Birthdays

Beer Birthday: Dick Cantwell

March 30, 2012

Today is Dick Cantwell’s 55th birthday. He’s the head brewer and co-owner of Elysian Brewing in Seattle, Washington, and the co-author of Barley Wine. In addition to brewing, Dick’s a great writer, too, and his work frequently appears in numerous beer magazines. He’s also on the BA’s board of directors and heads both the Communications [...]

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Beer Birthday: Rich Higgins

March 29, 2012

Today is the 34th birthday of Rich Higgins, who wears many hats in the San Francisco beer scene. He recently left his job as the brewmaster at San Francisco’s Social Kitchen & Brewery, he’s also the President of the San Francisco Brewers Guild and Director of SF Beer Week. He’s currently focusing his attention on [...]

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Beer Birthday: Michael Jackson

March 27, 2012

Today would have been Michael Jackson’s 70th birthday. I first met Michael in the early 1990s, shortly after my beer book was published. He is all but single-handedly responsible for the culture of better beer that exists today. He began writing about good beer in the 1960s and 70s and his writing has influenced (and [...]

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Beer Birthday: Bill Brand

March 26, 2012

Today would have been Bill Brand’s 74th birthday, if not for the tragic events of February 8, 2009. Bill, of course, was hit by a Muni Train that evening and passed away twelve days later, on February 20. He was a bastion of support for the local beer community for decades, and one of it’s [...]

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Beer Birthday: Anat Baron

March 25, 2012

Today is the birthday of filmmaker Anat Baron, whose Beer Wars movie started people writing and talking about the beer business, from all sorts of angles, two years ago, and while it’s slowed down somewhat, the discussion has yet to have completely gone away. Or as Alan from A Good Beer Blog puts it, “joined [...]

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Beer Birthday: Pierre Celis

March 21, 2012

A true brewing legend, who was treated like a rock star in Belgium where they care about their national beers, Pierre Celis would have been 87 today. Celis single-handedly revived the style witbier in the 1960s when he was a brewer at Hoegaarden. He later moved to Texas to start a microbrewery with his daughter [...]

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Beer Birthday: Ray Deter

March 19, 2012

Today would have been the 55th birthday of Publican Ray Deter, who passed away tragically last summer after he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle in New York City. Ray was the owner of the d.b.a. beer bars in New York City (Manhattan and Brooklyn) and also New Orleans. He is most [...]

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Beer Birthday: Steve Hindy

March 16, 2012

Today is the 63rd birthday of Steve Hindy, one of the co-founders of Brooklyn Brewery, and the man responsible for running things day-to-day. Hindy was a journalist for many years before opening the brewery, reporting from numerous war-torn spots around the globe, and as a result has a different perspective on the world that makes [...]

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Beer Birthday: Joe Tucker

March 13, 2012

Today is the 44th birthday of Joe Tucker, the “Boss” — a.k.a. Executive Director — at Rate Beer. He runs the website from his Vineyard bunker in Sonoma, California. Because in the Bay Area, I run into Joe from time to time, and usually at the annual hop picking day at Moonlight Brewing. Join me [...]

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Beer Birthday: Mark Edelson

March 11, 2012

Today is the 48th birthday of Mark Edelson, a co-founder and the managing partner of Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, a small brewpub chain that operates 8 brewpubs in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania (and has just announced a 9th location in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania). Mark’s been a vocal and active member of the brewing [...]

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Beer Birthday: Tonya Cornett

March 4, 2012

Today is Tonya Cornett’s 43rd birthday. Tonya was the brewmaster of Bend Brewing in Oregon, for a number of years, but has recently moved to another Bend brewery — 10 Barrel Brewing — to become their R&D brewer. Tonya’s a great brewer and, of course, being born 1 day and ten years after me makes [...]

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Beer Birthday Again: Jay Brooks

March 3, 2012

Today was my 53rd birthday, and I’ve once again been overwhelmed by an embarrassment of riches from well-wishers sending me notes via e-mail, Twitter and Facebook. My sincere thanks to one and all. As it’s usually me posting embarrassing photos of my friends and colleagues, for the fourth year in a row, here’s some howlers [...]

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Beer Birthday: Danny Williams

March 1, 2012

Today would have been Danny Williams’ 53rd birthday today, having been born exactly two days before yours truly in 1959. Unfortunately, Danny lost a battle with cancer a little over a month ago, and passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 23. For over a decade, Danny worked for the Brewers Association as the [...]

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Beer Birthday: Knut Albert

February 28, 2012

Today, it’ also the 52nd birthday of Knut Albert Solem from Oslo, Norway, who has one of the premiere beer blogs in Scandinavia, Knut Albert’s Beer Blog. Though I’ve never met him in person, we have corresponded a time or two through blog comments and I certainly enjoy his perspective on beer. Join me in [...]

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Beer Birthday: Jeff Bell

February 28, 2012

Today is the 33rd birthday of Jeff Bell, whose alter ego was, until a couple of years ago, Stonch, one of England’s best bloggers. He retired from blogging to concentrate on his new job as landlord of a London pub, The Gunmakers, in Clerkenwell, a village in the heart of London. I stopped by to [...]

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Beer Birthday: Meg Gill

February 21, 2012

Today is the birthday of Meg Gill, former national sales manager for Speakeasy Ales & Lagers in San Francisco. When I first met Meg she was working for Oskar Blues, and later she organized the Opening Gala for SF Beer Week in years two and three, a Herculean undertaking. She recently opened her own brewery, [...]

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