The Beer Jesus from America

There is something performative in his chameleonic shifts of appearance. While his speechifying can come off pompous and thirsty, “I know it doesn’t play well for the cameras,” he admits. But upon reflecting on his generally introverted nature and acknowledging how he has cultivated the gregarious beer-man-of-the-people shtick as a way to help him “use his outdoor voice,” you can’t help feeling charmed and supportive.

Koch’s life is one of reinvention. He is a poster boy for the American maxim that an entrepreneur writes his own story, and as a brewer, he has succeeded in that. However, he is in Germany, where the American dream has no dominion. There is undeniable hubris in his thinking that he can come to Germany, a culture with a deeply ingrained dogma about beer, pick a location (more for its charm than any practical reason as becomes apparent from the many engineering hurdles), and just will it into existence.

As the project labors on many months over schedule, it takes a visible toll on both Koch and Sweetwood, who has been documenting the seemingly endless construction. Greg puts it succinctly: “time and money tick away. But that’s the cost of being a romantic. Or a fool.” Ultimately, Koch is riding a very fine line between idealistic dreamer and attempting a moon-shot without just cause. Is he a romantic or a fool? Maybe a bit of both? Regardless of where on this spectrum, you feel he lands, it’s hard to actually disagree with his advocating for the value of artisanal, craft food and beverage in the face of increasingly corporate, mass-produced, homogenized products. “Imagine if all we had was fast food.”

“…is really a film about process, in every sense of the word.”

For all its interest in its subject, The Beer Jesus from America is really a film about process, in every sense of the word. There is the process of construction. Building the brewery is of particular interest to Sweetwood, one of whose stated goals is the documenting of work that rarely gets seen by the public. “So many hands and skillsets undergoing so many different processes and all inspired by something so simple as beer.” There is the philosophical divide between the processed food industry and a world that has an increasing fascination and want for craft products.

Although the main questions, Greg is forced to ask himself is if that is indeed the case? Or does he simply belong to a vocal minority crying to deaf ears? His seeking answers to those questions leads to huge life decisions and shifts—the man examining how you balance your dreams with your ambitions. But for whatever critique you can level at Koch, you can’t deny he has cracked some kind of code for life and in a distinctly American style. The Beer Jesus of America states its case that you should find what you love and make it your business.