Comments on: ‘I am’ versus ‘Beer Wars’

By: Ray Merkler

Ray Merkler — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 11:38:09 +0000

I Am didn’t have the negativity of Beer Wars. Beer Wars was about getting people riled up and indignant, while I Am was about getting people riled up and inspired. There really isn’t that much one can hold against I Am, because it never resorts to the (arguable) scare tactics that Beer Wars used.

By: SteveH

SteveH — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:35:45 +0000

Too long? I dunno, I expected to be sitting for half an hour or more. Gotta say, I liked it — I liked it a lot!! Power to the people!

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:56:15 +0000

Erik does make a good point about context. And if you broaden the context, I think we’re seeing more craft brewers (such as Stone) using social media (such as Twitter) to share their story. If people are interested, it will get a lot of traction in these arenas. People were interested. It got a lot of traction.

I wasn’t at CBC, but I got the sense that Greg was also making a point about the usefulness of these new forms of media and how they could be integrated into something like a live conference.

Again, I wasn’t there, so I could be totally off base.

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:44:33 +0000

I did. To me the video just reads as marketing, an advertisement. We should buy and drink craft beer because the brewers are good guys. That isn’t really any different from some of the pitches that the big brewers use.

Here’s a link to Amy’s comments. – Stan

By: dan

dan — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:02:08 +0000

It was a 4 minute rah-rah at the beginning of a conference. Beer Wars was a $15 film that was incessantly promoted almost to the level of spamming.

I admit the “celebrity brewer” thing has bothered me for a while….BUT, I am willing to let this slide as it will probably fade into oblivion in a day or two and I will have only been “bothered” with it for a couple of days……as opposed to BW, which bothered me for weeks…

By: Stan Hieronymus

Stan Hieronymus — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:50:19 +0000

Good point about context, Erik. It was made to kick off an industry conference. But now it’s being viewed in another context, which Alan addresses as only Alan can.

I’ll be interested in seeing what comes of the program “in development to include even more of America’s amazing craft brewers.”

By: Andy Crouch

Andy Crouch — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:57:50 +0000

And to a much lesser extent, much lesser, me.

http://www.beerscribe.com/2009/04/23/i-am-a-craft-brewer-video-from-cbc-keynote-posted/

It runs a little long (though for what timeframe purpose can you really judge it against?) and is a little preachy and bombastic at times but it shows the people who make this industry (and its products) happen.

By: erik

erik — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:54:55 +0000

Well, for what it was – in its time and place (the toast at the beginning at the conference) it did its work quite well, and it was easy to get swept up in it sitting in a room with 2000 other beer people. I think that’s why you’re seeing such a swell around it.

I’m not sure it really stands alone as its own feature film very well. An hour and a half of it would have felt awfully preachy.

By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:42:11 +0000

Me? To be fair, it was at the end of a 15 hour day in a hard black shoes, a sports jacket and necktie. I can't be held responsible in such circumstances.