Brewmance Review: The Challenges & Pleasures of Craft Brewing

Editor’s note: As a homebrewer who went on to become one of the founders of the craft brewery Pete’s Brewing Company (home of Pete’s Wicked Ale) Pete Slosberg is couldn’t be a better choice to review the latest homebrewing beer documentary.

I get asked a lot about what it’s like in a start-up business, as I have started two businesses and now mentor entrepreneurs weekly.  My answer is, "Think about the best thing in your life. Now think about the worst thing in your life. You will have to deal with each, multiple times per day.”

Brewmance is a two track film.  One track follows the exploits of starting two Southern California craft breweries, 10 Mile Brewing and Liberation Brewing. The other track utilizes legendary luminaries of the American homebrew and craft beer industries to give very brief overviews of the origin of US craft beer as well as how beer is made.

Upon watching the film, I must say that I do not know who the intended audience might be. The movie covers a lot of topics a mile wide and an inch deep, including way too much time on the brewery co-founders' personal lives. Is it for homebrewers?  Is it for beer drinkers? Is it for the general public? Is it for entrepreneurs? It seems to target all, but it’s too basic for some and too jargoned for others.

The most interesting parts of the movie are the experiences the brewery founders go through getting their projects off the ground.  It brings the idealism the protagonists have at the beginning, down to the harsh reality of building a business. Brewmance reflects a small number of the ups and downs in the life of a start- up. The viewer, though, can experience immediate empathy.

I was personally disappointed that one person who help start the beer revolution in the US was shown in the movie, but not identified nor interviewed. Charles Finkel from Seattle, imported a nice portfolio of the most interesting beers styles from Europe in the late 1970's, that were totally unknown in the US.  Many homebrewers were inspired by Charles because they could taste what was possible in the world of beer, beyond the American Light Lagers of the era.

I wish the movie picked a fewer number of topic areas and gave them more depth.  In many ways, the ending of the movie covers the actual openings of the two breweries.  My immediate thought was, "So what?"  What have I really learned? The best ending would have been the co-founders being asked, "Given what you know now, what would you have done differently?" That would have tied many of the topics together and given some insights to the viewers.

There are now many beer documentaries out there and several others in the making.  A true fan of beer MUST start with the Michael Jackson documentary series The Beer Hunter. Even if you don't like beer, you will be amazed! Note: Each episode of the 6-part series The Beer Hunter  is available on YouTube.

In the US Brewmance will be available on Apple TV (iTunes), FandangoNow, Google Play, Vudu, Microsoft Store. Google Play, Altavod, Vimeo On Demand and InDemand on Comcast, Spectrum, Cox and major cable providers starting April 13, 2021.