It was 2017 when Amplified Ale Works Creative Director Aubree Miller bumped into a craft-beer tourist at North Park’s Lafayette Hotel. Miller was there for her brewing company’s anniversary event and invited him to join the festivities. Not long after, she found out the sudsy stranger, David Wadsworth, worked on television shows in Hollywood and was preparing to pitch some ideas the following week. An off-hand comment—If you want good content for a TV show, you should make a show about craft beer in San Diego because it gets pretty entertaining—was the unlikely catalyst for Beer City: San Diego, a recently completed documentary the duo spent the past two years putting together. That full-length feature, which includes interviews with local beer-scene icons and covers the history of the region’s brewing industry, the beer-making process, homebrewing and backstories of numerous San Diego companies, is set to debut at a public screening event at The Casbah on Thursday, August 5. Local acts Low Volts, Par Avion and Western Settings will perform at the event. Music from the latter two was included in the documentary. Tickets are available online and a portion of proceeds from the event will be presented to the family of Nate Soroko, a much beloved member of the local craft-beer community who is featured prominently in the film and sadly passed away last week. We caught up with Miller ahead of this event, which is suddenly even more significant, to ask her about her film, which was recently named an official selection at the Chicago Indie Film Awards.
What are the main themes you wanted to convey via the documentary?
I really want people to see brewers how I see them, not just as producers of beer but as artists. Brewers can be so creative and thoughtful in their approach, and I just really wanted to see them get that type of credit. I’m inspired by flavor and the mixing of different elements to create a wholly new flavor profile no one has tried before whether it’s food or cocktails or beer. For me, it’s the same way I squeeze paint out of a tube to arrange it into a unique painting that’s never been created before. We’re all artists, right? We just use different mediums to make our art. Painters and musicians have always been celebrated because that’s art we can see and hear. Chefs have just started being recognized for their craft over the last 20 years. We’re really beginning to see the artistry of food in the mainstream, and I think that’s because we are exploring the art with more than just sight and sound. We’re moving into an era where we are asking ourselves, “What is art if we use our sense of taste?” Food is a bit easier because it can still be very visually artistic. The same can be said for cocktails a lot of the time, as well. With beer, there is only so much we can do visually, but what you don’t see is where the artistry lies. It’s more nuanced but can still be extremely complex, thoughtfully created and thought-provoking. I want that same recognition other artists get, but for people who are making art in a glass. In a broader sense, I really hope the film being released as we come out of a global pandemic will inspire people to head out to their local craft brewery again and support the San Diego craft-beer industry.
With so many brewing stars and vibrant personalities in San Diego, how did you decide who to interview?
A lot of it had to do with who I already personally knew, but I also wanted to interview brewers or people in the industry who had longevity or made a specific impact in the local industry. I didn’t want to chase down the hype brewers or breweries because, for me, it’s about what led us to where we are within craft beer and the art of brewing.
What are some of your favorite moments or scenes from the film?
Honestly, a scene where I am sitting with Colby Chandler at Ballast Point Brewing and I stir a beer with a straw to bring the head back up, but I stirred too vigorously and got foam everywhere. It’s funny because I have to do that all the time to photograph Amplified’s beers, but I just wasn’t thinking about it in the moment. Here I am with one of the most prolific modern brewers and I can’t even stir a beer right. It was a very human moment, and it was funny. The interview with Larry Monasakanian and Jim Johnson at Home Brew Mart was epic. It was so nostalgic for Larry, who now works at Fall Brewing after all those years managing HBM, and having Jim, the current manger, there to talk about what it is now was an incredible juxtaposition. We also made an entire music video for this film to show off the Acid Vault at Amplified’s East Village location, which we only showed a few seconds of in the film, but just seeing a space I created become another artform for someone else and their art is always awesome for me. Peter Zien, the owner and Brewmaster at AleSmith Brewing, was probably my favorite interview. He was one of the people I’d never met before and I was just in awe of his passion, depth of knowledge and love for art. We’re definitely on the same wavelength when it comes to getting nerdy into something and super-passionate. I was in awe to the point where I was speechless and you can see it on my face. We also interviewed Brendan Watters, the new owner of Ballast Point. I don’t want to give the scene away but watching him on-screen and interacting with him is a lot of fun. I’m really happy he bought the company after that interview, and I think a lot of other people will be too once they see the film.
Do you have filmmaking aspirations beyond this project?
We’re really hoping this proves to be a pilot episode for a Beer City series where we can dive into the beer, culture and art of different cities around the world that are defined by their beers. Wish us luck!