Beer Connoisseur Michael Jackson, 65

His father, who was descended from Lithuanian Jews, was a truck driver. He described his mother as a competent baker who was compulsive about proper language, which influenced his wordsmith skills.

He said he quit school at 16 because "the parents were quite keen to have me contribute to the family income." He became a junior reporter and worked his way to London's Fleet Street. At one point, he edited the in-flight magazine of KLM airlines. He also was an investigative reporter for "World in Action," a current events TV program.

He said he developed a sizable thirst as a teenager, telling the Times of London: "I drank partly because I knew that great writers drank and I wanted to be a great writer, partly to see if [bartenders] would serve me."

By the mid-1970s, food and drink was the main subject of his reportage. His first book was about English pubs. He said the nascent Campaign for Real Ale and the success of Hugh Johnson's books about wine led him to follow up with "The World Guide to Beer," which cemented Mr. Jackson's reputation.

In a later book, "Michael Jackson's Beer Companion," he addressed wine and his beer legacy:

" 'Do you ever drink wine?' people ask me, as though beer were a prison rather than a playground. A day may pass when I do not drink wine, but never a week. Whatever is argued about other pleasures, it is not necessary to be monogamous in the choice of drink. Beer is by far the more extensively consumed, but less adequately honored. In a small way, I want to help put right that injustice."

His wife, Maggie Jackson, died about 1980 after 14 years of marriage.

Survivors include his companion of 26 years, Paddy Gunningham of London; a daughter of his companion's he helped raise, Sam Hopkins of Brighton, England; a sister; and two grandchildren.