“Beers of Joy,” a documentary film, will debut in theaters March 1. What’s interesting about it is that the producers include a brewer, Anheuser-Busch, and a magazine, Popular Mechanics.
For A-B, the motivation for the film – which will also be available for download on iTunes, as well as Comcast, Spectrum and other outlets – is pretty straight-forward: Given the decade-plus long decline in beer shipments, it hopes that telling the stories of people involved in the industry will, in an A-B spokesman’s words, “resonate far beyond the world of beer.” And hopefully lay the ground for a rebound.
For Popular Mechanics, the film is an outgrowth of its partnership with Blue Point Brewing Co. to create the Pre-Prohibition 1902 Lager as part of its celebration of its 115-year history. Blue Point is part of A-B’s High End Group. You can read Popular Mechanics‘ account of the creation of the brew (and see a neat video) here.
Cameron Connors, executive director and head of brand strategy at Popular Mechanics, explained:
“Popular Mechanics has long celebrated America’s growing maker movement and this film highlights the extraordinary innovation and history of craft beer production. We developed our own beer in partnership with Anheuser-Busch to celebrate our 115th anniversary and are pleased to continue to bring the joys of craft brewing to beer lovers everywhere.”
The film examines the history, science and personalities of the beer world:
- Tonya Cornett, Gold-medal-winning Innovation Brewmaster at 10 Barrel Brewing Co., another A-B High End brewery, embarks on a quest across Germany and Italy to discover the ancient, cutting edge traditions and secrets to brewing a true Berliner Weisse, while finding masters of their craft along the way.
- Beer educator Ryan Daley and Joe Vogelbacher, CEO and Co-founder of Sugar Creek Brewing Co., attempt to pass the prestigious Master Cicerone® exam, beer’s equivalent to wine’s Master Sommelier, known as one of the most difficult tests ever created.
- Sean Z. Paxton, a self-taught chef and accomplished home brewer goes back centuries in time to discover the roots of culinary and brewing techniques and how they inspire modern day appreciation and pairings, culminating in his undertaking of an actual, 16th-century feast that may prove to be the most difficult thing he’s ever attempted.
The film will debut at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Brooklyn, N.Y., March 1. Alamo Drafthouse is a chain of theaters that pairs movies with over 30 beers on tap, cocktails, wines, soft drinks, milkshakes and foods including “Royale with Cheese” Burger, Pizzas, and warm chocolate chip cookies. “Forget dinner and a movie, it’s all about dinner AT the movie,” the chain says.
Aside from Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn, we don’t know how wide the theatrical distribution will be.