Brew Masters on Discovery w/ Sam Calagione

[tnvol]

I thought it was pretty good. I guess some people were expecting more of a "how to" type show. Either way, it's a show about something I enjoy, so I have no complaints. I bet DFH sales go through the roof. lol

 

[Brewham]

I wasn't too impressed. It was part infomercial and part the typical Discovery Channel fluff. No depth, too much rah-rah, a dash of silliness and a big dose of made-up drama. The format followed Discovery's typical rehash of the past 15 minutes after every commercial, then a few minutes of new stuff, followed by another commercial. The end result is like hearing someone tell the same story over and over and over. 20 minutes of material squeezed into 60 minutes of program. There were some "golly-gosh" moments touring the brewery (loved the glue spill and the pipe in the bottle) but precious little for a home-brewer to learn. I half expected the Sham Wow guy to jump in and hawk his wares during the glue cleanup.

I would have liked to see how they made the test batch and how they scaled up the recipe to 12,000 gallons. Or how they decided to add the Amber Malt to increase the "middle taste." The way it was explained made it seem way too easy and random.

I'll watch again but this is definitely entertainment and not enlightenment. Two stars max.

 

[Slider46]

Um, I would have to respictfully disagree with all of the above.

Unless they passed a 28th amendment while I wasn't looking, vulgar language is indeed legal. And actually, I'm pretty sure we can all agree that alcohol is actually a bit more 'regulated' than vulgar language.

And try getting a character with the first name C*cksucker last name M*therf*cker on TV and see if standards and practices doesn't laugh at the proper name defense.

I've worked as a screenwriter for some time, and I can tell you, there are no set rules for any of it... it's all a big guess, much like the movie ratings process.

And to the FCC question: cable television doesn't use public airwaves, ergo it does not fall within the FCC's purview.

first of all.. vulgar language is not illegal. ... thats just crazy talk.

Wow, seriously? We're taking this a bit too far. Bad generalization on my part, whatever.

Vulgar language is generally not accepted in everyday society so to be surprised when its bleeped out is just plain stupid. Be realistic.

The point i'm trying to make is that its not "absurd" (as BeerPressure put it) that a non-movie / drama cable tv channel bleeped out a word that was not used to refer to the proper name of the album / beer, but rather was used in a vulgar manner (at least thats how the show saw it).

Its not absurd. Its realistic.

/stupid off-topic conversation

 

[bh10]

I thought the show was... meh.

 

[jezter6]

The show was pretty much like I thought it would be. Half reality show (OCC style) and half Sam and his crazy ideas. From the other previews it looks like they show him going around the world looking for inspiration and ingredient ideas.

Less "brewing" more "beer and art."

I dig it.

 

[klyph]

I saw it last night, it was more about the marketing and basically an hour long commercial for Dogfish Head. I was hoping they would show you things about their process, talk about starting a brewery, go into craft beer styles and how they're made. Unfortunately they just showed a graphic of laundry machines filled with beer and text that showed how they blended 3 Imperial Stouts into an African Tej and Jazz music plays in your mouth. Kind of dissappointing, but it has potential.

 

[Revvy]

Anyone watch this last night? It's pretty good! It's different than I imagined. Very entertaining show and lots of eye candy.

Yeah, we have an ongoing discussion here...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/brew-masters-discovery-w-sam-calagione-202853/

 

[LittleHoudini]

lol its a show ya bunch of beer nerds, you arent going to learn anything and they arent going to lay out a giant spreadsheet about how they converted to a larger brewery.

every documentary show on discovery channel is successful based on the incredible ability of their editors to splice together otherwise boring clips, add dramatic ambient music and make it seem like something interesting is happening

 

[PirateBrewer]

I thought the show was a good intro to the craft brewing world for people who know nothing about it. With that being said, I'm interested to see how the series progresses and how much more in depth it will get. Assuming every episode isn't like the one last night, it looks like I'll continue watching the show.

 

[HItransplant]

lol its a show ya bunch of beer nerds, you arent going to learn anything and they arent going to lay out a giant spreadsheet about how they converted to a larger brewery.

every documentary show on discovery channel is successful based on the incredible ability of their editors to splice together otherwise boring clips, add dramatic ambient music and make it seem like something interesting is happening

RIGHT!?!?!?

Its supposed to be entertaining.. not enlightening. Enlightening is what HBT is for.

Its a show about DFH and their antics.. period! At least, thats what they advertised it as, not a homebrewer how-to show.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I'm surprised at the disdain some folks are showing for the megabeer commercials during the show. They fit the advertising to a demographic likely to respond. That's not tough to understand. Remember, most of society is not comprised of hardcore beer nerds, no matter how much we want that.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

Of course the show wasn't exactly like most of us would want it to be, but I'd much rather watch a dumbed down show about microbrew than any other show about crab fisherman or truckers any day. I'll be tuning in next Sunday.

TB

 

[toddrod]

I am getting that OCC feeling too after just one show. Meaning - new beer, unrealistic time frame, mechanincal failure and limited capacity. Please God I hope this is not where it is heading already.

