Brew Masters on Discovery w/ Sam Calagione

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Awesome episode...Sam has the best job in the world! Catching wild yeast in Egypt...unbelievable.

Ta Henket looks like it could be a nice session brew.
 
This was my favorite episode so far. I do find it interesting how many quality control or process issues they seem to have on the non-regular beer varieties.
 
This is my last post in this thread because I can't believe any home brewer could ***** about this show.

If you brew your own beer and you're complaining about this show, you're a ******. That's right, I said it. You have a freaking show on cable about brewing and it's a high quality produced show.

Whether you like their beers or Sam or whatever, you aren't going to get a more interesting show about craft brewing and experimental recipes.

Every episode has been interesting despite the inevitable "reality" drama, the episodes have still all been interesting. I don't watch TV hardly at all, and I get pumped to watch this show.

If you want to complain about Brew Masters, I really don't understand what you're looking for in a show about craft brewing.

Ahh.... There I feel better now. :D
 
I thought this show would suck, but I really enjoy watching it. Sam and his crew seem genuine and the tips and tricks I pick up are great!
 
Each 'sode gets better.

I was cracking up when they were talking about the guy that put the last stone on the top of the pyramid how good that beer was and being more deserving of that beer than they have ever been.
 
Really like the show and think they have great ideas. I am super jealous. Maybe it was obvious to everyone else, but why would they be surprised when the beer in their keg had carbonation? Am I supposed to believe they carb condition the beer in the keg? Or was this just Discovery channel B.S. for more drama?

It's that stuff that turns off the actual brewers that are watching this show.

EDIT: They even went so far as to state that they were happy there was carbonation and that meant that the yeast had fermented the beer. Really??? Like they didn't check the gravity? Especially after showing two beers that didn't attenuate in the last two shows? Really??? And they waited until they're showcasing their beer at a public event in New York to find out if it fermented???? Ya, I call bull****.
 
Frodo, i wouldnt say they were surprised, but rather happy. they werent sure if the yeast would be alcohol tolerant and from what the brew master said (his name doesnt come to mind) they explained it like if the yeast were doing there job and producing alcohol that they would also produce co2.

maybe i misunderstood though
 
It was just a bull**** drama piece. I can do without that in this tv show, and it seems it's getting more blatant. Like they didn't check the gravity of the beer? Come on. They had just shown the general public who was paying attention in this episode as well as the last episode (remember, 120 ipa dump?) that they check the gravity of their brews, and yes, they DO know if fermentation has occurred and they don't need to tell it from a keg with carbonation.
 
Lodovico said:
This is my last post in this thread because I can't believe any home brewer could ***** about this show.

If you brew your own beer and you're complaining about this show, you're a ******. That's right, I said it. You have a freaking show on cable about brewing and it's a high quality produced show.

Whether you like their beers or Sam or whatever, you aren't going to get a more interesting show about craft brewing and experimental recipes.

Every episode has been interesting despite the inevitable "reality" drama, the episodes have still all been interesting. I don't watch TV hardly at all, and I get pumped to watch this show.

If you want to complain about Brew Masters, I really don't understand what you're looking for in a show about craft brewing.

Ahh.... There I feel better now. :D
Click to expand...

AMEN!!! Its amazing how opinionated the anonymity of the internet can make people. Now when we have more brewing shows with real production value that we can measure this against then I'd say complain away about which ones we like and whatnot but if Brewmasters doesn't have the support of hobbyists like us then we'll never see another show like it. I think sam is entertaining and its fun to see some of these weird ideas and how a commercial brewer deals with them. The show isn't always chock full of useful info (that's what websites like this are for) but its very fun to watch.
 
Frodo said:
It was just a bull**** drama piece. I can do without that in this tv show, and it seems it's getting more blatant. Like they didn't check the gravity of the beer? Come on. They had just shown the general public who was paying attention in this episode as well as the last episode (remember, 120 ipa dump?) that they check the gravity of their brews, and yes, they DO know if fermentation has occurred and they don't need to tell it from a keg with carbonation.
Click to expand...

Love the show, but I hear ya. There is no way they taste the beer for the first time in front of groups that often (another episode had the same premise bitchin brew maybe?)

Call me lame and old fashioned, but I would get a bigger kick out of it if the reality show showed reality. I understand we are coming from a different point of view than maybe their target audience though. We want the details and for it to be very educational- Discovery is trying to market it as fast paced dramatized excitement. Two totally different things, but I'm happy settling if need be. I guess a 15 minute talk on the SG of a beer and in depth yeast discussion would have many others turning off the TV :p
 
Frodo said:
Really like the show and think they have great ideas. I am super jealous. Maybe it was obvious to everyone else, but why would they be surprised when the beer in their keg had carbonation? Am I supposed to believe they carb condition the beer in the keg? Or was this just Discovery channel B.S. for more drama?

It's that stuff that turns off the actual brewers that are watching this show.

