Brew Masters on Discovery w/ Sam Calagione

[jgbrown]

So you don't think DFH60 IPA is a good beer?

That's correct, I don't enjoy it. I have had all of their minuted IPA's. I prefer much more late addition hops. I think by continually adding hops, too much gets added early.

 

[iparks81]

Weak show..not really that impressed, Like the beer 90 min\60min\Brown ale, and others but this show is ....Weak, I will probably watch future episodes, but for the most part im not sold on it. Thank god Micro brew is getting out to where its not just the snobs drinking good beer. Lets just hope this doesn't turn into American chopper and the OCC Idiots.

 

[bob1852]

That's correct, I don't enjoy it. I have had all of their minuted IPA's. I prefer much more late addition hops. I think by continually adding hops, too much gets added early.

So what were you, or are you, expecting from the show?

You seem like several of the disgruntled people on this thread - upset that some upstart dude had been successful with competing with the BMC's of the world.

Just curious.

 

[iparks81]

So what were you, or are you, expecting from the show?

You seem like several of the disgruntled people on this thread - upset that some upstart dude had been successful with competing with the BMC's of the world.

Just curious.

not upset with the upstart dude, good for him....why is there a show on discovery channel about it tho?..its a big stretch to make interesting episodes..
good luck to him ( I don't think he'll need it) his marketing is doing him just fine.

 

[passedpawn]

why is there a show on discovery channel about it tho?

Look at the lineup on most channels. Look at what the most popular shows are. Mostly crap.

I think this show's educational for most viewers (maybe not for the group on this forum, but we don't represent the majority).

 

[jgbrown]

So what were you, or are you, expecting from the show?

You seem like several of the disgruntled people on this thread - upset that some upstart dude had been successful with competing with the BMC's of the world.

Just curious.

I just hate the fact that the only reason DFH went main stream is because Sam is good at being a media whore and not at making good beer.

 

[logan3825]

They showed a guy working. Nobody jokes around with their coworkers to make the time go faster at work? That's all they were doing. They probably have more means than most people. I thought the rap was kind of lame but they were entertaining themselves. As for whether or not the beer is good, it is all a matter of preference.

 

[tnvol]

I had no idea there was so much hate for the guy.

 

[Brewbear]

I bet there were plenty of watchers that found the snippets of "brewing science" way out of their ability to comprehend.... and they are probably telling their friends, "man, that show was way to technical...I thought it would be more about drinking beer and less about how they make it."

+1 yeah i thought it was a good balance, looking forward to the spit beer next week.

 

[RobBug]

I think it's a confirmation that craft beer and homebrewing in general is stepping into the mainstream. I remember 3 years ago when I said, "I brewed" people looked at me like I had a dick on my nose. Now when I say I brew beer, most people ask, "Oh? what kind?" or, "Really? That's neat, I have heard that is starting to become the norm."

The more this "hobby" becomes popular the more we will see advances in the technology and the diversity in the recipes. I think it's a good thing.

And I thought the show was right for the target audience. Middle of the road. For me it was just entertaining. If you expected more you need to hit youtube for your tech fix. This was just for the layman wannabe wishIcould brew crowd.

 

[Frankfurtvr4]

I am interested in what online sales are going to look like over the 90 days. Any vendors want to share?

 

[Hartski]

I enjoyed the show. I like his old truck and the tree house outside the brewery.

I want to try a bottle of the Bitch's Brew, but I doubt it got to this area.

 

[Revvy]

I enjoyed the show. I like his old truck and the tree house outside the brewery.

I want to try a bottle of the Bitch's Brew, but I doubt it got to this area.

I went to one store that I figured would have it, they had all the other DFH 750mls, but not that.

 

[TheBroonery]

Watched and it thought it was great. I'm going to try and visit the brewery next time I'm at the beach (Milton is like 10 miles inland from the DE coast)

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Show was OK imo. There are a ton of different beers out there and there are bound to be many that each person doesn't like. So while I haven't found a DFH beer I really like I don't fault the brewery for that and have a lot of respect (and envy) for them. I like that they brew what they want and don't worry about the haters. The rap was lame though.

 

[DakotaRules]

I cant believe how many people disliked this show, I thought it was well done for what they profiled the show as. Following Sam Calagione in his brewery and his adventure of making "off centered ales for off centered people" It wasn't a going to be a how to brew series. It was about his adventure.

About the truck, he has had that truck for years. He started his company with the truck and still continues to drive it.

The truck was in "Beer Wars" a documentary about the sales side of the beer world. If you haven't seen this movie you need to. It is an eye opener on how the beer world works.

