer has a mythology all of it’s own.
A group of the worlds best street performers met up in the Canary Islands to rehearse The Super Street Performers Show a theatre show concept conceived by the brilliant Dutch performer Pieter Post. Glenn, and his fledgling horse costume were a part of this collaboration and it was on there, on the Canary Islands that the concept of a slow-motion equestrian show jumping act became a reality. When Glenn enlisted the assistance of master puppet builder, Erminio Pinque, to create a zebra-head for the costume the planets aligned and his character, El Gleno Grande high atop his mighty steed Sigfrido really started to take the International Festival Circuit by storm.
I like to joke that Glenn is a “one trick pony” but at the heart of things, Glenn is an incredible storyteller who loves the tale he tells so much that his audiences can’t help but be charmed into falling in love with the ridiculous image of a tiny rider riding a miniature zebra. Few performers are able to hold a show together with one visual gag, bravado and sheer force of will, which makes Glenn a very special and skilled showman.
“Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t giddy-up!”
El Glenno Grande
When it came to making a beer in tribute to this guy I simply asked him what he wanted and the response was simple!
“I love IPAs, the hop character is something I really enjoy, but after one or maybe two of those higher ABV beers I’m on the floor. I want all of those hops in a beer I can enjoy all night long”
So creating an Indian Session Ale became the order of the day. I looked at the hops I was growing in my little hop yard and brought five different varieties into the boil kettle to craft a beer with all the hop character without the wallop of the high alcohol content. At 4.4% this is an easy drinking beer worthy of a long-necked rider of mini-zebras.