EDIT: They even went so far as to state that they were happy there was carbonation and that meant that the yeast had fermented the beer. Really??? Like they didn't check the gravity? Especially after showing two beers that didn't attenuate in the last two shows? Really??? And they waited until they're showcasing their beer at a public event in New York to find out if it fermented???? Ya, I call bull****.
Click to expand...

They were glad there was carbonation because they were using a wild yeast. They didn't know what kind of alcohol tolerance it had so were happy to see the yeast had survived.
 
BeerWars said:
I was cracking up when they were talking about the guy that put the last stone on the top of the pyramid how good that beer was and being more deserving of that beer than they have ever been.
Click to expand...
I liked that too. I really like this show. I didn't think I would. I think Sam would be a great guy to work for as well. He really seems to give a sh*t about his employees!

Frodo said:
EDIT: They even went so far as to state that they were happy there was carbonation and that meant that the yeast had fermented the beer. Really??? Like they didn't check the gravity? Especially after showing two beers that didn't attenuate in the last two shows? Really??? And they waited until they're showcasing their beer at a public event in New York to find out if it fermented???? Ya, I call bull****.
Click to expand...
They had a 3 week time limit from brew to unveil, They drew one kegs worth off the fermenter to ship. It was finishing its fermentation on the way to the show, thus where the carbonation came from.
 
This show seems to be getting better. After the first episode I was unsure if I could tolerate 60 minutes of Sam Calagione each week. I don't understand why in every episode they are always up against time to complete these special brews, and never have time to taste it. Is it just bad organizational skills and planning on their end?
 
vicratlhead51 said:
AMEN!!! Its amazing how opinionated the anonymity of the internet can make people. Now when we have more brewing shows with real production value that we can measure this against then I'd say complain away about which ones we like and whatnot but if Brewmasters doesn't have the support of hobbyists like us then we'll never see another show like it. I think sam is entertaining and its fun to see some of these weird ideas and how a commercial brewer deals with them. The show isn't always chock full of useful info (that's what websites like this are for) but its very fun to watch.
Click to expand...

If they aimed the show at just home brewers, they wouldn't have enough audience to make it pay off. The reality is we need to put up with the drama queen stuff so they can pay the bills.
 
IrregularPulse said:
I liked that too. I really like this show. I didn't think I would. I think Sam would be a great guy to work for as well. He really seems to give a sh*t about his employees!
Click to expand...

I live 5 minutes away from the brewery and know/have met several people who work there and they all enjoy it a lot. Makes me want to quit my day job and get a position there! :D
 
Captain_Bigelow said:
This show seems to be getting better. After the first episode I was unsure if I could tolerate 60 minutes of Sam Calagione each week. I don't understand why in every episode they are always up against time to complete these special brews, and never have time to taste it. Is it just bad organizational skills and planning on their end?
Click to expand...

they're all total stoners. how else would they do it? ;)
 
I was confused by the 3 week timetable from brew to unveil. I'm still totally n00b to homebrewing, but my understanding is that after you brew the beer, you need to ferment it for a few weeks, and then you can a) secondary ferment it, or b) carbonate it. If you decide to carbonate it, you can do it by adding sugar and letting it sit a few weeks, or force carbing it. I don't think they had enough time to sugar-carb it, so I'm guessing they force carbed it. Which brings up the already brought up question of, 'why were they so surprised that the beer was carbonated?'.

Please, correct me where I'm wrong. I get the arguement that they weren't completely sure if the yeast would be alcohol tolerant or not, but wouldn't that have shown up during primary fermentation?
 
Watched it for the first time last night. Loved and set it up to record all new episodes. Its fun to see the scale differences between 5 gallon batches and their setup!
 
All the history people are always boo-hoo-ing the "slaves" that built the pyramids. Sam said last night that they were paid about one 12-pack per day for their labor. HMMM, work out and get a tan all day, then get a 12-pack. You have to drink it right then, because there is no ice in your cooler. All the "slave" ladies must be fit and tan also...probably also getting a 12-pack, but you know they won't drink it all...their light-weights. Seems like a pretty good gig to me. Any one want to build a pyramid?
 
IrregularPulse said:
They had a 3 week time limit from brew to unveil, They drew one kegs worth off the fermenter to ship. It was finishing its fermentation on the way to the show, thus where the carbonation came from.
Click to expand...

Oh, I didn't realize they used magic sugar to carbonate instead of force carbing.
 
Captain_Bigelow said:
This show seems to be getting better. After the first episode I was unsure if I could tolerate 60 minutes of Sam Calagione each week. I don't understand why in every episode they are always up against time to complete these special brews, and never have time to taste it. Is it just bad organizational skills and planning on their end?
Click to expand...

I worked over thirty years in television production and I can tell you the time frames have nothing to do with Sam and his company. It all has to do with the producers of the show. I am sure Sam provides technical input, but the show directors and producers are who makes the decisions as to how the show is presented. They literally have scripting formulas.

