Michael Jackson is dead, no not that one, this one. To the Homebrew and Craft community the man was a living icon. He wrote a lot of the books that began to define and explore the Craft Beer Revolution. His cheer and good spirits were well known. The community will be lessened by his passing, but was enriched by his presence.

A good friend in DC, her ex-husband was a friend of Jackson and they would go to dinner when he was in town she told me. Jackson had a tie with his own picture on it and wore it to dinner one night with them. When he needed a drink he would say "the gent on the tie needs another drink" in a voice filled with self-deprication and humor. That was him at his core.

Raise a glass to toast him tonight, I know I shall.

PS - Jackson's last article

Brookston Bulletin has a interesting examination of the CDC's look at Binge Drinking. Worth a read, another sign of how neo-prohibtionism is on the rise and the report will become a catalyst especially for groups like MADD. The problem with some public policy groups is they achieve success then run out of things to do so they go looking for new worlds to conquer.