Hero Worship

I don't have many heroes in my life.  There's my dad.  The guy who first hired me to be his brewer's assistant.  An ex-boss brewmaster who taught me both from him and in spite of him how to be a better brewer, etc. 

Some heroes are less tangible and don't even know they're your heroes.

That's why I jumped at the chance to meet John Palmer today.  Over ten years ago, John wrote a book, "How to Brew" and made it available, free of charge, online.  It was so comprehensive that I couldn't get enough of it.  I downloaded and printed out the entire thing.  It was so useful that I felt guilty having obtained it for free that I bought a "real" copy.  John has since co-authored a second book, "Brewing Classic Styles" which I have purchased and used.

John held a book signing, thanks to the great guys at Northern Brewer, and I couldn't pass up a chance to meet one of my brewing mentors.  John is a laid-back guy hailing from southern California who was up in Minnesota for the Homebrewing Conference in the Twin Cities this past weekend.  John gave up his Father's Day (he is one) to sign his books and chat with Milwaukee-area homebrewers.

I brought along a growler of our current seasonal, "Number Nine IPA" which John enjoyed, further inflating my ego. 

Anyway, here are a few photos.  My thanks go out to John, and to David Kelley and the rest of the guys at Northern Brewer for making this an extra-special Father's Day for me.

Me and John Palmer, enjoying a Number Nine IPA from St. Francis Brewery.

Yeah, I did mention that I had a bit of a "man-crush" on John.  I was quickly corrected by Jaime at Northern Brewer that the proper term is "Bro-mance".