I think the show is getting better and better and I too am thrilled to have a beer show of any kind on television, and I think Sam is doing a great job on camera.

Gary
 
str8wire said:
All the history people are always boo-hoo-ing the "slaves" that built the pyramids. Sam said last night that they were paid about one 12-pack per day for their labor. HMMM, work out and get a tan all day, then get a 12-pack. You have to drink it right then, because there is no ice in your cooler. All the "slave" ladies must be fit and tan also...probably also getting a 12-pack, but you know they won't drink it all...their light-weights. Seems like a pretty good gig to me. Any one want to build a pyramid?
Click to expand...

Sure! Let me grab my whip
 
. . . and after having to dump a second batch because of stalled fermentation, shouldn't the doughy yeast gal be looking for a new gig?

yeastgal.jpg
 
Frodo said:
Oh, I didn't realize they used magic sugar to carbonate instead of force carbing.
Click to expand...

Magic sugar? Seriously? Dude, it hadn't finished primary fermentation yet. They carbonated it using the sugar that was in the original wort. That's what most professional brewers do. They seal off the fermenters at a certain point to let natural fermentation carbonate it. It's cheap and efficient.

We don't do it because our fermenters aren't built to handle that kind of pressure. I'm sure there are other reasons too.

EDIT: Clarification - most breweries know their beers inside and out. If the FG for a particular beer is 1.015, they know that. When the beer hits 1.019, for instance, they'll close off the exhaust on the fermenter. The yeast continues fermenting and the fermenter pressurizes since the exhaust is closed. Hit a certain pressure with CO2 at a certain temperature and you get a certain amount of carbonation. Saves the brewery on priming sugar and/or CO2 in a tank.
 
ezzieyguywuf said:
I was confused by the 3 week timetable from brew to unveil. I'm still totally n00b to homebrewing, but my understanding is that after you brew the beer, you need to ferment it for a few weeks, and then you can a) secondary ferment it, or b) carbonate it. If you decide to carbonate it, you can do it by adding sugar and letting it sit a few weeks, or force carbing it. I don't think they had enough time to sugar-carb it, so I'm guessing they force carbed it. Which brings up the already brought up question of, 'why were they so surprised that the beer was carbonated?'.
Click to expand...

Check earlier in the thread. There's lots of tricks professional brewers can do to ferment and condition a beer quicker than home brewers can. For instance, they add top pressure to their fermenters which hastens the fermentation process.
 
steinsato said:
So, I was under the assumption that there were only 5 episodes this season. Last nights was the 5th show I've seen. Are there going to be anymore?
Click to expand...


I do hope you're wrong, but there is no upcoming showing according to Discovery.com. Their time table only goes to December 31st, so hopefully we'll see more episodes at the start of 2011!
 
mojotele said:
Magic sugar? Seriously? Dude, it hadn't finished primary fermentation yet. They carbonated it using the sugar that was in the original wort.
Click to expand...

I thought the "magic" sugar would come across as obvious sarcasm? Guess not. How the keg was carbed aside, I find it silly drama that they acted happy (if not surprised) it was carbed, as if they hadn't checked the gravity and knew that fermentation was occuring. That was my point, not how the keg was carbed.

Ya I know, it's a reality show, gotta have the drama, and ya I know, I imagine they were told to "act surprised" for the effect of it on TV.
 
Frodo said:
I thought the "magic" sugar would come across as obvious sarcasm? Guess not. How the keg was carbed aside, I find it silly drama that they acted happy (if not surprised) it was carbed, as if they hadn't checked the gravity and knew that fermentation was occuring. That was my point, not how the keg was carbed.

Ya I know, it's a reality show, gotta have the drama, and ya I know, I imagine they were told to "act surprised" for the effect of it on TV.
Click to expand...

My apologies, then. I did detect sarcasm, but interpreted it as a much different kind of sarcasm.

Perhaps they were too busy doing bong hits and eating Doritos to check the gravity :D
 
Frodo said:
Holy smokes, no way! Is the sarcasm more obvious now? :D
Click to expand...

The beer wasn't done fermenting when they filled the keg, therefore the gravity would be different when they tapped it from when they transferred that small amount to the keg. The keg was a small sample from the whole batch. They didn't tap it until the unveiling. I don't see how this is difficult to believe.
 
IrregularPulse said:
The beer wasn't done fermenting when they filled the keg, therefore the gravity would be different when they tapped it from when they transferred that small amount to the keg. The keg was a small sample from the whole batch. They didn't tap it until the unveiling. I don't see how this is difficult to believe.
Click to expand...

He was kidding when he made the original "magic sugar" comment.

I know, I didn't get it either.
 
IrregularPulse said:
I don't see how this is difficult to believe.
Click to expand...

And it's easy to believe they would risk DFH's reputation by tapping a keg without knowing whether it was carbed? According to the googles, it takes a whole 4 hours to drive from Delaware to NYC, so of course there was plenty of time for the gravity to drop and more carbonation to build. I see your point.
 

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