Monthly Archives: November 2010

Brewmasters one week away

The Discovery Channel has taken the first big step in opening up television to the craft beer world. There have been a few smaller shows out there, but this one looks like it will blow them out of the water. Next Sunday, November 21st the new Discovery show Brewmasters will debut. It is hosted by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, and looks to have an awful lot of Dogfish branding going on as well. After reading Sam’s book Brewing Up a Business, I can see why the show looks to be branded so heavily.

I am a big fan of the Discovery Channel, so I am excited to see this show. I regularly watch Stormchasters and Myth Busters. Cash Cab has also been know to grab my attention from time to time. I am sure excited to see where they take the show and about how Sam approaches a beer.

I still think that Dogfish Head is the most adventurous brewery out there, producing 30+ different kinds of beer in a given year. Most breweries will produce a few key beers, and then some specialty beers, but Dogfish really seems to push the limits of what can be done. The biggest thing they seem to do is incorporate ingredients that have never been used in beer or have not been used in hundreds of years. I want to see how the thought process that Sam goes through when designing a beer and bringing it to reality. Below is the promo for the show if you haven’t seen it yet.

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Again the show appears next Sunday, November 21st at 10:00 PM EST.

Getting big

I “like” New Belgium Brewing on Facebook. Today I was browsing my wall and saw a picture that they posted today of some new (enormous) tanks that they are installing. I’m a weirdo and I like to read the comments to try and get a pulse of what people are thinking. New Belgium beer is not distributed in PA or most of the east coast so there is a strong desire by those who have had it before to get it shipped where they cannot get it now.

I ran across the post below. The names and faces have been blacked out to protect the innocent.

I don’t get it. What’s the problem with a microbrewery getting big? Is it the fear that they will become what we have come to hate? Is it a fear that what was once special, is not so anymore? I would argue that the bigger a microbrewery gets the better for everyone. The have greater power on the distributes (stupid three tier system) and bring craft brewing closer to the general public.

Isn’t the goal of any business to grow? I think we have become so used to finding these little breweries and claiming that we found them, they are special, they are ours. In New Belgium’s case, Fat Tire used to be something that was a rare gem. Something special. In the places that New Belgium distributes, I would say that Fat Tire is a standard beer. Very good, but not the “something special” that it used to be. As our tastes evolve and new styles are brewed, the beers that founded the breweries we love don’t hold the water they used to. Admit it, if you saw someone holding a Fat Tire or a BrewDog End of the World, which beer would you get more excited about? My example is a bit exaggerated, but it does hold water.

I think most craft beer drinkers are looking to find solid beer, but also something new and different. Does getting big take away from the specialness that we hold so dear?

I am a craft brewer parody

The “I am a Craft Brewer” video came out some time ago, and there have been Homebrewer and Craft Beer Drinker versions done, each with lesser quality. Someone came up with the perfect video to follow the last three:

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I love, love, love it. I was getting a bit scared that we were taking ourselves too seriously, thank you to the makes of the video for redeeming my faith in the craft beer culture.