Comments on: Last call

Last call

sixpack — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:03:48 -0800

Michael Jackson the Beer Hunter (not the other one) passed away this morning. Beer fans remember the man and his impact on the world of beer. Among other things, he is responsible for establishing the definition of worldwide beer styles. He is also credited with reviving the Belgian beer industry and inspiring the U.S. microbrewing renaissance. I'll raise a glass of ale to him tonight because he was a friend and inspiration.

By: Johnny Assay

Johnny Assay — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:20:03 -0800

Very sad; I had not heard that he was suffering from Parkinson's (although the article doesn't explicitly say that's what killed him, it's mentioned in his Wikipedia article.) Those of us who enjoy excellent, flavourful beer owe a lot to him.

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:20:20 -0800

I'm envious of what his heaven is gonna look like. mmmmm.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:21:53 -0800

Aww. Raise a pint to Michael Jackson!

By: dhammond

dhammond — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:23:11 -0800

. I'll definitely be sucking one down, Michael Jackson-style tonight!

By: dhammond

dhammond — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:23:22 -0800

Wait, forget I said that.

By: athenian

athenian — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:23:51 -0800

By: rtha

rtha — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:28:31 -0800

By: ericb

ericb — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:36:04 -0800

. As an aside, I just hafta say sixpack ("Professional beer drinker, Philadelphia Daily News"), you got a great gig in this life. Life's unfair!

By: never used baby shoes

never used baby shoes — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:38:38 -0800

. I will hoist a cold one over the BBQ tonight

By: Pope Guilty

Pope Guilty — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:40:43 -0800

My stepdad's got a huge Michael Jackson poster up in his basement. It's always a good read. .

By: vito90

vito90 — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:42:18 -0800

Big . with a creamy head. I used to work for Redhook Brewery, and I hope I'm right that it was him who once said of Redhook's Original Ale, "I've thrown away better batches of homebrew."

By: drewbage1847

drewbage1847 — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:45:21 -0800

..... There aren't enough periods. Not only will I have a beer in his honor tonight. I will have it at the place where I first met the man, Lucky Baldwin's. As a beer and now beer writing obsessed fool, all I can say is the man was a touchstone for so many folks discovering the world of beer beyond macro corn/rice and green bottled import lager. It's a mark of how respected he was that in all the beer communities today, even the normally pissy people aren't saying a thing. Let's hope that the Germans are wrong when they sing that Heaven there is no beer. I'm just waiting for him and John White to prepare a guide to the breweries of Heaven.

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:45:57 -0800

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:52:15 -0800

o.Oo.o..oOO.oo..O.OoooO....oo...... O.OoooO....oo......o.Oo.o..oOO.oo..O .oo......o.Oo.o..oo.o..oOO ......

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:53:21 -0800

By: knapah

knapah — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:56:59 -0800

I shall now quaff a rather pleasant Tim Taylor Landlord in honour of this most knowledgable of men. Truly he was blessed in his understanding of the greatest consequence of agriculture.

By: Mmmmmm

Mmmmmm — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:57:33 -0800

Thank you for posting this, sixpack, and hear, hear drewbage1847. Jackson was a great champion of good beer.

By: BeerFilter

BeerFilter — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:59:11 -0800

To the Beer Hunter!

By: lupus_yonderboy

lupus_yonderboy — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:02:22 -0800

By: eriko

eriko — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:04:38 -0800

By: neckro23

neckro23 — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:06:24 -0800

By: [expletive deleted]

[expletive deleted] — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:06:50 -0800

Well, now I know what I've been saving my bottle of Chimay Bleue for. Cheers!

By: cog_nate

cog_nate — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:25:15 -0800

Cheers, Mr. Jackson.

