“He was a flippin’ genius who didn’t wear socks.” Mick Bowen, VPB co-managerGregory Noonan, founder of Vermont Pub and Brewery (VPB) and author of three books on homebrewing, passed away the evening of Oct. 11 at his home in Burlington. He was 58 years old.    Noonan made a name for himself within the brewing community in Vermont, across the country and around the world, founding VPB in1988 and writing go-to guides for beer making — one of which, “Brewing Lager Beer,” was published in 1995, and remains to be one of the best how-to books for many homebrewers. Noonan also wrote a book on Scotch Ale and most recently wrote “New Brewing Lager Beer: The Most Comprehensive Book for Home and Microbrewers.” “It’s a must have. Every brewer has that next to his brewing supplies, dog-eared and filthy[from all the brewing ingredients],” a good friend of Noonan’s and a co-manager at VPB Mick Bowen said. “He was active in consulting small brewers,” Bowen said. “It was nothing to get a phone call from Czechoslovakia asking for advice on how to brew beer.””Greg was humble, outgoing and a kind soul … he was a flippin’ genius who didn’t wear socks,” he said.”Greg was extremely hands-on,” Bowen said. His staff agreed.”He was extremely active here. He was here every day with the staff, making sure things were going smoothly,” VPB bartender Jason Pope said. “He was an amazing dude.”Lucian Benway, a VPB server, knew Noonan since he was in kindergarten. “He was admirable, respectable,” Benway said. “He taught me a lot about life … he was like a grandfather to me.”Noonan leaves behind a strong legacy of quality craft-brewing tradition and will be remembered whenever a homebrewer raises a glass of their newest batch.