The American Brew

Synopsis

This is American history told through beer. Find out why the Pilgrims were not supposed to land at Plymouth Rock. Hint: they were running out of beer. See beer brewed in a fireplace in the colonial method in Colonial Williamsburg and on a stove by a home brewer in the Bronx. Learn how Germans changed America’s taste for beer in the 19th Century and how they became the scapegoats to begin Prohibition.

Hear Fritz Maytag of Anchor Steam and Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada tell how they started their breweries, and how craft brewing began. Watch Dick Cantwell of Elysian in Seattle brew his Jasmine IPA and see what Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River in Sonoma thinks of his concoction in used, oak, chardonnay casks. Plus, the late legendary beer connoisseur Michael Jordan, Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewery, and much much more.

“To understand American, one must know beer, not Baseball. “The American Brew” explains with wit and insight our infatuation with beer in its infinite variety.” Dick Kreck, The Denver Post

Running time: 60 minutes.

At long last The American Brew can be streamed online. Click here to watch.

Or, purchase the DVD with lots of extras, like “Cheese Wars,” the battle to see whether beer or wine goes better with cheese.