About a decade ago, everyone I knew started brewing their own beers and pale ales in their backyards and garages. They’d boast about their new inspired (sometimes weird) flavors. Some started to sell them at beer festivals and local grocery stores. My local pub would have a large chalkboard of beers around the neighborhood. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chick-fil-A starts its own micro-brewery. It was a fun hobby and soon a community started to form around the practice.
The boom of the I.P.A. came to mind watching Adam Park’s documentary, The Amber Light. The film features Scottish writer Dave Broom as he takes us through the history of whisky in in his homeland of Scotland. When your film is written by a writer, he’s going to tell this story in various chapters. I’ll just highlight a few.
“…starts with the supposition that Scotland’s environment is perfect for the creation of whiskey.“
With Broom as our guide, The Amber Light starts with the supposition that Scotland’s environment is perfect for the creation of whiskey. The country’s prime agriculture is wheat and barley—two essential ingredients along with yeast and oak barrels. We discover why the land, location, and weather in Scotland serves as the perfect location for making whiskey.
Dave Broom starts by going over the distillation process and how two doctors, now considered Scottish legends, perfected the process centuries ago. Then by using various vegetation throughout the Scottish forests, like thyme, hogs weed, wild thistles, etc., distillers are able to experiment with new flavors and sweetness of their brew.
"…whiskey would be the one thing that brought the common folk together."
Will this be screened in US? I’d love to see it – live in Boston, MA.