To Simon

Today we raise our beers to Simon Johnson.

It doesn’t matter what beer we raise as long as we love drinking it. It doesn’t even matter if it’s not a beer – all that matters is that in your glass is a drink which makes you happy.

The beer world has lost a good friend. Someone who was unequivocally liked by all and never failed to put smiles on faces (sometimes quite literally if he had his face paints...). I never saw him without a smile and it was his light-hearted approach to beer which everyone enjoyed.

His was always the blog I went to first, always the one which was capable of being different and interesting and fun, and I loved it for that. It was simultaneously thoughtful yet not over-thought, intelligent yet playful and mischievous. And he was always quick to respond to questions or to give honest advice. I’m very glad to have known him and to have shared a few beers with him.

Today is Simon’s funeral, so this one’s for him (and later it'll be a real one).