Ed with Danny (on the right) in his beer cave!
We are sad to say that we lost our good friend, Danny Williams, this week. His presence in our lives and in the beer industry touched us deeply, and the world just won’t be the same without him in it.
For over a decade, Danny was the cellar master for the Great American Beer Festival and was famous for his beer cave. He created the cellar from a once-working gold mine and now used it to store nearly 3,000 bottles of craft beer. We were lucky enough to visit him there regularly and got to experience his unbelievable beer cellar first hand.
Danny’s absence has already been felt in the craft beer community. Here is what Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association, said yesterday: “…Whether Danny was working on the GABF or doing an educational beer tasting for back-of-house staff at a CBC hotel or helping the formation of a women’s beer appreciation group, he touched the local and national beer communities many times in many ways. I have been tipped off to the beers from many great breweries by Danny, and he was a key piece for educating me on what some of our member companies are up to. I miss him deeply already. And I am sure many of his close friends inside and outside of the brewing community feel similar sentiments.”
Let us all raise a glass today to this wonderful man who left our lives too soon. He will not soon be forgotten. Cheers, Danny – from all of us here at Boundary Bay Brewery!
Janet and Ed enjoying beers with Danny
