This one hurts. Mike was such an asset and ambassador for the SW Michigan beer community. His opinion was always an honest one, and I respected the hell out of it.
I’m going to miss running into him at the various Michiana breweries that we both frequented.
Very sad to hear. I hadn’t met the man, but anyone ‘on the scene’ so early must have been a solid beer geek. To those of you who knew him, I’m sorry for your loss.
God damn. I was hoping for a better outcome. Best wishes to his friends, family, and crew. I’m glad to have met him 7 years ago. RIP. Too many people going way too young lately.
For those that knew Mike in person, he always had on a brewery shirt or a tie dye. In that spirit he will be wearing one of his favorite shirts for the visitation. If you are attending the visitation his sister Kim encourages you to wear your favorite brewery shirt or tie dye.
dammit, reading the obit really hit hard.
Mike and I bonded not just over beer but also his shared love of the band Rush, which he noticed as part of my username back when he joined. We drank together only once, at a wintry get-together at 3 Floyds, way back in 2004 I want to say. I recall it was just a cold warehouse that he and I and a few other ratebeerians attended. So he’s basically responsible for introducing me to 3 Floyds beers. And then later we relocated to a local bar to share bottles. That was a hard night of drinking!
I wish I could attend the visitation, but instead I’ll try and be sure to wear something appropriate on Friday, and I’ll be drinking an imperial stout, because that’s what he loved.
I had the pleasure of knowing both Mikes. BBB63 joined the Tampa ‘crew’ for a tasting. It was a bast meeting and drinking with Mike. I always hoped to run into him again and share more beer.
Learning of both Mikes passing on Monday was rough for me.
Our time is short. Live well and enjoy beer in honor of both Mikes. They deserve it, we deserve it.
I also don’t check these forums much any more - but both people mentioned in this thread were always friendly and welcoming and passed away far too soon.
Just saw this thread, and I want to say that I will miss Mike Maynard forever. John, that is a great photo, and is very apropos, because I traded with both of you guys in my early RB days, and you were both like mentors to me. You sent me so many New Glarus and Midwest beers over the years, and BBB63 sent me so many great Three Floyds offerings over the years, including Dark Lord, and those beers were holy grails back in 2004, when we PA beer fans couldn’t get a sniff of FFF, Alesmith, NG, and so many other brewers that we see now. For every asshole that is trying to sell beer on eBay for a huge markup, there are several guys like BBB63 and JPDIPSO, and for that I will always be grateful, and always be glad that I met you guys. Cheers.