Monday, September 24, 2007

Michael Jackson: 1942-2007 (The Beerhunter)

I have only recently learned of the death on August 30 of the writer Michael Jackson, whose lifelong devotion to the study of beer and whisk(e)y was an inspiration to millions, including myself.

Particularly in North America, Michael Jackson deserves much of the credit for the renaissance of beer and brewing that took place in the 80s and 90s, for the growth of craft and microbreweries and the establishments in which to sample their products. So if you're drinking a decent beer now, you owe him.

On September 30, there will be a National Toast for Michael Jackson across North America, with proceeds going to the National Parkinsons Foundation. So if you have a friendly local pub, why not grab a poster (link to follow) and get them to collect some donations that night.

You can learn more at http://michaeljacksonthebeerhunter.blogspot.com/, and find the poster for the National Toast there too. If you've never read any of Michael's work, his last column is posted at http://www.allaboutbeer.com/ as an example of why you should.