Beer Wars and Beer School

Last night I watched Beer Wars, again. It was the first time I've watched it since the night of it's debut on April 16th of 2009. I wonder why I waited so long to watch it a second time. It really moved my the first time I saw it. This time, it inspired me.

For those who might not know what I'm talking about, Beer Wars is the documentry by Anat Baron, formerly of Mike's Hard Lemmonade fame. The film takes the viewers behind the scenes of the world of beer, and the fight between microbreweries and the big guys. Even if your not into beer, the film is still a great piece of film making exposing the battle the small businesses face every day in the fight against corporate america.

When I first saw the movie, I was able to relate because for years, I was that little guy going up against big business. Eventually it came to the point where we just couldn't compete any longer. Special pricing, perks, discounts, rewards, whatever you want to call it, it's easy for a big company to bury the "neighborhood" competition with the help of deep pockets, and/or the legal system. Those with the most money, even if they are in the wrong, usually win.

In the beer world, things seem to be changing. The American consumer is telling those deep pockets in St. Loius and Golden Colorado that they don't want a free t-shirt just to drink their beer. Instead, they want taste and flavor. I too, am in that demographic.

I have talked many times of my love of beer and how it started. Over the past few years, my love and passion for beer has increased to a level I never thought it would. I'm past the point of just talking and blogging about it. I want to live it.

I decided a back in January that I wanted to start my own brewery. I sat down and figured out a time table of how I was going to do it. I realixed over the next few months that it wasn't going to be as easy as I wanted. I didn't have the balls to quit my job and go for it. I'm not that kind of guy. I need to study and plan something before I do it.

Last week, I decided to sign up for beer school. I sent off an email to The American Brewery Guild about signing up for their Craft Brewers program. That's when I found out that all the classes were full until January of 2012. The next shock was price of tuition. That was a bitter pill to swallow. At least I have time to save up the money.

I'm excited about the future. I'm excited about making beer and really living it on a daily basis. No matter what the cost may be, I'm doing it.

-Cheers!