Michael James Jackson (27 March 1942 – 30 August 2007) was an English writer and journalist. He was the author of many influential books about

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

and

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

. He was a regular contributor to a number of

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

s, particularly ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''.''The Daily Telegraph'' (London), 1 September 2007, Obituary of Michael Jackson Writer who tirelessly examined and championed beer and later became an equal authority on malt whisky, p29 Jackson's books have sold over three million copies worldwide and have been translated into 18 languages. He is credited with helping to start a renaissance of interest in beer and breweries worldwide in the 1970s, particularly in the United States. He is also widely credited with popularising the idea of

beer style Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin. The modern concept of beer styles is largely based on the work of writer Michael Jackson in his 1977 book ...

s. His influential television series ''The Beer Hunter'' was shown in fifteen countries. He was as well-versed in

malt whisky Malt whisky is whisky made from a fermented mashing, mash consisting of malted barley. If the product is made exclusively at a single distillery (along with other restrictions), it is typically called a single malt whisky. Although malt whisky ca ...

as he was in beer, and his book ''Michael Jackson's Malt Whisky Companion'' (1989) was the best-selling book on the subject in the world. Jackson developed

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

a bit more than a decade before his death. He did not declare his illness until its symptoms caused some to think he was inebriated.

Life

Jackson was born in

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

, West Riding of Yorkshire. His father had his

Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...

surname Jakowitz to Jackson. The family moved to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He went to

King James's Grammar School, Almondbury King James's School is a coeducational secondary school located in Almondbury in the English county of West Yorkshire. History King James's Grammar School was founded as chantry school in 1547 and received its name and a royal charter in 1608 ...

, and became a journalist, particularly being associated with

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, where he first encountered whisky. On his return to London, he briefly edited the advertising trade journal '' Campaign''. Michael Jackson became known in beer circles in 1977 when his book ''The World Guide to Beer'' was first published. This was later translated into more than 10 languages and is still considered to be one of the most fundamental books on the subject. The modern theory of

is largely derived from this book, in which Jackson categorised a variety of beers from around the world in local style groups suggested by local customs and names. His work had a particular influence on the popularisation of the brewing culture in North America, and in 1989 he hosted a television series entitled ''The Beer Hunter'', which was shown on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in the UK and on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

. It involved several episodes in which Jackson would visit a different country. Episodes featured beer barrels being lined with pitch, and iron foundry workers drinking "light" beer while they worked in hot conditions to quench thirst, practices which he knew were likely to be ended soon. Jackson considered beer as a component of culture and described beers in their cultural context. Although he travelled around the world and discovered different beer cultures, he was especially fond of the

Belgian beers Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

. He was appointed to an honorary officer of the ''

Ridderschap Ridder (; English: "Knight") is a noble title in Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. Traditionally it denotes the second lowest rank within the nobility, standing below Baron, but above the untitled nobility (Jonkheer) in these countries. " ...

van de Roerstok'' in 1997 for his important contribution to the international success of the Belgian beers. This honour had previously only been given to brewers. In 1998, Jackson designed and sold 4 beer glasses called "Michael Jackson's Great Beer Glassware Set", each glass for a different type of beer, produced by Rizenhoff Crystal. Shortly after, Jackson also helped create and worked with the only beer club he ever endorsed, Michael Jackson's Rare Beer Club. Jackson was a reviewer of whiskies, in his book ''The Malt Whisky Companion'', he reviewed a large number of whiskies and gave them marks from 0–100, considering only those with a score above seventy-five worth purchasing. He received the award of "Master of the Quaich". Apart from his work as a journalist and a critic, he was also a fan of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

. Jackson disclosed in December 2006 that he had been diagnosed with

over a decade earlier. He also had

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. Jackson died of a heart attack in his home on the morning of 30 August 2007 at the age of 65. He was survived by his girlfriend of 26 years, Paddy Gunningham, and her daughter and grandchildren.

Awards

* André Simon Award * Glenfiddich Trophy, a British prize for culinary writers *Honorary officer of the , a Belgian award *Gold Tankard of the British Guild of Beer Writers, given for his CD-ROMs *Columnist of the Year, from the North American Guild of Beer Writers *

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

, 2006 * Keeper of the Quaich and Master of the Quaich, Scotch whisky industry awards * Holder of the Haarikka () 1995,

Sahti Sahti is a Finnish type of farmhouse ale made from malted and unmalted grains including barley and rye. Traditionally the beer is flavored with juniper in addition to, or instead of, hops;

Association award *Achievement Award of the Institute for Fermentation Studies (US); first recipient *Honorary Master beer judge, of the Beer Judge Certification Program (

BJCP The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) is a non-profit organization formed in 1985 to recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills. The BJCP certifies and ranks beer judges through an examination and monitoring process. Purpose The BJCP has ...

)

Selected bibliography

* ''The English Pub'' (1976) * ''The World Guide to Beer'' (1977) * ''Exploring England. The Nationwide Touring Guide'' (1979) * ''Pocket Guide to Beer''; (1986) * ''The World Guide to Whisky'' (1987) * ''New World Guide to Beer'' (1988) * ''Michael Jackson's Great Beers of Belgium''; (1991) * ''Michael Jackson's Beer Companion''; (1997) * ''Ultimate Beer'' (1998) * ''Little Book on Beer'' (1998) * ''Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch'', 4th ed.; editor: Sharon Lucas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running Press; (1999) * ''Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide''; ed.: Sharon Lucas; DK; (2000) * ''Scotland and Its Whiskies'' (2001) * ''The Malt Whisky Companion'', Penguin Books; (2004) * ''Bar and Cocktail Party Book'' (2005) * ''Whisky''; (2005)

Multimedia

* ''The Beer Hunter'' (1989), set of two VHS tapes * ''A Journey of Discovery: Tasting the Classic Malts with Michael Jackson'' (1992), VHS tapes * ''The Beer Hunter'' (1995), CD-ROM about American beer culture * ''World Beer Hunter'' (1996), CD-ROM about beer cultures around the world * ''Beer Hunter: The Movie'' (2013), documentary film about Jackson's life

References

External links

Michael Jackson Special Collection
This is held in the Oxford Brookes University Library and includes 1,500 books from the expert's personal library on beer, whisky and other drinks, as well as 300 copies of his own books.

(written by

Roger Protz Roger Protz (born 5 February 1939) is a British writer, journalist and campaigner. He joined the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) in 1976 and has written several books on beer and pubs. Between 1978 and 1983 and from 2000 to 2018 he was the editor ...