[tschmidlin]

Ok, looks like I can scroll out 15 days on the guide.  Not as far as I thought, and not far enough to find the show yet. I'll have to keep looking for it so I can tape it.   

[brewmonk]

I want to see Iron Chef type brewing. That would be cool - secret ingredient - make a beer and time lapse fast forward to serving time for the judges. Every gadget available; essence extractors, steam imfusion mashes, randalls, etc...

Some of the Dallas brew clubs do something like this.  It's called the Iron Mash, and they have a special ingredient the "teams" have to use.  I don't think there are any specialty brewers like the Iron Chefs, or grandiose brew set ups like the kitchen stadium, but the teams have to come up with a brew with a certain amount of time.  I hear there are sometimes some pretty interesting results.

[icedbreeze]

I'm definitely looking forward to this show.  Just recently moving from the "just drink it because its beer phase" and rapidly moving into home brewing and the section I read in "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing 3rd Edition" - Charlie Papazian on the history of beer was very interesting.

[Steve]

I want to see Iron Chef type brewing. That would be cool - secret ingredient - make a beer and time lapse fast forward to serving time for the judges. Every gadget available; essence extractors, steam imfusion mashes, randalls, etc...

Charlie P as the "Alton Brown Host"  and Jamil as the floor dude. Fritz Maytag as the "Chairman"
Name some judges:

[Steve]

It's still not showing up on the menu for my dvr . . .

The listing popped up today on the DirectTV guide 11/21/10 at 10PM. The series is set to record on my DVR. The web page is also up now http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/brew-masters/ Immediately preceding and following "Brewmasters" is the "Nitty Gritty" version of a Dirty Jobs classic, Mike gets sweaty and messy while brewing beer. My wife's mad that there isn't a good knitting show on TV now!

Portland, Maine - Sam serves up the new grain brew to guests of the "Grain the Glass" event at Novare Res Bier Cafe. The brew masters at Dogfish jumped at the chance to create their first "cedar-fied" beer. http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/brew-masters/photos/search-for-new-brews.html

[tschmidlin]

Yeah, I kept forgetting to mention that the listing showed up a couple of days ago on comcast.  The brewing episode of dirty jobs isn't right before and after, but close to it.  I hope the show is good . . .

[senorpantalones]

Sam is obnoxious. Not planning on watching this which is disappointing because it could be a good show, but I know it will just be the one-note tooting-my-own-horn festival that everything Sam C gets involved in is.

[tschmidlin]

Sam is obnoxious. Not planning on watching this which is disappointing because it could be a good show, but I know it will just be the one-note tooting-my-own-horn festival that everything Sam C gets involved in is.

Have you met him?  When we were at the pub in Rehoboth in 2004, Sam interrupted his dinner with his family to come talk to us.  He gave me a bottle of Olde School because the keg had kicked, and signed a bunch of things for the Pop-The-Cap group that was visiting there from NC.  He was very generous with his time and his product, and apologized for not being able to spend more time with us.  And he made sure we could get a tour of the new plant the next day, even though it was not the usual day/time for tours.

We thought he was a great guy, and in the few brief interactions I've had with him since I haven't seen anything to change my mind.

[The Professor]

Sam is obnoxious. Not planning on watching this which is disappointing because it could be a good show, but I know it will just be the one-note tooting-my-own-horn festival that everything Sam C gets involved in is.

Even if I'm not the most rabid  DFH fan  (though there are definitely a few I've certainly enjoyed),  I sure won't fault Sam for his "rah-rah" or his desire to do something different.  Certain things in the new world of beer do make me cringe  such as the "I Am A Craft Brewer" video (no corn in my beer, only in my video. LOL),  and the cult status some brewers have achieved basically through subtle and not so subtle marketing (I mean...it's beer...which doesn't take a genius to make).   
Snarkiness aside (and I willingly  fess up to my share of that tendency)  in the end  I will say that while they can be mildly irksome, even the ego driven aspects of the industry aren't necessarily bad things since they do serve to create interest and a higher profile for beers that aren't run-of-the-mill.  They generate curiosity.  And every time it results in a BMC drinker testing the next level of beer flavor, it's a win for that segment of the industry.

Sam has his supporters and detractors, but from what I've seen (and based on my own involvement in broadcasting for the last 35 years),  I'd say he's a very good...even ideal... choice to be front and center for a show like this.
Whatever one might think of his products, it's his passion about brewing and not being 'run of the mill'  that is the key to his success.   A success he is obviously enjoying (I mean, who here wouldn't like to be in his position?)

I'm rather interested in finding out a bit more regarding the genesis of this project...I wonder who  approached  who to get the ball rolling.  The promos I've seen do tend to make the show look like a commercial for DFH, but I think that his being at the helm of an undeniably successful entrepreneurial brewing operation does lend  some real credibility to this show, and hopefully the producers will have the good sense to avoid making it look like a weekly infomercial. 
Actually, even then, it would be an example of pretty savvy marketing!

