Bill's quiet suffering ended peacefully this morning, 5/4/00. May God grant rest to his weary soul. Viewing/funeral information is provided below.

Date: Thu, 4 May 2000 13:39:09 -0400
From: "Philip J Wilcox" 
Subject: AABG: My Tribute to Bill Pfieffer


All,

I know a great sadness has entered all our hearts today. 
Bill's battle with pain and cancer is now over, and the 
peace and grace of God is now upon him.  Bill gets to 
make mead today will all the Kings in Valhalla, quite
an experience I am sure.  I for one will be making mead 
tonight too. I can't think of a better way give tribute 
to a man who has given his friends, family and even 
complete strangers so much. Everyone grieves in their own 
private way, but I for one, will be making mead tonight.

Phil Wilcox
BumbleFrog Meadery
Thu 5/4/00 1:39 PM

The funeral is tentatively planned for Monday 11am at the Cornerstone Church on Hilton Rd in Brighton

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 22:26:45 -0500
From: eric and SUSAN 

Subject: Commemorative Mead created by Dr. Bill Pfeiffer

At a recent Ames' Brewers' League meeting  I had the opportunity to
sample a small amount of the Commemorative Mead served at the 2000 AHA
National Homebrewers Convention created by Dr. Bill Pfeiffer.  I must
say that I
was not prepared for, nor did I correctly anticipate, what was set
before
me.  As I consumed the most astonishing drink I had ever tasted I was
told a saddening story of how this mead came into existence.  I would
just like to comment on the mead and Dr. Pfeiffer's great achievment.

As a recent newlywed my wife and I were given a small bottle of
commecially produced mead as a sort of traditional wedding gift.  We had

never before tasted mead and we were both looking forward to tasting
this honey brew which came so highly recommended by my homebrewering
friends. When we opened the bottle our experience was, well, less than
expected and down right terrible.  The mead had the flavor of old
socks.  It was all I could do to finish a small glass. Susan took one
taste and gave up.  We were both dumbfounded and confused as to the hype

and regard for such a concoction.  Needless to say, I vowed never to
drink mead again and gave up every thought of creating my own.

When it comes to beer and wine I am pretty open minded so at the club
meeting I decide to join my fellow brewers in tasting the commemorative
drink and toasting Bill Pfeiffer.  After tasting the mead, I was shocked

and elated by what I had consumed.  As a new brewer I can not correctly
describe what I tasted, but I can say that this drink was without a
doubt one of the finest beverages to ever cross my palate.  What made
this mead so much better than the previous mead?  How was it made?
Could I reproduce the results, if even partially?  Who was the fellow
who made this?  Was there any more?  I did some reseach on the web and
in past Zymurgy magazines to learn more about Bill and his exceptional
talent for brewing.  I learned of Dr. Pfeiffer's accomplishments, his
stewardship and his great following of friends.  While I never knew Dr.
Pfeiffer, he has inspired me to follow in his footsteps.  I wanted to
find the recipe for his commemorative mead, but I have since decided to
let that small sample be my introduction to Dr. Pfeiffer.  I am now
planning on fermenting my own version of a cherry mead and only hope
that it will turn out half as good.  Thanks, Bill, for sharing your
talents and allowing me to taste the Nectar of the Gods.


Eric Armstrong
Ames, Iowa

Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 11:19:27 -0500
From: "Ken Schramm" 
Subject: Bill Pfeiffer

This weekend was at the same time a very trying and very
satisfying weekend for the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild.  In
preparing for the AHA Y2K conference in June, Bill Pfeiffer
offered to craft the Commemorative Mead.  Between his
commitment and the mead making session, Bill was 
diagnosed with cancer, which had spread throughout his 
body before being diagnosed.  He has been enduring 
chemo-therapy and holding out hope to make the conference,
to see his son graduate, and to pursue all of his life's many
passions.
 

We bottled the mead this past Saturday.   Bill is at home now.
He has had enough of the hospitals and chemo-therapy, 
and is making the most of his remaining days with the help of
Hospice.  He is very short on time (he outlived his doctors
short prognosis by making it to Saturday), and getting the mead
bottled was a major concern.  We had frogged around trying to
find bottles until Jason Henning reached Rob Moline (Jethro
Gump), who arranged a donation of the needed bottles from
Abita Brewing Co.  Through Jason's and Rob's work and
determination, the bottles arrived in the nick of time.  Steve
Klump (AABG, formerly of Stroh's and now a long distance
member of the group) came through with caps, Phil Wilcox
prepared a dazzling and appropriately commemorative label,
and the club rallied a large group to complete the bottling.  
We were truly running on borrowed time, and I am very proud 
of and grateful to those who kicked in to make this happen.

Rob, Paul Gatza, and the AHA Board of Advisors made the day
even more satisfying and emotional by awarding Bill its first
ever Lifetime Achievement Award, which I presented to Bill on 
Saturday.  

Bill has contributed immensely to the AHA, to the BJCP 
(he is a founding member who helped chart the course
for beer judging and competition), and to the world of 
brewing and mead making.  He is like an early 
rock-and-roller: He has been an influence on people 
who don't even know who he is or what he has 
accomplished.  You can pass along regards at
<address no longer active.>.

Please keep him in your prayers.

Thanks,

Ken Schramm
Troy, MI

[Editor's note: I was one of the number who turned up at Bill Pfeiffer's for the bottling of the commemorative mead. And to say goodbye to a dear friend and a great brewer.

In the short time I've known Bill, we have formed a lifetime of friendship. This is not because I'm anything special. No. It is entirely Bill's doing. Bill quietly inspires those around him to attain greatness in our brewing.

I remember when I first met Bill at the first AABG meeting I was ever invited to. It was at AABG member Spencer Thomas' house the summer of 1995. Scott Henry (faithful sidekick) and I took Spencer's invite and travelled to Ann Arbor to meet with these people, many of whom we only knew from their postings to the HBD. I recall standing there, empty glass in hand and this salt-and-pepper haired gentleman filled it with a beer he made to "empty his pantry" of all the odds and ends he had laying around. What I tasted was a perfectly balanced, deliciously malty Belgian Tripel. "Wow! Who is that guy?!" I asked. "Bill Pfeiffer" was the response.

I made good beer, but nothing so masterfully concocted from "odd and ends" as that.

As Ken points out, Bill was perfecting aspects of the brewing craft we all now take for granted while we were all still mucking about with table sugar and bread yeast or swilling Budweiser. Over time, mead caught Bill's interest, and there has never been another meader like him. No-one makes mead the way Bill does, no one attains his level of perfection in the finished product.

Bill remains my idol in brewing. If there's a miracle to be had, I would pray that Bill is somehow spared. But, as a fellow AABG member said recently: "Where there's life, there's hope. Where there's eternal life, there's eternal hope."

After the rather emotional presentation of Bill's most deserved award, Bill tearfully told us that he was going to miss all of us. No, Bill. It is you who will be deeply missed. In my belief system, where you're going, you can still participate in our lives. It is we who will be bereft of you and reminded of our own mortality with your passing. Go with God, my friend - if that is His will.

Please remember Bill in your prayers and thoughts.

Pat Babcock
Canton, MI
2/28/00 1:42 pm]