Otter's Tears

In memory of Simon

THE CRAFT BEER MANIFESTO.

1: Only use distilled otter’s tears

2: Use only barley that’s been warmed by the breath of kindly owls

3: Craft beer cares, so only use hops that have been flown halfway around the world

4: You can have it any colour you like, as long as it’s not brown. Unless its an Indian Brown Ale

5: Beards allowed only if they’re ironic

6: It’s not “inconsistent”, it’s “experimental”

7: It’s not “hiding faults”, it’s “barrel-ageing”

8: It’s not “gone off”, it’s “challenging preconceptions of sour beer”

9: Ensure that the branding costs more than the brewhouse

10: Collaborate every month with an international brewer, a blogger, a celebrity & a musician

11: There are only seven ingredients in Craft Beer: hops, malt, water, yeast, YouTube, Twitter & Facebook

12: Our over-riding mantra - Craft Beer Is AWESOME !!! \m/\m/ !!!

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Made me a bit tearful when I got one of those “wish Simon a happy birthday” notifications on facebook.

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Yeah. I hadn’t realised until his funeral just how popular Simon was. You know, he was our friend. Haddonsman. He came along to RateBeer events, and sometimes he and I would meet up outside of RateBeer, and he was always good company, such as on our weekend up in Burton when Chrissie and me and Simon wandered around Burton and the Bass Museum, which he wrote about on his blog

When I arrived for the funeral I was gobsmacked by how packed it was, and Phocea and I had to stand as there were no seats left. He wasn’t just my friend, it seems, he was everyone’s friend!

It seems he had a big audience for his blog, and he also knew so many people. I love that Thornbridge brings out Otters Tears every year for him, and that people drink it in Wetherspoons and have no idea what its about!

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Never knowingly met him, but he certainly seems to have had a lot of friends and no shortage of drinking buddies. I will look out for Otter’s Tears now I know what it’s about.

<*))))))><

It was easy to like Simon, he had a really easy going personality, and a great WIt.

Im really glad to have spent time in his company, and it one of the nicest things about facebook is the many happy memories it throws up of him.

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