By: gurple

gurple — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:26:21 -0800

By: Ufez Jones

Ufez Jones — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:31:32 -0800

I remember seeing Mr. Jackson on some late-night talk show when I was in middle school (a couple of years before raising my first, god, natural light or whatever to my lips), and while I was completely lost on what all he was going on about. But, of course, I remembered his name. After high school, while I was learning that there were beers other than Miller and Coors and Bud and whatnot, I spotted his name on a book at my local bookstore. I can honestly say my life is better because of him. My liver? Not so much. Cheers, Michael.

By: lazaruslong

lazaruslong — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:32:01 -0800

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:32:37 -0800

Ein prosit! Drink well, Mr. Jackson, wherever you are. .

By: vito90

vito90 — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:34:41 -0800

Ufez, in honor of Mr. Jackson's passing shall I send you some Pike Place Stout? ;)

By: gurple

gurple — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:34:59 -0800

All About Beer also has a few nice words about him.

By: drewbage1847

drewbage1847 — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:36:46 -0800

The all about beer link has his final article too, which is strange and spooky in light of today.

By: bonecrusher

bonecrusher — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:40:00 -0800

. I keep his "Beer Companion" on my coffee table (which, come to think of it, would be more accurately named after a different beverage). It's a very beautiful book, and I often leaf through it and daydream. Damn, what a great life that guy must have had.

By: sveskemus

sveskemus — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:50:06 -0800

By: nímwunnan

nímwunnan — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:57:05 -0800

Man... it's always worth a twinge or two when an pillar of any culture passes on, but, jeeze, Michael Jackson was beer. I'm envious of those of you who met him. His books helped inspire my Beer Project when I was fortunate enough to live near a Polish grocer in Brooklyn with more than 500 beers from around the world. One beer I had never had per week. And a few more I knew already. It's always good to review. Does anyone feel like sharing their favorite beers/beer experiences in honor of him? Myself, I'm currently dreaming of a Proving Ground IPA from Magnolia in San Fran or maybe a Sacred Cow from Arbor Brewing in Michigan. Alas, I am stuck in Glasgow, land of weak, sweet, warm beer.

By: PugAchev

PugAchev — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:58:46 -0800

wow... not only was michael jackson a big beer fan(which I am as well) he was also one of the foremost whiskey critics(I love whiskey also). this sucks. I really would have liked to meet him, we could have talked for days about the lovely-ness of malted barley and the tasty-ness of Westvleteren 12.

By: ijoshua

ijoshua — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:04:40 -0800

. and raise a glass.

By: drewbage1847

drewbage1847 — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:04:57 -0800

Beer experience with Mr. Jackson. Was at the launch of his Rare Beer club in Los Angeles and got to to sample and talk Cuvee du Tomme with him and Tomme Arthur. Good times there. But really, for some reason the beer that I always associate him with is Orval. When I first had it (as a newb to good beer), I wasn't even sure what the hell I was tasting. So when I got home (with another bottle) I sat down and flipped open his book and read his description and story of the beer.

By: lumpenprole

lumpenprole — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:15:16 -0800

Crap! He was also, as well as beer, a noted lover of scotch. Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch was the book I picked up when first I tasted the ambrosia of the Scots. What a great life he led. .

By: sixpack

sixpack — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:22:55 -0800

To me, Michael was a newspaperman with ink - not beer - in his blood. He got his start in newspapers, and when we talked, it was more about the tabloid business than beer. I feel lucky to have known him - he was a regular visitor in Philly, especially more recently because the woman he loved lives here. Each year, he led a tutored tasting at the Univ. of Pa. Museum that drew more than 1,000 people. He was a true cult hero. In a piece about Philly and the hereafter, he wrote, "If I were for even a split second remembered for The Beer Hunter, I should smile in the hereafter as I shared a refreshing Duvel with my new drinking buddies."

By: jonmc

jonmc — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:23:52 -0800

*pours some expensive beer on the curb*

By: nímwunnan

nímwunnan — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:28:43 -0800

bah, I'm embarassed to have forgotten his love of whisky. And Glasgow, of course, does not hurt for good whisky. Perhaps I'll start a Whisky Project in his honour....

