I went to my LHBS (Northern Brewer, Mpls) this morning to get some specialty grains for the IPA I’m brewing tomorrow and there’s John Palmer sitting at a table with a stack of his books. Northern Brewer was celebrating the grand opening of its Minneapolis location and John was there to give a talk about protein, among other beer-related things. I walked up and told him that I practically lived in the green edition of How To Brew when I started brewing in 2005. I also told him that it was the most helpful and accessible brewing resource I’ve encountered to date. And since he was there, I figured I could use a copy of the 3rd edition of How to Brew, especially because John signed it 8)
He seemed like a very nice guy. It was great to meet someone whose instruction and advice was a phenomenal resource for me when I was starting out. Hell, I still consult How to Brew from time to time!
John is one of the nicest guys you’ll meet. He’s very laid back yet a real star in the homebrewing world. You’d never know it was him. A very humble guy.
John was the guest speaker at a homebrew competition that’s held in my area this year. He spoke about water! Very fun subject. He was a very nice guy and I got my picture taken with him, had to win a medal for that though.
He almost made me slip into a coma trying to listen to him at an early morning conference seminar once. No disrespect, he’s a heck of a nice guy, but listening to John talk about alkalinity as related to beer color at 9 in the morning after having been drinking all night was a bad choice on my part.
