Andrew gentile

Fo r

t h f o e B e r v e o w the L

written & designed by Andrew Gentile

Acknowledgements

I would like extend my deepest gratitude to Freestyle Academy; my par-

ents, Sarah & Brian Gentile; my interviewees; the staff, manager, and owners of Tied House & Hermitage Breweries for their accommodations & eagerness to help; and Willem Geir, without whom this documentary book and film would not exist.

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Table of Contents 1. Preface 2. Introduction 3. Chapter 1: What’s the big deal with “big” beer?

4. Chapter 2: How to support microbreweries?

5. Chapter 3: The Benefits of Supporting a Microbrewery 6. Conclusion 7. Works Cited 8. Author Bio

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Preface

When our class began this documentary project, I was searching for a location that would be interesting as well as visu-

ally appealingsubject on which to base my documentary. Although I had originally picked another location which I was planning to use as my subject for the documentary, the Stanford Theatre, my request to use that location was denied. In the midst of my eager search for a new topic, Willem Geier approached me to ask if I’d be interested in co-documenting Tied House Brewery.

Having been greatly impressed by Willem’s film work, I immediately agreed.

While working with Willem was the main factor that drew me into this project, I learned not only about the rich history

of Tied House, but also about the importance of all microbreweries. Through the interviews I helped conduct with Tied House’s manager and one of their many patrons, as well as my secondaryseparate research, I discovered a complete picture of microbreweries’ struggles against their corporate beer counterparts. I also discovered what makes a small brewery successful as opposed to what makes an unsuccessful corporate brewery (in terms of producing good products).

The main challenge I faced throughout the making of this book was the amount of time we had to create it. Deadlines

came fast and furious on this project, making my job more challenging and motivating. I had to work harder than I ever have during my Freestyle career to make my deadlines. Throughout this book, I hope to take you on a journey through the rise of microbreweries, the history of Tied House, and what it is that makes microbreweries superior to “big beer” corporations.

The only question is: will you join me?

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“ Quote” – Quote Person

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Introduction

What is it about a beer that makes it such a wildly popular beverage of choice among alcohol connoisseurs? The obvious answer to this question is: taste and quality. Many would argue that there are very few types of breweries that focus on taste and quality, and those that do need to be supported.

The authors of the articles, “What ales you? Focusing on the craft-beer niche helped this pub thrive while others dried up” and “Bottoms up!” argue that microbreweries focus on taste and quality, while their corporate counterparts do not. According to the latter article, local microbreweries in the United Kingdom are taking the market away from their aged corporate competitors.

“What are microbreweries?” you may ask. Microbreweries are small, independent companies that brew beer. Microbreweries focus on the quality of the brew rather than the quantity of the beer they can produce to be sold. Meanwhile, beer made by large corporations focus on the quantity of the beer they can sell more than the quality of the brew. By making their brews near the place where the beer is sold, microbreweries can have direct interaction with their customers and receive feedback on the quality of the beer, allowing them to improve the beer they make. Although I will concede that beer made by large corporations allows for a wider variety of people to drink beer, I would argue that it is more important to focus on the quality of the drink rather than the quantity that can be produced.

Tied House Brewery is a restaurant and microbrewery located in Mountain View, California. Because it is a microbrewery, people can go to Tied House and enjoy a nice beer, of many varieties, that are made right on site. By making their brews themselves, Tied House Brewery can focus on the quality of each and every pint they produce, making it an exceptional brewery.

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Chapter 1: What’s the big deal with “big” beer?

ou may ask yourself, “Why does this guy (the author) think that the beer industry needs improvement? Aren’t I already drinking good quality/ tasting beer?” The “big deal” with the beer industry is that large “big” beer corporations are buying smaller craft brew companies. While the buying of craft brew companies by large corporations may sound like that quality in beer is being brought to the masses, in actuality, corporate beer is taking the same quality beer that they usually produce, and just marketing it under a different name. According

to the New York Times, “Because of mergers in recent years, about three-quarters of the beer Americans drink is now sold by two com-

panies: InBev and MillerCoors...”

While InBev and MillerCoors are two very large beer corporations, the quality of their beer is not as good as microbreweries. “Custom-

ers [at a microbrewery] rave about the freshness of the beers on tap [giving it] an edge over pubs serving big-label beers”, says Entrepreneur magazine.