I loved the show and will support "OUR" brewing community with new and innovative people that continue to think outside the box.

RDWHAHB

 

[Revvy]

I cant believe how many people disliked this show, I thought it was well done for what they profiled the show as. Following Sam Calagione in his brewery and his adventure of making "off centered ales for off centered people" It wasn't a going to be a how to brew series. It was about his adventure.

I agree, I liked the show, except for the rap, of course.

I don't think any show will make everyone on here happy. Like I said originally I'm glad it wasn't totally dumbed down. But realistically It's NOT going to be a show that will teach US anything, expect maybe how to think out of the box with our recipe creation, and how to go about finding and working odd ingredients into our recipes. But it's not going to teach homebrewers how to brew, or how to brew better. At the most it's going to teach people who know very little about beer and brewing, what goes into it.

He did a pretty simplified, yet clear job of explaining the mashing process. But we're not going to be learning how to do a step mash or a decoction mash.

We have to face it here, YES most of us find nothing wrong with watching a live stream of someone brewing, or watching you tube videos bubbling carboys, but we're obsessed beer geeks. In order for a tv show (even on cable) to even get to the production phase, it really has to be mainstream, and appeal to the greatest number of folks possible. And a show that would please we hardcore folks is going to be plain boring and/or over the heads of most folks.

I think this show was a good compromise.

 

[DakotaRules]

I agree, I liked the show, except for the rap, of course.

I don't think any show will make everyone on here happy. Like I said originally I'm glad it wasn't totally dumbed down. But realistically It's NOT going to be a show that will teach US anything, expect maybe how to think out of the box with our recipe creation, and how to go about finding and working odd ingredients into our recipes. But it's not going to teach homebrewers how to brew, or how to brew better. At the most it's going to teach people who know very little about beer and brewing, what goes into it.

He did a pretty simplified, yet clear job of explaining the mashing process. But we're not going to be learning how to do a step mash or a decoction mash.

We have to face it here, YES most of us find nothing wrong with watching a live stream of someone brewing, or watching you tube videos bubbling carboys, but we're obsessed beer geeks. In order for a tv show (even on cable) to even get to the production phase, it really has to be mainstream, and appeal to the greatest number of folks possible. And a show that would please we hardcore folks is going to be plain boring and/or over the heads of most folks.

I think this show was a good compromise.

Well said!

 

[McKBrew]

Wow, forty pages on this. First, is there anyway to delete the search results for the merged threads. I wanted to comment on this and had to click through about 5 threads to find the one that was open.

I liked the show, I liked the corny rap, I like the old truck, and even though I've never listened to Miles Davis before, now I want to buy the ******* Brew album.

Sam and Dogfish Head are at the extreme end of brewing and they admit it. They don't try to market their beers as mainstream, or even promise that you will like them. I have nothing but respect for the guy. He brews the way I would like to brew if I was still doing it. Just an idea or vision, and then go for it.

If I had enough funds to start up a brewery, I'd be brewing just like that and either you'd like my beer or you wouldn't. Personally, I have NOT had a Dogfish Head beer that I didn't enjoy (I haven't had many though).

 

[McKBrew]

A lot of bashing on successful brewers here. It cracks me up.

People used to be all about Sam Adams, then they got big and people started bashing them and their products. Same thing here, a guy who probably started out the same way we did makes it big and now he's got a TV show and some of you think he's some sort of pompous dick.

 

[MonsterBrew]

I thought it was a great episode. As many said, hard to please everyone, but I think they appealed to multiple audiences. If nothing else, there will probably be quite a few new members on homebrewtalk.com looking to learn.

 

[Bobby_M]

I don't understand what you were expecting. This is the Discovery channel and it feels very much like Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, American Chopper, etc.

I suppose expectations would have been met if the show was called A day in the life of Sam but it wouldn't have the same mass appeal. This is the type of show that will get thousands of non brewers just a bit more interested in craft beer and the brewing process and that's a great thing. They actually talked about mash temperature's role in "the type of enzyme that does the starch to sugar conversion". That's pretty damned technical for a pilot show. Did you expect discussion about beta vs alpha amylase? You can always go check out basicbrewing video podcasts.

 

[HItransplant]

A lot of bashing on successful brewers here. It cracks me up.

People used to be all about Sam Adams, then they got big and people started bashing them and their products. Same thing here, a guy who probably started out the same way we did makes it big and now he's got a TV show and some of you think he's some sort of pompous dick.

maybe you guys hit the nail on the head.. is it just simple jealousy?

what I dont get was the level of animosity in a few posts... like people were angry. "Well this sucks, and that sucks, what a bunch of crap."

