R.I.P. Bill Brand 1939-2009

The Beer World has lost a friend today.  Longtime craft beer advocate and writer William “Bill” Brand passed away this morning.  A 27-year veteran of the Oakland Tribune, Brand’s blog What’s on Tap covered the Bay Area and beyond and exhibited Brand’s knowledge of and passion for superb brew. Brand was one of the best in the business, and his absence is strongly felt for those like myself who were avid followers of his writing.

The Oakland Tribune reports:

SAN FRANCISCO – William Brand, a longtime reporter for the Oakland Tribune, died early Friday as a result of injuries suffered in a Muni train accident in San Francisco Feb. 8. He was 70.

Brand died at San Francisco General Hospital, surrounded by family and friends, according to a friend of the family.

A recently retired reporter, Brand was walking near Second and King streets around 9:10 p.m. Feb. 8 when he appeared to accidentally walk into the path of an oncoming N-Judah train, SF police said.

Brand was knocked into a nearby pole by the impact, police Inspector Dean Taylor said.

The investigation is continuing, but it appears to have been an accident, Taylor said.

Brand retired from regular news gathering at the Tribune in November after 27 years at the paper. He continued to write a well-read beer blog titled “What’s On Tap.”

The night he was struck by the bus, Brand was returning from the 21st Amendment Brewery on Second Street where he had attended a food and beer pairing event he was writing about for his blog.

A memorial service is planned and details will be announced later today, a friend said.