Brew Masters

Last night, a new show debuted on the Discovery Channel called Brew Masters. This is my kind of reality show.

You get an inside view of the world of craft brewing as the show follows Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware (one of my favorite breweries and a damn good brewer). Why Dogfish Head? Their motto - Off-Centered Ales for Off-Centered People - says it all. The show highlights Sam's travels and travails as he works to push the envelope with his beers.

Yesterday's episode brought together all the players at Dogfish Head as Sony Records asked them to brew a commemorative beer for the re-release of Miles Davis' ground-breaking Bitches Brew. Calagione worked to create a fusion beer to match with Davis's fusion jazz, and the result is a beer I am going to try hard to find.

The show is fast-paced and well-produced. It does a good job of showing who Calagione really is: a total half-hippie kook who loves beer and brews a damn good one. He makes the show what it is with his half-crazed, nerd-uncomfortable-in-his-own-skin commentary, stacked on top of his pure, palpable passion for brewing and exploring the outer boundaries of beer. This is one hour wells-pent.