I think the fact that DFH is so extreme is what makes it perfect for an interesting show. I just really enjoy anything to do with beer at this point.

 

[WrongCoastBrewery]

I thought the interesting part is how he showed his homebrewing roots. I think he is kind of a weird dude, but that wont stop me from enjoying a good DFH brew.

 

[Revvy]

A lot of bashing on successful brewers here. It cracks me up.

People used to be all about Sam Adams, then they got big and people started bashing them and their products. Same thing here, a guy who probably started out the same way we did makes it big and now he's got a TV show and some of you think he's some sort of pompous dick.

I don't understand what you were expecting. This is the Discovery channel and it feels very much like Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, American Chopper, etc.

I suppose expectations would have been met if the show was called A day in the life of Sam but it wouldn't have the same mass appeal. This is the type of show that will get thousands of non brewers just a bit more interested in craft beer and the brewing process and that's a great thing. They actually talked about mash temperature's role in "the type of enzyme that does the starch to sugar conversion". That's pretty damned technical for a pilot show. Did you expect discussion about beta vs alpha amylase? You can always go check out basicbrewing video podcasts.

maybe you guys hit the nail on the head.. is it just simple jealousy?

what I dont get was the level of animosity in a few posts... like people were angry. "Well this sucks, and that sucks, what a bunch of crap."

I think the fact that DFH is so extreme is what makes it perfect for an interesting show. I just really enjoy anything to do with beer at this point.

I think all three of you hit the nail on the head. On the internets bashing is the norm. No matter how good something may be, there's bound to be a few nay sayers, and I think a lot of it IS jealousy.

Hell look at what started to be a really nice thread about Jim Koch, and an amazing piece of customer service, imho.

Interesting, Jim Koch made a video to answer my question on facebook and at least one person has to come on and piss in the swimming pool.

I mean my god, some folks actually think something that we worship like beers actually merits getting it's own tv show? And it actually gets any intelligent coverage, let alone a 10 weeks show devoted to it, and folks gotta hate on it. We should be celebrating, this is really the first time beer has been taken somewhat seriously on national tv. It's going to do, like Bobby said, and TON of good PR for the craft brew industry (you don't think a bunch of BMC drinkers are going to be hunting down ******* brew whether they may end up liking it or not?) For every 10 or 50 bud light drinkers who try one of these beers, I bet we have at least 1-2 who decide to broaden their horizons. And we may even get a few homebrewers out of the mix. I don't think that's bad at all.

 

[chilort]

I don't like a lot of what DFH makes. I have tried a number of their beers. At the same price point and at lesser price points I have a number of beers I like more. While I do give many of them a try even though I suspect I won't like them I then generally end up asking myself why I tried DFH instead of another beer I've never tried time and time again.

For me it has nothing to do with the size of the brewery. In fact, I thought DFH was probably quite a bit larger than what it appears to be on the show. I just don't like most of what they make especially at the price they charge. I do like a lot of what Bells makes. We can finally get Bells in Georgia. Most six packs of Bells run $3-5 more here than what I can get them for in Indiana when I visit friends and family. I don't buy Bells in Georgia. But I do buy it in Indiana and enjoy it. ...maybe I'm just cheap.

Or I spend to much of my money feeding this:

P1220492 by chilort, on Flickr

I'm probably going to have to change my tune though since he drives a Swepty. It would explain why he seems so odd.

 

[JeffB]

I thought it was well done, it told a story about something we all enjoy.
Having music as the main theme made it that much better.


Ill be DVR'ing future episodes.

 

[bernerbrau]

I DVR'd this, and when I went to play it yesterday, it was DIRTY JOBS. I couldn't believe it. Fast forwarded through the whole thing, never came on.

DirecTV is getting a nasty letter.

 

[Revvy]

I DVR'd this, and when I went to play it yesterday, it was DIRTY JOBS. I couldn't believe it. Fast forwarded through the whole thing, never came on.

DirecTV is getting a nasty letter.

You're the second one that posted that. Use the links in here, to catch up;

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/brew-masters-online-stream-207536/

 

[z987k]

I don't think any show will make everyone on here happy. Like I said originally I'm glad it wasn't totally dumbed down. But realistically It's NOT going to be a show that will teach US anything, expect maybe how to think out of the box with our recipe creation, and how to go about finding and working odd ingredients into our recipes. But it's not going to teach homebrewers how to brew, or how to brew better. At the most it's going to teach people who know very little about beer and brewing, what goes into it.

That is what I would have liked to see. The actual recipe formulation process. We learned nothing about out of the box recipe creation.