Online Beer Auction Benefits Michael Jackson

Fresh from the presser sent out by Lisa Morrison:

PORTLAND, Ore. — Beer aficionados across the nation will be reaching for their wallets this weekend when rare beers and vertical collections will be highlighted at the first-ever FredFest Online Beer Auction.

The auction starts at 3 p.m. PDT Friday, May 9 and begins to wrap up at 3 p.m. PDT Sunday, May 11. The auction is designed to run concurrently with FredFest 2008 -- a celebration of the 82nd birthday of Fred Eckhardt, the Dean of American Beer Writers, which is taking place May 10 at Hair of the Dog Brewing Co., in Portland.

"FredFest started as a surprise 80th birthday party for Fred, but is coming back around in its third year as a fundraiser in the memory of fellow beer scribe and friend, Michael Jackson," said FredFest co-organizer Lisa Morrison.

Each year, Eckhardt is asked to choose a charity for FredFest. This year, he chose Parkinson's Resources of Oregon, a local affiliate of the National Parkinson Foundation. Jackson had been battling complications from Parkinson's disease when he died last summer.

The first-ever FredFest online auction was the brainchild of Hair of the Dog owner Alan Sprints, Ben Love of Hopworks Urban Brewery and Matt Maples of Liquid Solutions bottle shop.

Here is a sampling of some of the lots up for auction:

~Hair of the Dog Dave 1994 (375 ml)
~Hair of the Dog Adam #1 1994 (12 oz.)
~Full Sail Old Boardhead Vertical: 1998 & 1999 (12 oz.), 2001-2007 (22 oz.)
~Pike Old Bawdy Vertical: 1996-1998, 2006-2007 (12 oz).

~AleSmith: Old Numbskull (750 ml), Grand Cru (750 ml), Horney Devil (750 ml)

~Lost Abbey: Older Viscosity (375 ml) Angel’s Share (375 ml), Lost and Found (750 ml)
~Rodenbach Alexander 1991 (330 ml) and Rochefort 10 1999 (330 ml)

~Westvleteren 12 1997 (11.2 oz.)
~Anchor Brewing Commemorative Michael Jackson's 60th Birthday Beer (1.5 L)

Other breweries included in the auction are Avery, Midnight Sun, J.W. Lees, Big Time, Fish Tale -- and more. An entire list of auction items and more details can be found at: www.liquidsolutions.blogspot.com.