Looking for a New England (One for the Road) is the first feature-length documentary from Jonny Garrett and Brad Evans of the Craft Beer Channel.
The pair have been producing short format beer videos for years but this is their first foray into a longer format and it’s a peach. They say that when they decided to produce a documentary it “simply HAD to be in New England. No other region has had more of an impact on the brewing scene in the last decade, but we wanted to cut through the hype and meet the people, see the places and try the beers behind the New England IPA. What we discovered was not just a recent revolution – but another one about to hit”.
Visiting some of the most iconic breweries in the world, the film traces the arc of the development of the craft beer scene and of course New England IPA. Interviews with among others Jason Perkins, brewmaster at Allagash; John Kimmich, founder of Alchemist, who brew Heady Topper; and Pete Bissell at Bissell Brothers bring valuable insight.
If we’ve learned one thing in the last six years, it’s that beer is best enjoyed at source. The best beer memories are made when you can taste it as the brewer intended, in the place that it was made and with the people who inspired it.
This is a philosophy I subscribe to and Looking for a New England provided loads of inspiration for my better half and I when we planned our own New England road trip in September 2019. FOAM Brewers, Bissell Brothers and Notch were all added to our itinerary as a direct result of watching it.
I am one of the tourists, Carla Jean Lauter is referring to when she says:
…the reputation of Portland’s beer has been enough that people are actually visiting and coming to Portland specifically for beer…there are people who are literally coming to the state of Maine to vacation, for the beer first…
That’s enough blather from me. As Jonny says, “…buckle up, get on the wrong side of the road. This is Craft Beer Channel in New England”.
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