 

[Scooby_Brew]

HBT Mods, PLEASE stop moving this thread from one place to another.
I have no idea what this TV show has to do with "Local Gatherings and Brewing Events" (???!), but since you moved this thread in here could you please leave it here for more then 10 min?
thx a lot

 

[samc]

I thought it was a great show. Especially chuckled at the Madonna sign being held up by one of the DFH workers. Can't even imagine that they would have to reformulate another "******* brew" for that episode. LOL

Also inspired me to pull some of the Miles from the collection and listen once again.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Apologies. HBT users...quit creating new threads on this topic. Sometimes we accidentally change the subforum when merging topics. It's been 15 minutes. Back to General Beer Discussion for this thread.

 

[Revvy]

HBT Mods, PLEASE stop moving this thread from one place to another.
I have no idea what this TV show has to do with "Local Gatherings and Brewing Events" (???!), but since you moved this thread in here could you please leave it here for more then 10 min?
thx a lot

Give the mods a break. All they are doing is consolidating ALL the threads (like one every hour) that people keep starting because noone is actually bothering to look to see if there could possibly already be a thread (or 100) about a show about beer, that was promoed weeks ago, and planned to watch it. Every few minutes for the last 3 days someone has started a thread about it.

Seriously guys, this is a site with 40,000 beer nerds on it. If you are just deciding to start a thread on the show TODAY, dontja think possibly we might already have been discussing it? Or heard of it, or god forbid, maybe watched it last night and were posting about it while it was airing?

 

[bob1852]

does anyone really believe that Sam C. drives an old beat up red truck?

 

[tnvol]

does anyone really believe that Sam C. drives an old beat up red truck?

lol. Or that he tossed that test batch in the back and drove it to DC. lol

 

[Scooby_Brew]

Hey, why not? I'm sure it's ONE of the vehicles he owns and likes to drive. But probably not the only one

 

[Revvy]

lol. Or that he tossed that test batch in the back and drove it to DC. lol

Yeah that's what we said last night. But old pickup trucks are cool. Why couldn't Sam choose to drive one?

 

[knotquiteawake]

I believe that thats the car he drives (note the sweaty pits earlier in the show), but doubt he actually drove that keg to DC.

 

[tnvol]

Yeah that's what we said last night. But old pickup trucks are cool. Why couldn't Sam choose to drive one?

I hear ya. I love old trucks. I was commenting more on driving it all the way to DC with his precious test batch in the bed. I have no issues with classic vehicles. I'd drive that truck around town year round.

 

[brettwasbtd]

I was commenting more on driving it all the way to DC with his precious test batch in the bed.

Said his max speed was 58 MPH...clearly that is the best way to transport 10 gallons of a beer you have never tried and about to unveil in front of a bunch of beer conesiuers! But ya, not sure if drove it all the way... they never showed him parking!

 

[Tiako]

I wasn't too impressed. It was part infomercial and part the typical Discovery Channel fluff. No depth, too much rah-rah, a dash of silliness and a big dose of made-up drama. The format followed Discovery's typical rehash of the past 15 minutes after every commercial, then a few minutes of new stuff, followed by another commercial. The end result is like hearing someone tell the same story over and over and over. 20 minutes of material squeezed into 60 minutes of program. There were some "golly-gosh" moments touring the brewery (loved the glue spill and the pipe in the bottle) but precious little for a home-brewer to learn. I half expected the Sham Wow guy to jump in and hawk his wares during the glue cleanup.

I would have liked to see how they made the test batch and how they scaled up the recipe to 12,000 gallons. Or how they decided to add the Amber Malt to increase the "middle taste." The way it was explained made it seem way too easy and random.

I'll watch again but this is definitely entertainment and not enlightenment. Two stars max.

I feel the same way as you do. The show also seemed like that Beer Documentary they did a while back. Dumbed down for the masses.

 

[IrregularPulse]

It's going to be dumbed down for the masses, that's who they're trying to reach.

 

[tnvol]

Said his max speed was 58 MPH...clearly that is the best way to transport 10 gallons of a beer you have never tried and about to unveil in front of a bunch of beer conesiuers! But ya, not sure if drove it all the way... they never showed him parking!

Yeah I see your point. I just checked the distance on MapQuest and didn't realize it was so short. Either way, cool truck and a cool show. I'll keep watching when I can. I enjoyed it.

P.S. - I think I would have strapped that keg in the front seat with me. lol

 

[Scooby_Brew]

I must say I was pleasantly surprised.

For one thing, I was glad they didn't make this into a "fake reality show", just like "Orange County Choppers" or "Pawn Stars". I am really tired of this type of TV right now.

Also I'm glad to see that Sam Calagione has a nerdy side to him, I was expecting him to be more business-like (maybe that was the impression I got from reading his book?). I am sure he has to be a businessman sometimes especially running a company like this, but it's still nice to see his "human" side.

 

[Frodo]

If it wasn't dumbed down for the masses it'd more likely be on the Home & Garden show, not Discovery. I'll take any type of brewing show over another friggin show about anything Alaska anyday (especially if it has anything to do with that idiot Palin).

 

[Cityscape]

Was waiting for the keg to break through the rust lining of that truck bed when he swung it over the side. Opps...guess we should go back to busting a beat.

Thought the show was very entertaining and right on par with the reality shows on Discovery Channel. Great stuff, going to continue to watch it.