What does the historic Mayflower ship and Sam Adams brewer Jim Koch have in common?
Both are prominently featured in the pilot of The Beer Traveler, our new series-in-development celebrating the world's most fascinating beer cultures, destinations and traditions.
The Traveler, a.k.a. two-time North American "Beer Writer of the Year" Kerry J. Byrne, is shown below sampling some fresh hops with Mr. Koch at his research and development facility.
Sam Adams pays homage to the brews of Colonial America, but if we go back a century further, the Pilgrims' love for beer might surprise you.
Many people associate the first settlers of Plymouth with those traditional Thanksgiving foods -- some of which were not even part of the original feast. What few realize is that the crew and passengers of the Mayflower drank beer as their primary source of hydration (water quickly went rancid) and that even young Pilgrim children consumed massive quantities.
The Mayflower crew actually chose to land at Plymouth when their beer supplies were getting too low. Unfortunately for them, growing hops was extremely challenging and it would take a decade until they figured out how to make beer in the New World.
Here the Beer Traveler clinks drinks and shares stories with the legendary Gov. William Bradford:
To learn more about The Beer Traveler, click here. Where should our camera crews go next?
One of the bonuses of working as part of a camera crew is the opportunity to sample gourmet cuisine at the end of the shoot. Oh, it doesn't always happen. Many a time, our camera crews live on Powerbars and Gatorade.
But producing how-to cooking demonstration videos -- such as this assignment for New Hampshire Magazine -- is always a pleasure.
What can we say? Folksy restauranteur Jim Borbotsina's classic Saganaki dish melted in our mouths and got us hooked for life. The Greek delicacy is "Flaming Cheese," and the kitchen theatrics is half the fun.
Do you have a product or service you'd like to promote in a how-to or demonstration sales video? It need not involve either fire or cheese, but if it does, expect our camera crews to stick around a little longer off the clock!
(Jim Borbotsina serves up Saganaki and a variety of Greek/Italian specialties at The Way We Cook restaurant in Manchester, NH. Download a free copy of the Saganaki recipe here).