Have you ever had a lengthy conversation with friends or regulars at your favorite brewhouse about craft beer, just to be stymied on a question that not even Google or Wikipedia could answer? You try and flex your beer muscles in an attempt to get your point across in hopes that Pale Ale Paul Hale doesn’t prove you wrong once again. After you settle down and split a pitcher, you begin to wonder who does know the most about craft beer in the US? Before you get into another spat, look no further – this man is clearly Lance Rice and he is making his way across America right now filming a documentary called Lance’s Brewery Tour. Lance is not your typical man and his journey is not your average brew tour. Lance is an extraordinary individual who has autism and a photographic memory. His documentary not only shows his passion for life as a beer expert with 40 years of memorized beer history, but also documents his personal growth of overcoming obstacles to be an inspiration to the autism community.

Here at ACB, we like to highlight and comment on the fun side of the craft beer industry, but putting jokes aside (for me, I’m putting bad jokes aside), we would like to focus on how the craft beer community is helping the autism community. I have a few passions in life: being creative through a myriad of media, craft beer, and of course, family. My family was recently impacted by an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. With my recent discovery, you can probably imagine my excitement when I spoke with the Director, Executive Producer, and Lance’s nephew, Aaron Rice, about Lance’s journey.

Lance’s passion for beer started in the summer of 1974 when his younger brother was collecting beer memorabilia. Lance found beer cans, brochures, and labels in a shoebox in his brother’s bedroom. The colors caught his eye and Lance wanted to start a collection like his brother. Lance never stopped his collecting and now he is a literal beer genius that knows everything there is to know about this delicious beverage.

With all his knowledge, Lance wanted to share his expertise with the world, so he made it his goal to write a book about the past and present of American brewing history. In order to fully complete the book, Lance dreamed about touring the US to meet the men and woman who make up the craft beer industry. This dream became a reality when Aaron told his uncle that he wanted to turn Lance’s story into a full-length documentary. The film will not only talk about Lance’s experience and the history of the craft beer industry while on his tour, but also focus on the story that brought Lance out of his shell and gave him a new lease on life.

The documentary has already been to more than 20 breweries on the East Coast and Midwest, hitting up all the notable craft companies in their respectable area. Lance meets with the CEOs and they talk about the craft beer world, the culture, the history of craft, and the brewery’s role in the community. They also talk about how autism has affected their brewery. An overwhelmingly amount of breweries and employees of the breweries have some connection to autism, whether it is personal, their employees, employees who have children with autism, or through charity involvement. Lance and the owners listen and learn from each other and the owners give their heart-felt opinion on Lance and his tour.

This film also focuses on the beauty of autism. If you were to take beer out of the equation for this movie, then you would have a story of never giving up, overcoming obstacles, and personal growth. Lance has social anxieties that have made the tour difficult, but after spending 30 days on the road, he has made huge strides in his personal growth and breakthroughs.

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Aaron hopes to have Lance write his book from his experience with the documentary, which will then be a gateway to establish an autism foundation in Lance’s name called Lance’s Room. This foundation will help people with autism through arts and education by providing scholarships and job training so people with autism can pursue their dreams like Lance is doing. The foundation will also benefit farm sustainability, which is a passion of Lance’s. The movie is like a megaphone or catalyst for the charity.

I heard this calling and wanted to help this project by producing something that I enjoy, improvised comedy. I was excited to hear when I first spoke with Aaron that he also trained and improvised at the same theatre that I do. In a joint effort, we set up Lance to be the guest monologist in The Armando improv show at the iO West on 9/21 during LA Beer Week. Lance will be sharing his stories and anecdotes inspired by a one-word suggestion given by the audience, and an all-star cast of improvisers will then perform scenes off of Lance’s monologue. The iO Theatre has a full bar with eight taps and specialty crafts will be selling for $4 a pint (which is insanely cheap for a beer in LA). Some of the proceeds from the event will go toward Lance’s project and cameras will be there filming that night for the documentary. If you’re in the LA area and you appreciate craft beer, then I highly encourage you to come to this rare event for a chance to hear a beer prodigy speak – but don’t wait because tickets may sell out soon. You’ll also have a chance to meet Lance and Aaron at the Lab Brewing Company located at 30105 Agoura Rd., Agoura Hills on Friday 9/20 starting at 4:00 pm for the #BeerAutismHope event or at the Golden Road Happy Hour for Autism on Sunday 9/22 at 1:00 pm at the Golden Road brewpub.

Nowadays it seems like almost everyone either knows someone with autism or knows someone who is affected by a loved one who has autism. Life can be challenging or different for these people, but Lance is giving hope to the autism community and inspiring others to fulfill their dreams. He is doing this with the continued and gracious help from the craft beer community. He is indeed the man who knows the most about craft beer in America, but most importantly, he is an inspiration to anyone who needs to overcome the odds, a lesson that strikes a cord with almost every person in America.

Are you not in LA and want to help? You can follow Lance’s Brewery Tour on Facebook and Twitter to see where he’ll be next. You can also donate to his campaign directly through PayPal or by buying these awesome T-Shirts!