Rock Star: the Beer Hunter tribute video

When we first started filming with Michael for the Rare Beer Club, most of our tastings and tours were in Europe: London, Ireland, the Czech Republic, and Belgium in particular. There was always a small crowd of admirers, and here and there a member of the press. But neither Rob (then President of the club) or myself were at all prepared for the reception Michael received in the U.S. when we started filming there later in the year. His tastings always packed houses and sold out, and inevitably we were late to our next appointment waiting for him to sign book autographs for a long line of people. We also had a hard time keeping up with his press engagements. So Rob and I always joked to Michael was much more a "Rock" than a "Pop" star, and so we started referring to him jokingly as the "Rock Star." Michael bemusedly ignored us at such times, but we came to the conclusion after a wildly successful tour of America's beer heartland throughout 2004 to make a little video that recognized some of Michael's prominent achievements and awards. We felt that members of the Club would find it interesting, to know just exactly how much Michael had been recognized throughout the world for his efforts. So we put this piece together, and Michael helped to (re)write much of the narration. He was very particular about the grammar and sentence structure, I recall, and I learned a great deal about writing for "film" on that project. We named it, of course, "Rock Star." I don't know what Michael felt about the name, but he and his assistant Owen were pleased with how it turned out. Up to now, it has only been seen by a small handful of Rare Beer Club members. But I was able to dig up a DVD, dust it off, and burn it to digital for you to enjoy. Cheers.