TASTE BUDS: PRETTY THINGS

Since their first beer was sold on the first of December two years ago, husband and wife Dann and Martha Paquette have had fun figuring out how to make a living through “Gypsy-brewing” their “good time artisinal beers.” We caught up with them in the Pretty Things headquarters (a one-room office in Somerville).

Pretty Things doesn’t have its own brewery, instead what you do is “Gypsy-brewing,” can you explain what that means?
Dann: “Gypsy-brewing” isn’t really a well-defined term.  Some people have called this “lease brewing” which sounds exceptionally boring.  But for us “gypsy brewing” means that not only do we not own the brewery where we brew our own beer, but we’re not tied down to any one facility.

Does Pretty Things ever want to have a brewery of its own?
Dann: Yeah, I mean my dream has always been to have a space of my own. Pretty Things right now only goes as far as this room. I’d love a place to have tours and tastings. I’d like to be able to do industry event nights.

What has been the hardest part of starting this business?
Martha: We didn’t know how to run a business.
Dann: It has been really fun to learn, though.
Martha: Yeah, but it has been really hard. All of that boring business work? It really is quite boring! You end up making a monster of yourself!

What is your favorite beer to brew?
Dann: I think Jack D’or. It was our first beer that we ever brewed and it’s the beer we brew the most of. And it’s still a work in progress. We haven’t gotten it quite perfect, yet.

What are some of your favorite beers to drink?
Dann: Not of our own? Saison Dupont [from Brasserie, Belgium], XX Bitter [from Brouwerij De Ranke, Belgium], and Old Peculier [from T+R Theakston Ltd, England].

You lived and brewed in England [where Martha is from] for a couple years; how does the craft beer scene there compare to Boston’s?
Dann: It’s almost not even worth comparing. It’s so different. England has some really cool pubs go to, but the beer drinkers there are all crochety old guys. For some reason all the females drink wine. Except for Martha.
Martha: Yeah I grew up drinking beer.
Dann: Thank God!

So will you stay here in Boston?
Dann: Definitely, we love it here.
Martha: I can’t really imagine moving anywhere else. Especially having moved back and forth across the Atlantic three times, I’m done moving.
Dann: The last time we moved here, we came in a boat, the Queen Mary II. Martha emigrated properly.
Martha: When we moved here, we had arrived.

What do you like to do when you’re not working on Pretty Things?
Dann: We travel a lot for Pretty Things so we like to make the most of that. We spend a lot of time in New York. We like to spend time outdoors.
Martha: Yes, but we’re not outdoorsy.
Dann: No! We’re the English kind of outdoorsy.
Martha: Yeah, like we will look at the ocean for a while, then go back inside to have some tea.  And, we like to stare at paintings don’t we? Well, that sounds quite pompous, but it’s true. When we’re drained from brewing or exhausted from events sometimes we find inspiration for a new beer from staring at art.

FIND PRETTY THINGS BEER AT THE BETTER BARS IN BOSTON. FOR MORE ON PRETTY THINGS, VISIT PRETTYTHINGSBEERTODAY.COM. FOLLOW THEM ON TWITTER @PRETTYBEER

FOR MORE ON THE GREAT GREAT BAND PRETTY THINGS, CLICK HERE.