James Tai, Joe Vogelbacher, Ryan Daley, and Gavin Harper prepare for the grueling Master Cicerone exam.
The review of Beers of Joy from Carl Burgess at Screen Critix (screencritix.com):
Directors Scott Owen and David Swift take us on a journey that is all-things beer related in the slick documentary Beers of Joy. Here is our review.
Although documentaries have never been out-of-fashion per se, they seem to be all the rage recently. You only have to look at Netflix to see an abundance of documentaries, with the majority of them focusing on serial killers and other true crimes. Making a Murder, for example, has been a massive success and talked about the world over. Now, thanks to Scott Owen and David Swift, there is a new documentary on the block, and one for those not interested in the darker side of life.
A documentary that focuses solely on beer!
I think the majority of us have had experiences with beer before. The alcoholic beverage is popular all over the world and is actually the third most popular beverage, behind water and tea. Yet, many of us are still unaware of the journey a beer take. I knew it involved yeast and something called hops, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Now, thanks to Beers of Joy, my knowledge has increased.
The documentary, as expected, shows us how beer came to be and the process of making it, but there is a lot more to the movie too. We get to see a couple of beer affeciandos in training to be Master Cicerone’s, which is like a master brewer, but it is extremely difficult to achieve, with only fifteen Master Cicerones in the world. The candidates have to test themselves, with the help of partners and colleagues, tasting and smelling beer to guess what type of ales they are and from what regions. From someone who wouldn’t know his Carlsberg from his Heineken, it all looked rather alien. The skills were impressive to behold.
We also get to see how a “Home Brew Chef” uses beer to cook fantastic meals and teach others his methods. The food on display really made me hungry, and also got me wanting to experiment in the kitchen myself.
Beers of Joy is a well-made film. It comes in at two hours run-time, and that may seem a little long to many, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. It looks and sounds professional throughout, with good use of lenses, drones, and gimbals. The editing is one of the most impressive aspects, keeping the audience invested throughout the 120 minutes.
If you love beer, you may very well enjoy Beers of Joy. If you like documentaries, you may very well enjoy Beers of Joy. I know I did. Now, whose round is it?
4.5 / 5 stars