Michael Jackson (writer)

Michael Jackson (writer)

Michael Jackson (27 March 1942 – 30 August 2007) was an English writer and journalist. He was the author of several influential books about beer and whisky. He was a regular contributor to most British broadsheets, particularly The Independent and The Observer.

Jackson's books have sold over three million copies worldwide and have been translated into eighteen different languages. He is credited with helping to start a renaissance of interest in beer and breweries worldwide in the 1970s, particularly in the United States. He is also widely credited with popularising the idea of beer styles. His influential television series The Beer Hunter was shown in fifteen different countries.

He was as equally versed in the world of malt whisky as well as beer, and his book, Michael Jackson's Malt Whisky Companion (1989) is the best-selling book on the subject in the world.

At the time of his death Jackson had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for at least a decade. He did not declare his illness until his symptoms caused some to think he was drunk.