I watched the new episode a few times yesterday and then proceeded to unsubscribe from the BTV YouTube channel. As most, I was crushed when I learned that the Mike, Jake, and Chip were no longer with NB and therefore no longer doing BTV. Honestly, BTV played a huge part in bringing my homebrewing hobby up to an obsession. It was my Friday night ritual to sit down with a couple homebrews and watch the new episode. And the 2011 NHC episode inspired me to make the trip to Seattle in 2012, which was an amazing experience... not to mention getting to meet my BTV "heros". While the details of their departure from NB are unknown to me, based on changes I was noticing with NB on their website and the change in flat rate shipping, it was my impression that they were becoming more "corporate". But who am I to judge. Like many, after NB announced that there would be new BTV episodes I patiently waited... not expecting the show to be the same as it was, but hoping for something with a similar feel and production value that the old BTV had.
NB completely missed the mark on this. This was no more than one of their product vids on their main YouTube channel. But for me, what actually made it "bad" was when they all dropped a "All For Brew and Brew for All" at the end. Just felt like a punch in the stomach. Please, out of respect for your loyal fan base, just let Brewing TV ride off into the sunset as the great show it was. This is absolutely not directed toward those who were in the most recent episode. I'm sure they were just doing what they were told to do. I'm assuming that the order from the top is to do shows that showcase NB products. Fair enough. But if you're not going to even make an attempt to follow the old format, using the old graphics and catch phrases just feel like a slap in the face to the fans. Personally, this has put a bad taste in my mouth for NB, and will most likely affect my decisions when I need to purchase equipment/ingredients in the future. I'll still check on any new episodes they come out with, hopeful that they take the feedback and make changes, but honestly my expectations are pretty low at this point.