Review: The Local Brew – The Stone Brewing Company

Reviews — By DJ Spiess on March 31, 2008 at 5:59 pm

What is the episode about?

For those interested in learning about the Stone Brewery, The Local Brew’s pilot episode is a wealth of information. The show is hosted by Mark Marion.

The Local Brew “was put on this Earth for one reason alone: to find the best beers in the world and meet the good people who brew them”. In the inaugural episode “Not all beers are created equal”, Marion travels to the Stone Brewing Company in San Diego.

The show contains interviews with the CEO Greg Koch, as well as an in depth tour of the brewery. The DVD also includes extras like outtakes, a short about the Stone Brewery’s World Bistro and Gardens, and a really cool short on a craft beer vs. wine food pairing competition. The Stone Brewery has gone all out to deliver a world class brewery and restaurant.

The tour of the brewery takes you behind the scenes of every part of the beer producing process.

The video shows promise, but the interviewee really needs work

One of the extras on the DVD is a battle of wine vs. beer. Greg Koch challenges the wine industry to determine whether beer or wine goes best with food. A wine and beer were chosen to pair with each of the six courses in a fabulous meal. The guests were each asked to choose which best matched the food course. I won’t give away the ending, but there was real drama, and it is very fun to watch.

The World Bistro and Gardens footage was amazing. There is a large glass wall that separates the brewery from the restaurant. I had not heard of the bistro, and just from the video I’d like to see much more. The next time I am in San Diego, the bistro is officially on my list of stops.

Pilots are always rough

Like most pilot episodes, this one is not without flaws. The show switches from “film grain” to “sepia” randomly. It happens so often it is very distracting. The film grain often makes it difficult to see anything. To make matters worse, there are great scenes of the brewery and the bistro, but the camera pans too fast and you can’t focus on anything. The pans become frustrating blurs. Even in the interviews the camera bounces so much you get the feeling you’re watching a beer version of the Blair Witch Project. There were times I found myself saying “hold the damn camera still!”

Movement seems to be the common theme for everything. Even the text moves in and out. The movement is superfluous and very annoying. I was about to make a Star Wars joke about the text, but then they used the famous Star Wars moving text as the intro to the wine and beer battle. I had to laugh.

Make sure you proof your copy before printing the boxes

Mark Marion does not project much personality and seems uncomfortable in many of the interviews. Marion often is unsure of his questions, and is not in command of the interview. He’s like a deer in headlights, and sometimes just seems lucky he’s in the film. It might be that next to Greg Koch, his personality is drowned out. If I were the producer, I’d sit him down and force him to watch every episode of the Thirsty Traveler. If this is to be a series, he needs to project his personality as if it were his show.

Final Shots

But there is hope. With the exception of Farscape, most pilot episodes suck. Star Trek’s Encounter at Farpoint is one of the worst episodes ever made of anything, but the series went on to greatness. This series has potential.

There is some great information about the Stone Brewery, the wine vs. beer battle is fun, and it will be fun to see future breweries. I’ll give this pilot episode 6 movie reels out of 10. It’s a gift, but I do want to see more from The Local Brew. I think this show can be much more.

If you would like more information about their show, check out The Local Brew .