A tribute to Michael Jackson

MIchael Jackson's impact on the world of beer and beer writing is inestimable. That he was simply known as the Beer Hunter tells you that. But he also had a level of eloquence and knowledge on the subject of beer that was irresistible.

A writer of several top-selling beer books, including the iconic World Guide to Beer (1977), he also contributed columns for newspapers including The Independent and The Observer and, most significantly, fronted the Beer Hunter programmes on Channel 4 back in 1990.

Through that programme, where he looked at great brewing, not only in the UK but across Europe and the US, he brought beer to national and international attention in a way no other writer or broadcaster had done before or has done since.

Paying tributes

One of the most remarkable things since his death last week has been the level of response to the news from across the world - and nowhere more so than in the US. Tributes have popped up on beer websites across the States and more remarkably, obituaries have been seen in national newspapers from the San Francisco Examiner to The Washington Post.

Ben McFarland, the current Guild of Beer Writers' Beer Writer of the Year, has spent much of this year in the US preparing to write The Good Beer Guide West Coast USA. He says Michael's status there is legendary.

"Every time you go into a brewpub or a brewery over there and you say you're English people will ask 'how's Michael?' It was incredible how many people knew him," says Ben. "He is the best beer writer there has ever been. He could bring the colour out in a beer feature - his writing had skill, charm and great humour."

His ability as a writer was also lent to the world of whisky, something he developed a great passion for later on in his life, writing several books and columns.

Michael helped found the British Guild of Beer Writers and was its first chairman. Current chairman Tim Hampson says Michael was - and remains - an inspiration.

"What he has done is shown all beer writers what can be achieved. He is revered by brewers and drinkers as an innovative thinker and we all need to learn from that."

Indeed, innovation is what seems to have fired Michael's imagination, leading him to spend large parts of the last 20 years of his life abroad as he looked to continental Europe's great brewing past and America's current brewing innovators for inspiration.International interest

"He was very international in everything he did," says Alastair Hook, owner of the Meantime Brewery.

"I'd see him abroad more than I would in the UK, like in the US or in Germany, for example.

"If we met in the UK we'd talk about rugby league!"

The suggestion from those who knew him best is that he grew tired of the slow pace of change within the British brewing scene, and not least the internal politics.

The explosion of the American micro-brewing scene in the early 1990s helped him find a new outlet and focus for his writing and this perhaps explains why his loss is felt more keenly across the pond than in his home country.

As Alastair puts it: "He found it so hard to reconcile the country that he was born in with the country that so inspired him."

Despite this, Michael remained supportive of the British brewing scene. Over the last few years I was lucky enough to meet him at various brewing events.

He was always welcoming, even to an outspoken young pup like myself. It seems he treated everyone like this, disarming them with his charm and wit.

Cheers Michael - believe me, the pleasure was all ours.

The Beer Hunter in his own words...

- "Hello, my name is Michael Jackson. My name really is Michael Jackson, but I don't sing and I don't drink Pepsi."

- "If I find the perfect pint, I will be unemployed."

- "How was it for you? Valentine's Day, I mean. For me, the most romantic moment was when my love uttered those words of togetherness: 'Let's walk down the road for a pint!'.