Rest in Peace 2017 -- Thanks for all the beers

As I do each year, it's time to look back on those individuals and their significant contributions to the industry that we lost in 2017. Many thanks to additional feedback from Brian Yaeger, Tara Nurin, and Don Russell.

9/8/17, Tom Draper, 76, bicycle accident
  ~ Father and father-in-law to Mariah and Sam Calagione, Draper's passing was a sudden blow to the media world as well as the Calagione family. Sam referred to him as his "greatest business mentor" in a statement following the accident. [link to DelMarVaNow.com]

August '17, Trent Dolyniuk, cancer
  ~ A big personality and talented chef whose name Brian Yaeger passed along to me, Dolyniuk had a hand in Columbia County Brewing in St. Helens, Ore. so he, too, gets included here. [link to Portland Mercury and a profile that Yaeger wrote just prior to Dolyniuk's passing]

7/26/17, Tony Knipling, 63, heart attack
  ~ A major force behind craft beer over the last twenty years in Pittsburgh, Pa. and Vecenie Distributing. [several links here: link to his obituary; one from Chris Dilla of Bocktown link to Bocktown Beer & Grill; another from Bob Batz at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and my piece that was published in Ale Street News]

4/28/17, Curt Plants, 33, blood infection
  ~ Trained in both brewing school and under John Maier at Rogue, Plants opened GoodLife Brewing in Bend, Ore. in 2011. His sudden loss was a shock to his family and the beer community. His Sweet As! Pacific Ale won a gold medal at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival. [link to The Bend Bulletin]

3/19/17, Pierre Zuber, undisclosed
  ~ Information was difficult to come by regarding Pierre's passing. A sad loss for the Belgian beer drinking community. My hope is that if you'd been to Brussels prior to his passing, you had a chance to meet and drink with this incredibly friendly, hospitable, and knowledgable personality who ran the Délices et Caprices beer shop. [link to a profile of Zuber at Brussels Life]

3/5/17, Zach Ziegler, 32, undisclosed
  ~ A founding partner in Molly Pitcher Brewing Company, Ziegler helped bring better beer at this still growing brewery in downtown Carlisle, Pa. [link to The Sentinel's website]

March '17, Ben Flerchinger, undisclosed
  ~ A long time brewer at Lucky Lab in Portland, Ore., Ben passed unexpectedly in March after a brief stay in the hospital. More recently he spent time at Gigantic Brewing and across the Columbia River in Washougal, Wash. at 54’40° Brewing. He was a significant presence on the Portland-area brewing scene including the Lucky Lab Barleywine Festival, Cheers to Belgian Beers Festival, and BenFest. [link to a video tribute at Lucky Lab's website]

2/4/17, Wajih Abed, 71, cancer
  ~ Abed and Fergus Carey were the two that opened and grew Fergie's Pub into one of Philadelphia's most must-visit bars over the last 22 years. [link to Philly.com and link to Philadelphia Weekly and a column by Don Russell]

If you care to look back on the previous ten years that I've been doing this year-end wrap, consult the links here for: 2016, 2015,  2014,  2013,  2012,  2011,  2010,  2009,  2008,  and 2007.

As in past years, I'll repeat a soothing message: Be still sad heart and cease repining; Behind the clouds the sun is shining, Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each life a little rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary. ~ Longfellow

---

---

© Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge, 2016. All content is owned and uniquely created by Bryan J. Kolesar. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Kolesar is strictly prohibited. Excerpts, images, and links may be used with advance permission granted and only provided that full and clear credit is given to Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Contact Kolesar at TheBrewLounge@gmail.com

---

---

Pouring in Pennsylvania: Fat Head's now officially in the Philly market

Last night saw the Fat Head's team roll out with mighty force (with Philadelphia regional rep, Justin Knosp) to Capone's in Norristown, Pa. The Gretz team (led by company president, Mike Gretz - far left in the picture above) accompanied the brewery that has garnered much attention, excitement, and awards in less than seven years since opening outside of Cleveland, Ohio.

The shortest back story to tell of their growth begins with the original Fat Head's pub in Pittsburgh's South Side neighborhood. The wildly successful and rollicking bar/restaurant has been a destination ever since and owner, Glenn Benigni, partnered with Matt Cole (former brewer at Great Lakes, Penn, and others) in 2009 to open the North Olmstead brewery just outside Cleveland. In early 2012, they opened a much larger facility in Middleburg Heights with plenty of room to grow. Both were in attendance last night at Capone's and will be at several events this week in the Philly area.

Finally, late 2014 saw them add on a Portland, Oregon brewpub location, just down the street from the Deschutes brewpub. Does the future hold more brewpub locations added to the "family" in the future? Time will tell, but all signs point to yes.

In a nod to Matt Capone's long-standing support for Fat Head's, his bar was serving more of their beer (nine of them) than any other Fat Head's event listed on PhillyTapFinder.com. Battle Axe Porter, Bumble Berry Wheat, Goggle Fogger Hefe Weizen, Head Hunter IPA, Head Trip Tripel, Shakedown Stout, Sunshine Daydream Session IPA, Trail Head Pale Ale, and Fat Head's/Jackie O's Liquid Courage Collaboration Barleywine were all pouring last night. The broad range of styles and alcohol levels should serve to keep everyone in your beer-drinking group happy.

For the uninitiated, the Head Hunter is a simcoe- and centennial-based citrus/piney blast of IPA goodness. At 7.5% ABV, for some of us, this can be at least a half-session beer (cue the ridicule!) and exhibits the hallmarks of a very drinkable beer (esp. for IPA) for me. I've had many of the others on the list in the past and vouch wholeheartedly for them and while I didn't get to the barleywine as I'd hoped, the surprise for me in the bunch was the perfectly balanced and, wait for it, drinkable Trail Head Pale Ale. It's the citra hop variety that gets me every time and this one is a delight. At 6.3% ABV, I'm in the game for a few of these as well. Can't wait to see bottle/sixtels of this in the market. Plus, a portion of proceeds from Trail Head's sales goes to the Cleveland Metroparks Trails Fund.

---

---

Portland's Beer Scene has lost a legend

Don Younger, of Portland's Horse Brass Pub, passed away last night.

Though I've never met Don Younger, been to his pub, nor visited Portland, Oregon (one of my beer shortcomings), whenever a presence like his is lost, we all feel it. I've read of Don through the years and seen interviews with him. I'd always hoped the day would come when I'd be visiting Portland and get a chance to meet the man who helped create the fabric of the Portland Beer Scene and continue it thirty years on. For those of you who have, I'm sure you have special stories to share.

As much as it takes brewers to make the beer that fuels the industry, it takes publicans like Younger who help make it accessible to the masses. Hopefully, you are all fortunate enough to have your own Don Younger manning the taps in your neighborhood. We, like Portland, would all be better off if we did.

Cheers to Don's life and may he rest in peace. Observations also by Pete Brown, OregonLive.com, via a BeerAdvocate forum posting, and earlier information from Jay Brooks. And, for additional reference, Imbibe Magazine has a nice profile of Don Younger on their site.