[senorpantalones]

Sam is obnoxious. Not planning on watching this which is disappointing because it could be a good show, but I know it will just be the one-note tooting-my-own-horn festival that everything Sam C gets involved in is.

Even if I'm not the most rabid  DFH fan  (though there are definitely a few I've certainly enjoyed),  I sure won't fault Sam for his "rah-rah" or his desire to do something different.  Certain things in the new world of beer do make me cringe  such as the "I Am A Craft Brewer" video (no corn in my beer, only in my video. LOL),  and the cult status some brewers have achieved basically through subtle and not so subtle marketing (I mean...it's beer...which doesn't take a genius to make).   
Snarkiness aside (and I willingly  fess up to my share of that tendency)  in the end  I will say that while they can be mildly irksome, even the ego driven aspects of the industry aren't necessarily bad things since they do serve to create interest and a higher profile for beers that aren't run-of-the-mill.  They generate curiosity.  And every time it results in a BMC drinker testing the next level of beer flavor, it's a win for that segment of the industry.

Sam has his supporters and detractors, but from what I've seen (and based on my own involvement in broadcasting for the last 35 years),  I'd say he's a very good...even ideal... choice to be front and center for a show like this.
Whatever one might think of his products, it's his passion about brewing and not being 'run of the mill'  that is the key to his success.   A success he is obviously enjoying (I mean, who here wouldn't like to be in his position?)

I'm rather interested in finding out a bit more regarding the genesis of this project...I wonder who  approached  who to get the ball rolling.  The promos I've seen do tend to make the show look like a commercial for DFH, but I think that his being at the helm of an undeniably successful entrepreneurial brewing operation does lend  some real credibility to this show, and hopefully the producers will have the good sense to avoid making it look like a weekly infomercial. 
Actually, even then, it would be an example of pretty savvy marketing!

Those are all good points. And I haven't met Sam personally. By all accounts he a super nice guy, and I don't doubt that he is. I just dislike his tendency to derail the conversation about quality beer and turn it into one about marketing himself and his gimmicky brands.

I'm also a bit curious how they're going to pull off not making it look like an infomercial. The commercial I saw was pretty heavy on the fact that DFH and Sam C were the basis of the show. And that's my other big problem. They call it brewmasterS but it's all about one guy. I would have loved to see a show that includes Larry Bell or Ken Grossman or Adam Avery. There are dozens of people who does what DFH does honestly and quietly that I would be much more interested in seeing. That's my 2 cents I guess. and probably more than enough snarkiness to go along with it

[bluesman]

Whatever one might think of his products, it's his passion about brewing and not being 'run of the mill'  that is the key to his success.   A success he is obviously enjoying (I mean, who here wouldn't like to be in his position?)

+1

This is a man who is passionate about our craft and is successful at what he does. He has shown this through his innovative style which has earned him a reputation as one of the industry’s most adventurous brewers. I believe this is why he makes a great choice to host this show.

It should be a great series.

[JKL]

Savvy Marketing Indeed!  I don't know Sam or much about DFH except for the few beers I have had of theirs.  One thing I do know is that he and the Discovery Channel have undeniably created a "Buzz" in the brewing community with its inception.  From what I get out of the promo (and I definately could be wrong) is Sam will be showing us how and where he is getting/using some of the unique ingredients in DFH's beers.  Saying that, I hope it's a great success and if it is, I assume by the name "Brewmasters", The Discovery Channel will be recruiting other brewers to host the show in potential seasons to come.

[jeffy]

I've met Sam and found him to be really nice and fun to be around.  When he's promoting his beer, though he is all about the promotions.  He managed to create a buzz at one of the AHA conferences a few years ago by spreading a rumor that he'd have a "special" cask of beer at 10:00PM.  At 9:45 there was a line at his booth 15 people deep.
I did not, however, appreciate his seminar at last year's NHC.  It was titled something like extreme brewing, I think, but was really a film all about Palo Santo beer.
<edit> Here's another take on the I Am a Craft Brewer video:
http://www.youtube.com/v/qszwet2fz5w?fs=1&hl=en_US
 

[punatic]

I met Sam and Randle at a Sunshine Challenge a few years back.   I found Sam to be very friendly and generous to all of us in attendance.  I consider myself fortunate for the experience.

[jeffy]

I met Sam and Randle at a Sunshine Challenge a few years back.   I found Sam to be very friendly and generous to all of us in attendance.  I consider myself fortunate for the experience.

Me, too.  If you went on the pub crawl, he did his Brewer Rap on stage at one of the bars.  Hilarious!