I met Justin in 2011, shortly after La Cumbre opened. He was bright eyed and had caught the craft beer bug hard. He was absolutely fanatical about IPAs, so naturally we had something to talk about. In 2014 Justin informed me that he had gotten a job at a small brewery in Asheville, NC that no one had heard of. For the next 3 years he served in many facets of Wicked Weed. After the sale, he had let me know that he was interested in possibly moving back to ABQ. Unfortunately, Justin lost his life on Wednesday in a motorcycle accident. His fiancee was on the bike with him and she is in the hospital. I never have met her, and I don't know that I have ever prayed so much for a person I have never met. Justin was a great guy, clearly a great cellarman, a fan of all things heavy metal and I only wish I could have gotten to know him better. 32 is far too young. I'm truly shaken by this. RIP Justin. Albuquerque and the entire craft beer community will miss you. There will be a small get together at La Cumbre at 8 on Saturday to raise a glass to him.
I never met him and after reading about him, I'm sorry I did not. Rip Justin. I hope his fiancee recovers completely.
That's very sad. I feel sorry for his family and friends. This is a great reminder to everyone to be safe while driving and to watch out for motorcycles. As a scientist, part of my job is to focus on safety and it's easy to forget to continue to be safe in our everyday lives outside of a lab or plant environment. Vehicles are heavy machinery and should be treated as such. And I will add as we go into a weekend, let's all be safe out there and not be afraid to call for a ride if out somewhere drinking.