Since it can be safely said that big beer corporations produce lesser quality/tasting beer, then how do we find better beer?

The answer: local microbreweries.

Microbreweries produce better tasting and better quality beer.

Because the people who drink the beer have direct interaction with those who make the beer, the brewers can see what the public is drinking and improve the brew based on the public’s feedback.

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In addition, microbreweries are local, so you’re supporting a business that directly affects your community. The people that work at the microbrewery may also be the same people you interact with on a day-to-day basis, which allows you to give the workers feedback on their brews, thereby improving the quality of the beer.

One local brewery that is constantly improving its brews is Tied House Brewery,. Tied House Brewery is a family owned business located in Mountain View, California. According to Baird Nuckolls, a regular patron of this local brewery/restaurant, Tied House focuses “on providing beer to their local customers. They provide an excellent beer, a selection of beers, and its always changing and growing and there are new things 12

to try, so as a regular you don’t get bored, although you can still find your favorite beer when you come.”

Furthermore, when asked on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the worst and 10 being the best) how Tied House’s beer compares to the corporate beer

companies, Baird Nuckolls answers, “[I]f I compare Tied House brews to the mass-produced Budweiser, Miller, those kinds of brands, I think its far and above the quality. It’s...a ‘10’ to their ‘2’”.

Gregory Filippi, the head brewer at Tied House’s sister brewery, Hermitage Brewery, states, “[W] hat makes [Tied House] special...is that they’re...a classic. They haven’t really struggled to change with the times, and come up with all these crazy new extreme recipes…[T]hey have their core...that’s what they do, and they do it well.”

Not only is Tied House’s success in providing quality beer proof positive that microbreweries are leading the way, but Tied House’s strategy of constantly changing and improving its beers (while keeping the beloved classics) shows that they listen to their customers. Tied House learns what the consumer does and does not like – an advantage in any business.

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Chapter 2: How to support microbreweries?

ince we’ve already established that big beer companies do not have good quality beer, you may ask yourself, “How can I help microbreweries? What can I do to help the underdog fight this ‘David and Goliath’-type battle?” Answer: If you drink beer (and are of legal drinking age) go to a local microbrewery and find a beer you like the most, to show your support for taste and quality.

Tied House Brewery is one of many microbreweries that supports high taste and quality standards. The general manager of Tied House Brewery, Sabio Vasquez, says, “[W]e

take a lot of pride in the ingredients that we bring in, and the water filtration that we do here, and the time [the brew] takes.”

Not only does Sabio Vasquez take pride in his work, but he also tastes, “all the different varieties” of beer provided at Tied House. By tasting the different varieties of beer provided by their breweries, the heads of microbreweries can approve the beer, giving the public a better product.

Yet, what shouldn’t we do? What you shouldn’t do is buy lesser beer. If a corporate beer company makes a beer you don’t like, most likely they will keep producing it, because:

1) they make beer for many more consumers than a microbrewery does, and 2) your money doesn’t matter as much on a larger scale.

Furthermore, don’t be fooled by a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

According to Sabio Vasquez, big corporations recognize the high standards that microbreweries have set. “[Large corporate beer producers] are scared of the craft segment...

InBev, which owns Budweiser... recently in the last three years... took over a brewery...that had been in Chicago for the longest time called ‘Goose Island’ and ‘Goose Island’ had a nice, long longevity...InBev came over 15

and bought them out.”

Furthermore, Sabio tells a story about a conversation he had had with a customer at Tied House: “I was just talking to a gentleman the other day, and he was saying, ‘Yeah, y’know...I really liked drinking Newcastle.’ Newcastle is now an InBev product. Again, it was a smaller, smaller brewery, and...InBev came over and took it over and changed the beer, the way it used to taste. So for me, obviously...big beer businesses want to keep their segment, they want to keep making their own money. So, the easiest way to do that is to buy the smaller breweries and still

more away from the quality of the product and more towards bottom line, accounting, how much money [the beer corporations] can make.”

This resistance on the part of large corporate breweries to face their competition is detrimental towards the true goal of brewing: the taste and qualand saying...‘We can’t compete ity of the beer. with you…[W]e cannot compete in the market-place with you, so the only option is we are going to buy you, so that we own you.’...I’m not a big fan of that, I think that any time you start trading into these larger corporations...you start moving leave it...with their name on it.”

