Name the Guild fest in honor of Jay Misson

The annual Garden State Craft Brewers Guild Festival is a little over a month away – June 26th – and here's an idea: name the festival aboard the USS New Jersey in memory of Jay Misson, dedicate it to what he did for craft beer in his home state.

Call it simply the Jay Misson-Garden State Craft Brewers Guild Festival. So what if that's a long name, the guy's legacy deserves it. (See here and here.)

Jay was part of the watershed that saw better beer become part of the Garden State landscape. His reputation as a brewer was well known and respected on both sides of the Delaware River (and beyond), and if he had been a university professor, there would probably be a campus building already bearing his name and a scholarship created in his memory to pass on what he knew and practiced.

And that was better beer.

So nearly two years after he died at age 45 (June 9, 2008), it seems more than fitting that the guild, of which his employer (Jay was director of brewing operations for Triumph Brewing) is a standing member, bestow such an honor, give some credit where it is due.

It's just a thought.