By: gurple

gurple — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:31:06 -0800

I'll try to get down to Bottleworks here in Seattle tonight and pick up something suitably Belgian. I'm sure I won't be the only one there with that idea. D

By: gurple

gurple — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:32:15 -0800

Er, that was supposed to be: D-( Or an ascii rendering of a Rochefort glass.

By: knapah

knapah — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:33:09 -0800

Too much talk about beer and whisky, not enough drinking beer and whisky!

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:43:38 -0800


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88.......]..
8[.......]  .
8[.......] .
8[.......]..
8[~~~~~~~]

By: deCadmus

deCadmus — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:46:17 -0800

[:]D

By: deCadmus

deCadmus — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:48:22 -0800

I hope that looks like a beer mug and not a happy face... 'cause this is not a happy face. Mr. J was quite a guy...

By: erikgrande

erikgrande — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:03:12 -0800

He's got several beer books on Amazon besides Beer Companion. Any opinions on which is the best? Also, did anybody else see his recent (last year or two) Conan appearance? I guess that when booze is your livelihood you show up sloshed now and then.

By: drewbage1847

drewbage1847 — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:15:04 -0800

Erikgrande, That Conan appearance was part of the reason he went public with his Parkinson's battle. That's what he claimed was affecting his showing there.

By: 5MeoCMP

5MeoCMP — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:27:11 -0800

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:43:43 -0800

As a home brewer, may I say... . *burp*

By: fet

fet — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:43:49 -0800

Michael Jackson got me into Belgian beer. His beer guide with all the cooly artistic labels from little Belgium got me to seek out those interesting beers. I'm tilting a Leffe Blonde and a Glazen Toren Ondineke Oilsjtersen Tripel in his honor tonight. I hope the beer is good whereever he's gone.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:43:53 -0800

. Oh man. I loved The World Guide to Beer. That book got me away from drinking too much crap been (Busch Pounders) and taught me what beer was really about.

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:50:58 -0800

I never really got into Mr. Jackson, since my college education in Beer Brewing was on the cusp of the microbrew revolution. Having grown up with that, and knowing beer, I never felt like I needed a book to tell me about beer. I have this great hatred of wine critics, so even though he might have been good, I never read him. However, the fact that he did influence a lot of people to start drinking good beer, and helped that market grow to the point where the "big 3" brewers are starting to make some interesting beers, then my hat's off to him. This Stone Arrogant Bastard is for you, Mr Jackson.

By: erikgrande

erikgrande — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:52:35 -0800

That Conan appearance was part of the reason he went public with his Parkinson's battle. That's what he claimed was affecting his showing there. My bad, didn't mean to make light.

By: skynxnex

skynxnex — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:57:38 -0800

A great writer about beer. It's even more amazing, these days, to read some of his titles where he's focusing so much on particular breweries and realize how much of a purely historical document it is now. The New World Guide to Beer, in particular. The the world of beer has changed so much since (my edition at least) was written. Many breweries that he writes about, particularly in America, are gone or merged into uniform larger compies. The beer world has changed a lot since he started writing, mostly for the better; not entirely without losses though. Without doubt he was, is, and will be a huge part of what's better now.

By: jtron

jtron — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:09:24 -0800

. Very sad. Randomly catching his show was the first intimation that there was a wider beer world out there, and that we Americans had the short end of it (at the time). The first beer I ever loved was Franziskaner Hefeweisebier Dunkel; I might go down to my local and lift one for him tonight.

By: Lafe

Lafe — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:19:45 -0800

By: tommasz

tommasz — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:28:34 -0800

. He made enjoying the taste of beer something you could actually tell people about. While there are now probably millions of educated beer drinkers, there was only one Michael Jackson.

