13 February 1997
This was the first really significant event in my brewing career, meeting Michael Jackson (beer writer).
I had been working at Steam Brewing Company (brewing arm of the Cock & Bull pub, when it was just a brewpub) for only 6 weeks when the world’s leading expert on beer came and visited. His very first, of only two visits to New Zealand.
Looking back to this time I’m really grateful to Kieran Meyer, Ben Middlemiss and Steve Kermode who all took a risk to employ an overly keen and brewing obsessed kid who had bugged them for a job for a year.
It was a real privilege to meet Michael, considering most of my beer style knowledge had come from reading a number of his books from cover to cover, multiple times.
It can be said that he was the single most influential person in history to document beer, and reignite the passion and excitement into beer styles, their flavours and diversity.