I am a Craft Brewer. Well, at least soon!
I was deeply honored to be a part of the four-minute "I am a craft brewer" movie, a skunkworks project of Greg Koch at Stone Brewing Company. The film premiered at Greg's keynote speech for this year's Craft Brewers Conference in Boston.
(For the record, I'm the guy with the borderline-obnoxious paisley jacket in front of a bunch of tanks in storage. Prepare for the burn in your eyes at around 0:25.)
Greg and the team at Redtail Media worked tirelessly not only on this video, but all the interactive elements that went into the keynote presentation at the craft brewers conference. It was quite the presentation. Considering all the interactive elements in the speech, it was truly amazing that they all ran so flawlessly.
"I am a Craft Brewer" showcases OUR heroes in the beer world. I believe Fullsteam was the only brewery-in-planning with a role in the video. I'm both honored and sheepish about this fact. We have a lot to learn and a lot to prove in the years to come. But you better believe we're even more educated, invigorated, and inspired having attended another incredible Craft Brewers Conference. And, of course, having the opportunity to play a small role in the "I Am A Craft Brewer" movie.
One part of the film that I was a bit torn on was the "adjunct" part. You'll notice one section about not putting rice or corn in beers. While of course you read the script as handed to you, I also mouthed a few tongue-in-cheek words about "not putting rice or corn in our beer...except for that Southern Rice and Corn beer we're talking about doing someday." And for that matter, our sweet potato beer is an adjunct, as 25 percent of the fermentables come from the local vegetable and not from imported grain.
I also was hoping for a blooper clip, especially for the scene where I told 32 and my friend Adam that I wasn't ready to start reciting the script. I proceeded to pinch my nipples and told them, "Okay, I'm ready now!" (To clarify: that was to break the ice and generate laughs on-set and not some kind of fetish of mine.)
In all seriousness, we sincerely hope that whatever you do -- and whatever your dream may be -- this video helps charge you up just a bit more. Sure, we're living the dream as we gear up to launch a brewery. But among us are dreamers of a different dream. What's yours?
Cheers!
I Am A Craft Brewer from I Am A Craft Brewer on Vimeo.