NoDa Brewing Company hosting screening of “Beer Hunter The Movie”
When you say the name Michael Jackson, many think of one of the greatest singers of all time.
But in the craft beer world, that name refers to someone entirely different, but one who left a huge legacy in his own regard. And on Sunday at NoDa Brewing Company, you can see how one man influenced an entire movement.
This Michael Jackson was a renowned British author and journalist who wrote “The World Guide to Beer” in 1977. Nothing as complete and thorough about beer had ever been published prior to that book, which is one of the reasons many treat it as the craft beer bible.
Jackson, who wrote for The Independent and The Observer, also was one of the leading authorities on whisky (another of his most famous books is “Michael Jackson’s Malt Whisky Companion”).
Although from England, many cite Jackson as leading the way in the U.S. craft beer movement. He is championed for being the first person to create beer styles, or categories. In 1990, Jackson hosted a show on the BBC Channel (and later picked up in the U.S. on the Discovery Channel) called “The Beer Hunter.” Think “No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain,” but with beer.
Jackson’s journeys took him across the world sampling numerous different beers. He visited microbreweries, beer festivals and different home countries of beers. It was a short-lived six-episode series, but a groundbreaking one at the same time.
In 2006, Jackson revealed he had been suffering from Parkinson’s Disease for nearly 10 years. In this article, he said his admission stemmed from his condition worsening to where people mistakenly believed he was drunk all the time. (His unfinished book was to be titled “I’m Not Drunk”).
A year later, Jackson passed away after suffering a heart attack. However, his memory lives on in “Beer Hunter The Movie.” J.R. Richards, the movie’s director, worked with Jackson beginning in 2003, filming segments and videos for his Rare Beer Club. The two even discussed resurrecting “The Beer Hunter” before Jackson’s sudden death.
"Beer Hunter The Movie” is a result of that footage, along with interviews about Jackson with the world’s top brewers, distillers and beer fans and his struggles late in life with Parkinson’s. Jackson’s influence reached worldwide, or as the movie’s Web site better put it, “There’s a good chance that the beer in your hand is the result of Michael Jackson’s writing.” Here’s the trailer.
The movie was recently made available for screenings at local breweries and bars, and NoDa Brewing Company eagerly jumped at the chance to host. Talking with Brian Mister, NoDa’s director of community optimism, and NoDa co-owner Suzie Ford, the decision was simple, or, as Ford simply put it, “It’s fun.”
Adds Mister, “We have the availability and a large enough space to do it. It’s something to get people out here and at the same time promote craft beer.”
The movie will start this Sunday, June 23, at 7 p.m. and admission is $20. The ticket, which can be purchased here, includes the viewing of the movie and a pint of NoDa beer. $10 from each ticket will be donated to the National Parkinson’s Foundation.
For those who want to come to the brewery early, Mister said NoDa would also have its usual Sunday “BYOM,” or “Bring Your Own Meat.” You provide the meat, and the brewery provides the grill. NoDa Brewing Company will be open Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.