By: mazola

mazola — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:54:28 -0800

    _.._..,_,_                                             
   (          )    YOU KNOW WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT BEER ?!?!?!?
    ]~,"-.-~~[                                             
  .=])' (;  ([                                             
  | ]:: '    [                                             
  '=]): .)  ([                                             
    |:: '    |     THE FACT THAT IT GOES IN ME             
PMH  ~~----~~

By: mazola

mazola — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:55:11 -0800

Hmm. That didn't work. Maybe it'll look better after a couple o'beers...

By: Hicksu

Hicksu — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:58:15 -0800

Cheers to Mr. Jackson. I also had the pleasure to met him at Lucky Baldwin's. For such an experieced critic, I was thrilled with how non beer snobish he was. We even got to talk about whisky for a while.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:28:11 -0800

"the best-known Belgian Pilsener is the lightly hoppy, grassy, Stella Artois" How nicely he described my favorite beer. So Michael Jackson's the guy responsible for making Belgian beer available all over NYC now. It's good to know. I wondered how the hell that happened. It's so sexy when somebody really knows their stuff with sensual gusto. Loved that scene in Sideways when Miles shows off his tasting-smelling finesse to Jack. Exciting to learn there was an articulate beer connoisseur. Sad he died relatively young, at 65,, it had to have been hard for him. Glad he made so many people happy.

By: Ber

Ber — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:44:05 -0800

. This is so sad, the man was a god. I've got a bottle of Thomas Hardy Ale I was saving, I guess now I know it's time to open it in the man's honor.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:38:21 -0800

Very sad. A few years ago, my Belgian in-laws gave me his book "Great Beers of Belgium". It's helped me better understand what I like and don't like. Alas, my source for Belgian beer has quit importing to South Africa. Time to move back to Europe! I wish restaurants in South Africa would learn that there are other beers in the world besides lager, which I generally loath. Down here, you're lucky if you can get a pils.

By: 1adam12

1adam12 — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 01:10:07 -0800

Thanks to this man, I stopped drinking bad beer and started to understand what I was experiencing. The Great Beer Guide changed my gastronomic life. A true loss to beer lovers. A Rogue Imperial Stout in his memory.

By: Henry C. Mabuse

Henry C. Mabuse — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 02:01:30 -0800

So, what killed him? Probly drinking too much, right?

By: drewbage1847

drewbage1847 — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 02:22:07 -0800

Probably complications from his Parkinson's. Meanwhile tonight.. a little of my mild, Avery Maharajah DIPA and a glass of my Dubbel. All while writing my next column. Figure that should be appropriate to the man.

By: rpn

rpn — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 02:49:16 -0800

. I'm going to the pub tonight. Twice. (I mean, I was already planning to go...)

By: A dead Quaker

A dead Quaker — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:18:06 -0800

By: mek

mek — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 05:52:49 -0800

By: Bron

Bron — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:11:45 -0800

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:22:06 -0800

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:51:49 -0800

By: the_bone

the_bone — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 07:31:18 -0800

By: eye of newt

eye of newt — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 08:26:17 -0800

Michael Jackson once co-wrote an article with a famous wine critic--I think it was Robert Parker. He introduced him to and taught him about the wide variety and qualities of the various brands. It really opened his eyes to something he had never appreciated. .

By: grateful

grateful — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 08:37:41 -0800

By: HpyMutant

HpyMutant — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 09:50:59 -0800

By: spnx

spnx — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:49:52 -0800

What a shame. He was an engaging and intelligent reviewer, and his books and programmes changed my beer drinking habits. Well, you can be sure he had a good life! And he will be missed.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:54:31 -0800

Oh my. We found some Rouchefort 10 to honor Mr. Jackson. Didn't know any of that was left. Alas, Belgium beer is in another crisis, do to commercialization. Some jackass in Brazil is running things that has no appreciation for beer. I've only heard garbled accounts from my partner's father.

By: box

box — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 15:50:03 -0800