Great American Beer Fest fixture Danny Williams in his legendary gold mine-turned-beer cellar outside of Boulder in 2008.
Everyone knew that Great American Beer Festival stalwart Danny Williams was terminally ill, but his death last week of cancer at the age of 52 still took his friends by surprise.
The man with the legendary gold mine-turned-beer cellar who became a Colorado craft beer institution hid his condition very well as he focused on meeting with friends in the last weeks of his life, according to GABF volunteer Diana Vann.
Now Vann and the folks at Back Country Pizza and Tap House in Boulder have turned what was supposed to be a fundraiser to pay for Williams’ medical expenses into a Feb. 11 silent auction and beer garden to help save his property for his family.
Breweries have donated dozens of auction items like a New Belgium cruiser and more than 20 kegs — including some of Russian River’s much coveted Pliny the Younger — so Williams’ friends and admirers can raise a pint to celebrate his life.
“He did not want to have a funeral or a wake or memorial service,” Vann said. “He wanted it to be a party. And all the money is going back to Danny for his estate.”
Williams worked for years as the cellar master for GABF and collected more than 3,000 bottles at his gold mine property. He had a tough few years, going through a divorce and losing two buildings in the Fourmile Canyon fire.
Vann said they hope to make enough from the fundraiser to save Williams’ property, which fell into debt while he underwent chemotherapy.
Information about some of the hard-to-find beer, auction items, times and ticket prices are available at Vann’s Web site.
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