Sad, but Fred was full of life, and was a pleasure to have a conversation with.
http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/r-i-p-fred-eckhardt-1926-2015/
I never had the pleasure of meeting him but I read his stuff for years and thought he was a great beer writer! He will be missed.
One of the true pioneers!
Wow. Too sad. He had the best mustache in beer.
That is some sad news. I caught Fred here in Salem a few years back and it was an absolutely fantastic evening. The topics were far ranging, entertaining and of course in Fred’s storytelling style. Need to lift a Fred-Lite for him.
Sad to hear. He was definitely a trailblazer. Great writer.
Met Fred in 1995 at Dixie Cup. The beer world has lost a great one. Cheers!
Was a somber day in P-town.
It was my great pleasure to know Fred.
In 1987 he was one of the original judges for the GABF blind tasting. He continued to contribute as a judge for, I expect, 15 years or more
We were part of a small group that toured Cincinnati breweries prior to the 1989 AHA Conference. At a little restaurant for lunch we were seated by a painting of a World War I German officer that looked like he must have been Fred’s grandfather. I have a picture of Fred with the painting somewhere.
Fred was a regular speaker at the AHA conference starting in 1982 and continuing into the late 1990’s, My notes from his 1982 talk include a time versus temperature graph for step mashing. He received the AHA Governing Committee Recognition Award in 1988.
In addition to beer I learned two important bits of advice from Fred “never let the facts get in the way of a good story” and it is time to call it a night when you have been to pee a second time.
Jim Homer
Boulder, Colorado
Fred will definitely be sorely missed.