On Thursday evening, Mad Beach Craft Brewing Company hosted a screening of the new craft beer documentary Blood, Sweat, and Beer, set to be released in the fall, for about 40 Beer Weekers.
With folks gathered around tables in front of the tasting room's big screen, beers within reach, BS&B's Washington, D.C., filmmakers, Chip Hiden and Alexis Irvin, introduced the film, which they said took two years to make.
BS&B shares the stories of two breweries, Shorebilly Brewing Co. in Ocean City, Maryland, and The Brew Gentlemen Beer Company in Braddock, Pennsylvania, alongside statistics on the industry's economic and cultural influence around the country.
While Brew Gentlemen founders Asa Foster and Matt Katase intend to help revitalize their town through the brewery, Shorebilly owner Danny Robinson is up against a trademark lawsuit threatening his livelihood throughout the film.
According to Irvin, she and Hiden stumbled into creating the documentary. After holding touring presentations for their other film, The Dream Share Project, the couple would frequent a city's local beer bar or brewery, and that's how the BS&B idea developed.
The 70-minute film also showcases more than 100 interviews with beer gurus, including Crazy Mountain Brewery's Marisa Selvy, Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Ken Grossman. "Crafty beer" (Big Beer creations disguised as craft brews), the disproportionate number of women in the industry and the growing craft beer market are among the featured topics.
Though Irvin and Hiden sat down with Bay area breweries like Cigar City and 7venth Sun, their interviews didn't make the film. The duo said they plan to use leftover footage for an extended or deluxe version, as well as follow up with each brewery in a year.
This article appears in Mar 12-18, 2015.