Congratulations, Jay!

Big congrats to the amazing Jay Brooks: Starting Wednesday, he'll be writing the beer column for Oakland Tribune. This was the gig held down by Bill Brand, who died recently. 

This is terrific news for a terrific person. It affirms his chops as a serious journalist and beer writer (not, mind you, that I think he needed additional affirmation). I suspect it's also a bittersweet moment: he was a good friend of Bill Brand, and I'm sure Jay never dreamed he'd be taking on this job under these circumstances.

Again, congratulations and best wishes to Jay.