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Kim Jordan (right), co-founder of New Belgium Brewing, is among the craft beer pioneers in the new craft beer documentary. (For the Love of Craft/Screenshot)

Craft Beer Documentary ‘For the Love of Craft’ Screenings Announced

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What does it take to be an industry pioneer, to build your dream?

Fighting exhaustion, financial strain and self-doubt, some of the pioneers of small and independent U.S. craft brewing relive the early days of building their dream breweries in a new craft beer documentary short titled “For the Love of Craft.”

The craft beer documentary features several well-known brewery founders: Larry Bell (Bell’s Brewery), Kevin Blodger (Union Craft Brewing), Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada), Kim Jordan (New Belgium Brewing), and Jim Koch (Boston Beer Co.).

“Everyone told me I was crazy,” Ken Grossman says in the documentary’s teaser trailer, which you can watch at the top of this article.

“Lunatic Larry down by the railroad tracks selling beer in a bag and a box,” says Larry Bell, laughing at the memory of what people would say as he built his brewery.

(GRAPHIC: Gold Medal-Winning IPAs from 1989 to 2018)

“For the Love of Craft” was produced by the Brewers Association (publishers of CraftBeer.com), Studio C3, and Charlie Papazian. The inspiration for the film blossomed from the Brewers Association’s archive of photographs and more than 80 hours of filmed interviews with the pioneers and groundbreakers of the craft beer community.

It will premiere this fall in a series of showings at craft breweries.

Here’s a look at where you can catch screenings of the craft beer documentary:

  • Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019: Montclair Brewing in Montclair, NJ
  • Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019: Fishweir Brewing in Jacksonville, FL
  • Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019: Carson’s Brewery in Evansville, IN
  • Monday, Sept. 30, 2019: Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI
  • Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019: Forgottonia Brewing in Macomb,  IL
  • Monday, Oct. 7, 2019: Fifth Hammer Brewing in Long Island City, NY
  • Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019: Half Full Brewery in Stamford, CT
  • Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019: Archetype Brewing in Asheville, NC
  • Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019: Switchback Brewing Co. in Burlington, VT
  • Monday, Oct. 21, 2019: Junkyard Brewing in Moorhead, MN
  • Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019: Flying Tiger Brewery in Monroe, LA
  • Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019: Lost Cabin Beer Co. in Rapid City, SD
  • Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019: Inbound Brew Co. in Minneapolis
  • Friday, Nov. 15, 2019: Skagway Brewing Co. in Skagway, AK
  • Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019: Raices Brewing Co. in Denver
  • Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019: Upslope Brewing Co. in Boulder, CO

You can find out more information at BrewersAssociation.org as additional screenings are scheduled.

Editor’s Note: This piece was updated on Aug. 29 to reflect the breweries that have added screenings. Please continue to check the documentary’s website for further dates.

Jess Baker walked into a beer fest in 2010 and realized beer had come a long way from what her dad had been drinking since the 70s. She served as editor-in-chief of CraftBeer.com from spring 2016 to spring 2020, bringing you stories about the people who are the heartbeat behind U.S. craft brewing. She's a runner, a die-hard Springsteen fan, a mom who is always scouting family-friendly breweries, and always in search of a darn good porter.

CraftBeer.com is fully dedicated to small and independent U.S. breweries. We are published by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers. Stories and opinions shared on CraftBeer.com do not imply endorsement by or positions taken by the Brewers Association or its members.