Excerpt from
Death of The Beer Hunter
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LONDON - Michael Jackson, a leading world beer critic who praised the brews of Belgium and acknowledged he would never be as famous as "that Michael Jackson," has died. He was 65.
Jackson, known as "the beer hunter," died Thursday of a heart attack at his home in west London...
"He was simply the best beer writer we've ever known," said Tim Hampson, chairman of the British Guild of Beer Writers. "He told wonderful stories about beer, breweries and far away places. He told the story of beer through people, and he was humorous and erudite at the same time," Hampson told The Associated Press.
Jackson especially loved Belgian brews. His books "The Great Beers of Belgium" and "World Guide to Beer" introduced them to many export markets, including the United States.
By identifying beers by their flavors and styles, and by pairing them with particular foods and dishes, Jackson helped give birth to a renaissance of interest in beer and breweries worldwide that began in the 1970s, including the North American microbrewery movement.
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Sad day for OOT'ers indeed. This guy helped revive the credibility of beer that wasn't just swill, and give much more attention to microbreweries.