This sentiment is shared by Gregory Filippi, who states, “[Y] ou are seeing these mega international conglomerates looking at these tiny, independent mom and pop establishments

“InBev came over and took it over and changed the beer, the way it used to taste.”

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Chapter 3: The Benefits of Supporting a Microbrewery

f you like a beer at a micro-

small scale (such as that of a

over 3,200 in 2014, according

people at that brewery will

with your dollars!

trade group that defines craft

brewery, sooner or later the

microbrewery). In short, vote

catch on, making more of what

Plus, if you decide to buy

you like. If you don’t like a beer beer from a microbrewery, you from a microbrewery, then

would be helping a growing

to the Brewers Association, a

brewers as those that produce fewer than six million barrels a year and are less than 25

“By any measurement, craft beer has been on a great run...” don’t buy that specific beer.

Sooner or later, those who are

trend. According to an article

by The New York Times, “By

in charge at a microbrewery will any measurement, craft beer catch on to the fact that people

has been on a great run since

beer, and either change the

The number of brew pubs and

are buying less of a specific

it took off in the mid-1980s.

beer or get rid of it all together. regional and microbreweries Your money matters a lot on a

jumped from 1,521 in 2008 to

percent owned by a large beverage maker.” The article goes on to say, “On the sales side,

craft brewers sold 17.2 percent more volume in 2013 than in

2012, compared with a 1.9 per-

cent drop in overall beer sales.

And craft beer now accounts for 19

14.3 percent of the $100 bil-

quality products created by the and change with the times, in

Furthermore, the total number

business. As a “solution”, the

has jumped significantly, “In

crobreweries, thereby eliminat- can help make this ideal more

lion United States beer market.” ever-growing microbrewery of breweries that produce beer 2012, 869 breweries were bottling [beer], more than double the number of

breweries in prerecession 2007.”

These growing

beer for you, the consumer. By

corporations are buying the mi- supporting a microbrewery, you ing the competition. What the corporations should be doing

achievable.

“[C]raft beer...accounts for 14.3 percent of the...United States beer market.”

numbers in the

sale of microbrewery-made

instead is creating higher qual-

only for the microbreweries,

variety of beers. The microbrew-

beer is highly encouraging not but for the beer business as a

ity, better tasting, and a wider

eries and the big beer corpora-

whole. As previously noted, big tions (in an ideal world) would beer corporations are scared

of the competition from high 20

order to create better tasting

keep raising the bar for each

other, allowing them to adapt

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Conclusion

In our society, we tend to either focus on quality or quantity. Many would make the argument

for quantity, which can be good for those who cannot afford high quality beer. However, if we only focus on quantity, eventually we will eventually be drinking something awful and pungent, like “Victory Gin” (as seen in George Orwell’s 1984). We cannot sacrifice quality to the point when the main consideration in the production of a product is how cheaply it can be made. Therefore, I say quality!

Tied House Brewery, and other microbreweries, need to be supported in their quest to make

quality beer. If we consistently support quality and businesses that affect us, we will reap the benefits, and we will finally win the David and Goliath battle that has been fought for so long.

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Works Cited “Bottoms up!” Spectator 6 Aug. 2011: 3. Student Resources in Context. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

“By the numbers: a spirited month.” State Legislatures 40.9 (2014): 13. Student Resources in Context.

Web. 24 Mar. 2015.

Ellis, John W., IV. “What ales you? Focusing on the craft-beer niche helped this pub thrive while others

dried up.” Entrepreneur Feb. 2006: 73. Student Resources in Context. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

Filippi, Gregory. Personal interview. 11 Mar. 15.

“Monopolizing Beer.” New York Times 8 Oct. 2014: A28(L). Student Resources in Context. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

Mount, Ian. “As Craft Beer Booms, Brewers See Crossroads.” New York Times 5 Feb. 2015: B5(L). Student

Resources in Context. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

Nuckolls, Baird. Personal interview. 5 Mar. 2015.

Vasquez, Sabio. Personal interview. 26 Feb. 2015.

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AUTHOR BIO

Andrew Gentile is a junior who currently attends four schools (including, but not

limited to, Los Altos High School & Freestyle Academy). Andrew enjoys films, especially those of the great filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson. He hopes that one day he can make a movie that will be considered as good as one of Mr. Anderson’s. Although Andrew may never achieve this goal, he plans to keep trying. Andrew resides in Los Altos, California.

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