At age 87, Bill Leinenkugel has passed on. Leinenkugel was an early pioneer in the craft brew movement, when he took his long-running family brewery semi-national by positioning it as a microbrew in order to compete with the Buds and Millers of the world. Leinie’s ended up merging with Miller in 1988 and has continued its popularity in the many states where it’s sold.

Miller plans to honor his memory:

MillerCoors has established the Bill Leinenkugel Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, which will be presented to an employee each spring to honor ‘‘prolific contributions’’ to the beer industry….

Here’s to you, Bill!

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Christopher Null

Christopher Null is the founder and editor in chief of Drinkhacker. A veteran writer and journalist, he also operates Null Media, a bespoke content creation company.

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