Here's To Beer: a Sneak Peek of "The American Brew" in Boston

Last night the bro and I attended a special invitation-only sneak peek of "The American Brew," a film commissioned by Here's To Beer that celebrates the history of beer in America. The event took place at LIR Irish Pub & Restaurant in Boston (why LIR?), who worked with Here's To Beer to offer some craft beers and snacks. Honestly, I stuck with Michelob Lager (all-malt) and Demon's Hop Yard IPA. This wasn't to kiss-ass, as many media-types do in these situations, but rather the craft beer being offered was simply in bad shape; a highly-oxidized Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA wasn't a nice way to kick-off the night and put me off trying the other bottled craft offerings, but the Michelob Lager and Demon's were fresh and just fine.

Anyway, it was just that: a sneak peek and more of a social mixer of Anheuser-Busch and local media, as the screening featured no sound and looped on 6-bar TV sets. We got our hands on preview copies of the one- hour documentary back in February, so the highlight for us was getting to hangout and chat with film producer and director Roger Sherman, Brewers Association president Charlie Papazian, Anheuser-Busch brewmaster George Reisch, and Tom Shipley from "Here's to Beer."

Though George and Charlie were introduced as "stars of the film," and in attendance to help promote it, as Charlie corrected: "Beer is the star." So for those of you anti-macro beer geeks who are scared to buy and try the "Kool-Aid," I can assure you that this documentary is not a big advert for Anheuser-Busch, it's a celebration of beer, where beer is indeed the star on an unbiased stage. So whether you're a newbie, beer geek, or industry professional ... I can't imagine anyone not enjoying "The American Brew."

In fact, I highly recommend picking-up a copy of the DVD at herestobeer.com. It's only $5.49, shipping is free, and it's actually pretty damn good. Not only is the production quality excellent, but it captures beer's rich and complex history in the US (from the colonists to prohibition to today), contains tons of interviews from brewers, authors, and industry icons, as well as 42 minutes of extras from Paul Brady (breweriana collector), Carol Stoudt (first female brewer), The

21 Club (NY speakeasy), Maureen Ogle (author), Daniel Okrent (author), Charlie Papazian (grandfather of homebrewing), Daniel & Julie Bradford (All About Beer), Michael Jackson (The Beer Hunter), Fritz Maytag (Anchor Brewing Co.), and Danny Meyer (restaurateur).

The industry really needs more of this kind of promotion, education, and unity under beer vs. questioning if something is "craft beer" or not (how about questioning if it's good or not?). So, cheers to Here's To Beer and all of those involved for making an effort to elevate the image of beer!

Still afraid of the Kook-Aid? Try it for free: set your DVRs to record "The American Brew" this Saturday, April 7, at 10pm EDT on A&E (and

2am on April 8). The airing on April 7 also coincides the 74th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. To boot, BeerAdvocates tuning in should get a nice, albeit short, surprise.

On a side-note: Jason grabbed a stack of DVDs and plans on sending them to the Prohibition Party, as well as Rep. Richard Laird (D- Roanoke, Alabama) and Rep. DuWayne Bridges (D-Valley, Alabama); who both recently voted "no" against better beer in Alabama. We'll keep you posted.

formatting link

Reply to
beeradvocates
Loading thread data ...

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.