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You are here: Home / News / R.I.P. Fred Eckhardt 1926-2015

R.I.P. Fred Eckhardt 1926-2015

August 10, 2015 By Jay Brooks

fred-eckhardt
I just learned from my friend, and Belmont Station owner, Lisa Morrison that legendary beer writer Fred Eckhardt has passed away. Apparently he died peacefully in his sleep this morning, with a few caregivers by his side.

Portland native Eckhardt was 89, and was a pioneer in writing about and defining beer styles with his early book on the subject, The Essentials of Beer Style, published in 1989. Annually in Portland, the FredFest beer festival has been held since his 80th birthday to honor Fred and his contributions to the modern beer and homebrewing scene. As Lisa observed. “He was one of the giants on whose shoulders we stand. What a life he lived, what he gave to us all.” He will be greatly missed. Join beer lovers everywhere as we raise a toast to Fred’s memory and to his enduring legacy tonight.

Fred-E-1969
Fred in 1969, from the back cover of his book, A Treatise on Lager Beers.


sat-aft-2
Fred Eckhardt and me at the Great American Beer Festival in 2005.

beer-goddess-02
Fred with Lisa Morrison.

obf08-28
Alan Sprints, of Hair of the Dog Brewery, with Fred Eckhardt, at Hair of the Dog’s open house in 2008 during OBF.

Fred-E-05
Fred with Lisa and John Foyston at OBF in 2009.

P1060186
Fred and me at the OBF parade in 2011.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Oregon, Portland, Writing



Comments

  1. Rick Andrews says

    August 10, 2015 at 6:12 pm

    https://storify.com/beer47/ken-eckhart-and-john-foyston-keynote

    Great guy and great story teller. We’ll miss you, Fred.

  2. Beerman49 says

    August 11, 2015 at 2:54 am

    Best columnist The Celebrator ever had; I’m sure there’ll be a big tribute in the next issue.

  3. Kendall Staggs says

    August 11, 2015 at 12:40 pm

    One of my great thrills was judging beers with Fred at the Oregon Homebrew Festival in the late 1990s, including a few times at the Best-of-Show table. His beer knowledge was only exceeded by his warmth and generosity. He remains an inspiration.

Trackbacks

  1. Fred Eckhardt: Beer Icon Passes Away | CraftBeer.com says:
    August 11, 2015 at 1:24 pm

    […] Brooks took to his blog the Brookston Beer Bulletin and shared that Eckhardt “was a pioneer in writing about and defining beer styles with his […]

  2. Fred Eckhardt: Beer Icon Passes Away | Beer Reviewed says:
    August 11, 2015 at 9:08 pm

    […] Brooks took to his blog, the Brookston Beer Bulletin, and shared that Eckhardt “was a pioneer in writing about and defining beer styles […]

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