Denver – Beer Culture, the upcoming documentary film that tells the stories of Colorado’s top craft brewers is set to release this summer. Until now, all that’s been released is a short 1 minute, 30 second trailer. In addition to releasing 45 seconds of exclusive footage from the film, Brewbound sat down with Executive Producer Thomas Kolicko to get the inside story on ‘Beer Culture.’ Kolicko, just 24 years of age was kind enough to answer questions about the film and how he got involved with the project.
Brewbound: Where did you get the idea for ‘Beer Culture?’
Thomas Kolicko: The idea for Beer Culture came during the summer of 2010. I was registered to take a college course in documentary filmmaking and I was looking for an interesting topic that was Colorado based. I had recently moved to Colorado from New Jersey in early January 2010. I was very intrigued by the shear amount of Colorado’s craft breweries. One of the first bars once I moved to, Colorado did not have any taps from the ‘big three’ but instead was all craft beer. This project from the beginning has been independent and will always be independent.
BB: What is the focal point of Beer Culture?
TK: Basically Beer Culture is a documentary film that tells the stories of the struggles and successes of Colorado’s top Craft Brewers. The main focal point of the story is about a Bill that has been proposed in Colorado allowing chain stores and gas stations to sell full strength beer. This is an issue that can threaten the rich beer culture that exists in Colorado. Colorado has been a free market where Beer Companies can self-distribute to privately owned liquor stores. That is why this state has so many new breweries (last count was 128), because it enables small breweries to sell their beer directly to the liquor stores. One of the main quotes that they are using for public relations campaign is “beer is beer”. That is the whole chain store mentality – they just care about the bottom line. Art is not Art, Wine certainly is not Wine, Cars are not Cars, so why is Beer just beer?
BB: Where did the title, Beer Culture, come from?
TK: The name Beer Culture is what I believe to be the lost American culture. I wanted the title to instantly capture people’s attention so they would know what the film was about. There is such a loyal, community following of craft beer drinkers in Colorado and it has become a ‘culture.’ America has a beer culture. A culture that exists outside of chain stores, smart phones, and traffic where people can sit down, relax and talk face-to- face, sharing a common bond- beer.
BB: When will Beer Culture be released and where can people find it?
TK: Beer Culture is set to be released sometime in the early part of Summer 2011. Right now I am aiming for a public release and DVD to be up for sale around early July. People can see the film either by attending a release screening party, by DVD, or possibly in film festivals. We will be launching our website soon which will have all the details on it, or fans can join our email newsletter or find us on facebook.