Famed beer historian, critic, and author, Fred Eckhardt, who was known by many as “the dean of American beer writers,” died Monday morning at age 89 at a hospital in Portland, Ore.
Eckhardt, who wrote “The Essentials of Beer Style” and “A Treatise on Lager Beers,” had been in failing health, forcing him to miss a number of annual beer events and tastings this year, reports Oregon Live’s John Foyston, a friend and colleague of Eckhardt’s. Foyston writes, however, that Eckhardt was able to make a brief appearance this past May at FredFest 2015, the namesake annual celebration of his birthday, hosted by Hair of the Dog Brewing, that now goes back 10 years.
Foyston continues: “Fred had been feeling poorly for the last several months, especially after his partner of 60 years died in May, and he was 89, but still, if there were any justice, he would’ve lived forever – and he will; that part’s up to those of us who knew and loved him.”
Eckhardt, writes Foyston, also pioneered the American homebrewing movement with Charlie Papazian. A sake enthusiast, he also authored “Sake (U.S.A.)” a guide to American sake and sake breweries… CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY AT BREWBOUND
