Guess What Day It Is?? For BeerNexus.com YOU -- Okay I’ll bite its Friday March 1st The Big G -- Ah well yes that’s the calendar date, but what day is it? YOU -- Oh you mean something like Groundhog Day, which was actually about 4 weeks ago and the Super bowl was the next day so that’s not it. I’ll cheat and look it up; right, it’s National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day. The Big G -- Well that’s interesting and yes the vast majority of us love peanut butter, but in case you’re not remembering this is usually an article related to beer. YOU -- Beer, of course, well I guess that leaves out National Horse Protection Day; or National Minnesota Day as there are a lot of good breweries there but that can’t be it; or National Pig Day and I could be “piggish” on my beers but that doesn’t sound appetizing; or National Fruit Compote Day, unless you’re going to tell me someone decided to put that in a beer, please don’t tell me that; but ah-ha it is National Dadgum That’s Good Day, so you’re going to give me a great beer to taste, right! The Big G -- Well Dadgum that’s a great idea but no. YOU -- Okay it’s the 9th Friday Happy Hour of the Year. The Big G -- Well yes that’s correct but obviously if you’d seen the announcement on February 19th, you would be all psyched up and ready for March 1st. YOU -- What announcement; a new release? We already had the seasonal Hopslam release and the Kane Tap Takeover at the Leaf and both were pretty exciting! The Big G -- As they say in the old game shows, I’m just going to “flip all the cards” as you don’t have a clue. It seems our friends at Anheuser-Busch, in collaboration with a few others, made a documentary film called “Beers of Joy” which will “invite viewers to embark on a journey into the wonderful world of beer” (little did Disney know how many kids watching their wonderful world on Sunday nights would be moving on to the wonderful world of libations) and its worldwide debut is today March 1st! YOU -- Wait, who made a movie about beer?? The Big G -- No it’s actually billed as a documentary, so this must be the real stuff. I don’t want to misconstrue any of their carefully chosen words so here’s their description; “the film examines the rich history, detailed science and unique personalities of the beer world, and encourages viewers to consider the stories behind their favorite pints. Beer lovers everywhere are invited to celebrate the film when it makes its theatrical debut at select theater locations across the country as well as on-demand…” YOU -- A documentary with no Clydesdales or celebrities telling us how great Crud or Crud Light is? The Big G -- Let’s not be cynical now. Here’s more of the description to elucidate further; “From medieval monasteries to historic German villages and all the breweries in between, “Beers of Joy” follows the fascinating journey of four distinctly different characters and how they ultimately converge over a shared enjoyment of the beloved brew.” Still not intrigued? YOU -- So it’s a fairy tale…well besides needing a beer after hearing this I’m reminded of the words John McEnroe screamed at the umpire in an early Wimbledon match decades ago “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!” The Big G -- Well unfortunately they didn’t invite any of the BeerNexus team to the preview so I can’t really comment on the reality or myth of the content, but since we’re becoming such a media driven world maybe ABI is just trying to be trendy where the craft beers can’t. Craft brewers are happy to be interviewed about their history and how they got into brewing and how much they love craft beer and the craft beer community, but ain’t none of ‘em making a documentary for theater. I’m actually a little surprised ABI didn’t release it last year so it could be included in the Best Documentary Oscar category, although they probably thought it’s only their first so would wait for “Beers of Joy 2”. YOU -- And so who are these four unique personalities. I’m thinking you don’t need to go much further than the Busch family that ran AB and eventually lost it…those were some, for lack of a better word, interesting dudes. The Big G -- No no this is not a story about the Busch family and how they built Crudweiser. Don’t forget InBev owns Crud and they’re not really interested in promoting the Busch family, just the beer. So let’s see the four personalities are: • Tonya Cornett, the innovative brew master at 10 Barrel Brewing. Ah yes that would be an ABI employee as they were bought out in November 2014. But hey she has been around beer for decades and has made a name for herself, so let’s check her out. She’s known for her award winning kettle sours, which are Berliner weisses infused with local fruits, and I’m not sure she’s a big fan of IPAs. She does have another major qualification, she was prominently featured in the film, “The Love of Beer,” never heard of it, wonder if Redbox has it. Okay well so following her around in the documentary will be, ah interesting, I guess. • Ryan Daley…listed as a beer educator. Well actually he works for The High End/ABI. Now he is one of sixteen individuals who have achieved the Level Four: Master Cicerone, so he knows his beer. For educational and informational purposes, a cicerone is to beer what a sommelier is to wine. A cicerone is a connoisseur of beer, someone who has studied beer with passion and dedication to pass rigorous exams that test all aspects of knowledge about the subject. (Personally I’d rather just spend my time drinking the beers I like rather than taking a test, but hey to each his own.) I have heard of the cicerone designation before but did not realize there were four levels. So if Ryan’s job is to teach us how good the AB craft beers are what will he be doing in this movie?? • Joe Vogelbacher, CEO and co-founder of Sugar Creek Brewing, opened in 2014 in Charlotte NC. And whoa ABI doesn’t own them, but maybe they’re very interested. Sugar Creek specializes in Trappist beers, which might be something ABI would like to add to their portfolio. So back to Joe he is not a struggling brewer spending all of his time in brewery. He’s a Level Three: Advanced Cicerone, and he’s one of only 43, so he also knows beer. And he recently took the test for Level Four: Master Cicerone. • And Sean Paxton, a self-taught chef and accomplished home brewer and beer writer (although he’s never been featured on BeerNexus…). As I understand it his focus in this film will be to trace the roots of culinary and brewing techniques and how they inspire modern day appreciation and pairings. So I’m thinking you’re are now thoroughly interested but you probably won’t make today’s premiere but hey there’s always tomorrow. YOU – Well as enticing as it sounds, I’d rather be doing some tasting than listening to others so I’m definitely not putting it on my Bucket List. The Big G – And to be perfectly honest I’m not running out to see it either. But as an interesting aside I did catch one of AB’s latest ads for their Reserve Copper Lager that ran during the Oscars. It features Charlize Theron so it catches your attention and you continue to watch. So the bartender pours her a Reserve Copper Lager in a Reserve Copper Lager glass and before she takes her first swallow hears a yell at the pool table. So she carries her beer over and clears the pool table while holding her beer, then beats them at darts, then scores highest on the punching bag machine and then beats a guy in arm wrestling; all w/o spilling a drop. Then we see her sitting back at the bar ready to take her first swallow and here we go again, the yell at the pool table. Reminds me of my early computer programming days; what we called a do-loop, over and over and well you get it. But what I took from that commercial was how smart she is. She got paid to do this commercial and she never drank a drop of the beer; now that’s the way to earn some easy money. YOU -- Charlize Theron! Now that I’ll watch, while drinking a craft beer from my fridge! Glenn DeLuca writes about beer and culture of drinking. He may be reached by writing thebigG@beernexus.com. *** *** *** |
Glenn DeLuca
Outtakes from a life of beer.
beernexus.com presents
| Big G's Beer Beat by Glenn DeLuca |
| BeerNexus is proud to welcome beer writer Glenn "Big G" DeLuca as a contributor to the site. A widely traveled beer hunter, Glenn is a leading advocate for the growth of craft beer. |
| More from the BIG G The complete index of all Big G's Beer Beat HERE |
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