Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Beer Wars Keynote from Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Company

Last Sunday I attended the CAMRA BC screening of Beer Wars, a documentary about how the craft brewing industry in the United States has contintuously been shafted by the large beer corporations and their own government as they try to build market share in the United States. The highlight of the screening, other than the many tasty craft beers poured from the likes of Granville Island, Red Truck, R&B, Driftwood, Howe Sound, etc., was the attendance of Greg Koch, founder of Stone Brewing, one of California's best and most important craft breweries.

Greg gave a short keynote to the audience, talking about his experiences and reliving some tasty moments he had with our local beers. I shot the video to share with all of you because I think Greg is both a great speaker and really gets across the passion that all craft brewers have for their art. This guy is an inspiration and I think craft brewers from across BC should try to follow his example and not compromise on the flavour and intensity of their beers to appease the mass market. Instead, as he says in the Beer Wars documentary, angry beers make for happy people. I agree - and if there is any greater need for liquor law reform it is to support our local craft brewers who have to battle the likes of behemoths like Molson and Coors who dominate the market with their crappy no-flavour lagers.

And, as a note I was extremely impressed with Red Truck's new Porter and Howe Sound's Three Beavers Imperial Red Ale - both were full of flavour and really well made. Seek them out. Here's the video: