American Beer (documentary)
Encyclopedia
American Beer is a 2002 feature-length documentary
directed by Paul Kermizian that chronicles and documents the American craft brewing
industry. The film was shot in the spring of 2002. Kermizian and a group of four left New York City
and traveled by minivan across the United States visiting 38 craft and independent breweries in 40 days.
Breweries featured in the film include Dogfish Head Brewery
, Shipyard Brewing, Victory Brewing Company
, McNeill's Brewery, Climax Brewing, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
, Anchor Brewing Company
, New Glarus Brewing Company
, New Belgium Brewing Company
, Bell's Brewery
and others.
The film screened at various film festivals throughout 2004 and 2005 and was released on DVD towards the end of 2005. A special edition of the DVD released shortly afterward contains more than 80 minutes of deleted scenes from breweries featured in the film along with other scenes deleted from the original cut.
As a result from their experiences from the film, Paul Kermizian and friends ended up opening Barcade
, a hybrid arcade and beer bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
and Jeremy Goldberg started a brewery called Cape Ann Brewing in Gloucester, Massachusetts
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Paul Kermizian that chronicles and documents the American craft brewing
Microbrewery
A microbrewery or craft brewer is a brewery which produces a limited amount of beer, and is associated by consumers with innovation and uniqueness....
industry. The film was shot in the spring of 2002. Kermizian and a group of four left New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and traveled by minivan across the United States visiting 38 craft and independent breweries in 40 days.
Breweries featured in the film include Dogfish Head Brewery
Dogfish Head Brewery
Dogfish Head Brewery is a brewing company based in Milton, Delaware founded by Sam Calagione. It opened in 1995 and produces 75,000 barrels of beer annually. Dogfish Head has been a rapidly growing brewery - it grew nearly 400% in between 2003 and 2006...
, Shipyard Brewing, Victory Brewing Company
Victory Brewing Company
Victory Brewing Company is a brewery founded in 1996 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, USA. The main brands are HopDevil, Prima Pils, Headwaters Pale Ale, Golden Monkey and Storm King, which are distributed in 30 states. Victory Brewing is located at 420 Acorn Lane Downingtown, Pennsylvania 19335...
, McNeill's Brewery, Climax Brewing, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company was established in 1980 by homebrewers Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi.Located in Chico, California, Sierra Nevada Brewing is one of the top craft breweries currently operating in the United States. Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best-selling craft beer in the...
, Anchor Brewing Company
Anchor Brewing Company
Anchor Brewing Company is an American alcoholic beverage producer, operating a brewery and distillery on Potrero Hill in San Francisco, California. The brewery was founded in 1896 and was purchased by Frederick Louis Maytag III, in 1965, saving it from closure. It moved to its current location in...
, New Glarus Brewing Company
New Glarus Brewing Company
The New Glarus Brewing Company is an American brewery founded in 1993. Located in New Glarus, Wisconsin, a small town south of Madison, Wisconsin, the New Glarus Brewing Company is a small independently owned craft brewery...
, New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Company is a regional brewery located in Fort Collins, Colorado. It opened in 1991 after Jeff Lebesch, the brewery's founder, took his home-brewing passion commercial. In 2009, it produced over 582,000 barrels of its various labels...
, Bell's Brewery
Bell's Brewery
Bell's Brewery, Inc. is a brewery located in Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently brewed in Comstock, Michigan. Bell's Brewery produces the Bell's brand of beers. Bell's also has a brewpub called the Eccentric Cafe which serves their beer and food....
and others.
The film screened at various film festivals throughout 2004 and 2005 and was released on DVD towards the end of 2005. A special edition of the DVD released shortly afterward contains more than 80 minutes of deleted scenes from breweries featured in the film along with other scenes deleted from the original cut.
As a result from their experiences from the film, Paul Kermizian and friends ended up opening Barcade
Barcade
Barcade is a chain of bars with locations in New York, New Jersey and Philadlephia. The bars feature more than 30 vintage arcade games from the 1980s and draft beer from local and regional microbreweries....
, a hybrid arcade and beer bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
and Jeremy Goldberg started a brewery called Cape Ann Brewing in Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
.