According to Bottoms Up, Bill Brand passed away during the night, surrounded by friends and family. The Oakland Tribune has an obituary with a guest book for people to sign. According to a family friend, “a memorial service is planned and details will be announced later today.” This is a dark day for the beer community. Let’s give whatever love and support to his family that we can.
Sorry for your loss of someone who was clearly a dear friend.
Bill Brand was a great writer and even better man, a genuinely nice guy. We will sorely miss him and his excellent column. Prayers go out to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.
“Dammit” says it pretty well, Jay. I got nothing else. A bad day.
He truly was a great guy. This is devastating. I will be raising a toast to Bill tonight to celebrate his work in the beer community. His blog was a daily read for me… My condolences go out to his family.
I’m not a religious person, but I believe in the power of positive thoughts. I’m sending them out in spades to Bill’s friends and family that they might find comfort in this sad time and know they are not alone in their grief.
What a tragic loss. Bill’s relentless coverage of the beer world is already missing. Most respect to the man for being a pioneer in beer journalism in an era when it definitely was a lot harder to convince people of the virtues of fine beer than it is today. My condolences to the Brand family. I wonder if his notepad was recovered the night of the accident? It would be wonderful for a group of fellow beer journalists to review his notes from that night at the 21A and write a tribute to his coverage of that final event.
That is tragic, terrible news. Bill will be greatly missed. Condolences to Bill’s family, friends, and the Bay Area brewing scene.
Damn right It sucks. He was too young and full of piss and vinegar. His smile will be missed terribly. DAMMIT!
The Associated Press just moved an item on his passing (2:45 pm Pacific time Friday), which tells you the significance of his contributions to the craft beer movement. Let’s hoist again tonight in his honor.
Bill will be missed. I was thinking back on all the beer we shared over the years. My thought go out to his family and all his friends.
In heaven
there is no beer.
that is why
we drink it here.
and when I’m
gone from here,
my friends
will be drinking
ALL the beer.
A great man, a huge supporter of the craft beer industry. As popular as good beer might be, our community, our craft-beer family is small and when we lose one, lose a scribe like Bill, a witness to what we are all doing the blow seems deeper and harder to realize. The enormity is apparent. We all feel it as the comments here attest. My heart and thoughts go out to his wife, Daryl and family. Your husband and father was part of something, touched more people that some can only dream of while on this planet. You will be missed.
-Shaun O’Sullivan 21st Amendment Brewery
Jay, a thought to honor Bill. The next available Session we toast him with his favorite beer style or perhaps the month of what would have been his birthday.