Questions of Note: Anat Baron

We find ourselves at another edition of Questions of Note.  Although I did not plan the way this week has played out it seems only fitting that after the Session this week I follow with responses from someone who has helped in the fight against big beer.  Anat Baron is the film maker who gave us the film Beer Wars.  It would seem that after the films premier in 2009 we have seen even more of a boom in the growth of Craft Beer and breweries across the US and the world. 

You may find something has changed a little with the questions this week.  I had forgotten that Anat was allergic to alcohol, this meant making a few changes.  Some may quibble about this, but I think it important that we keep in mind that we may never know where support for our endeavors will come from.  Sometimes it is amazing whose lives we touch or touch our own.  Many times it comes from somewhere you least suspected.

And now, the questions:

1.         What was the beer moment, when you knew you wanted to become involved with the craft beer renaissance?

I wanted to make a film about the beer industry and the role of entrepreneurs within it. I started shooting in 2005 before craft beer reached the tipping point. At the GABF that year, it was still a fairly quiet scene compared to recent years. I found the enthusiasm compelling and it helped drive the narrative of the film.

 

2.         Considering your allergy to alcohol, did you find it difficult to gain an insiders perspective while filming “Beer Wars?”

I wasn’t making a film about the taste of beer but rather the business of beer so it wasn’t an issue. Several times the brewers had tears in their eyes when I was on a line and they offered me a taste (freshest beer possible) and I had no choice but to refuse.

In some ways NOT drinking the beer made me objective. I couldn’t comment on the taste, couldn’t pick favorites and couldn’t answer the inevitable: “what’s your favorite beer?” question.

I think that some viewers had an issue with the film being directed by someone who couldn’t drink but that just meant that they didn’t get the point of the film.

 

3.         Can you describe your life in a song lyric/title?  If so what would you choose?

I am Woman by Helen Reddy.

 

4.         Do you have a drink of choice?  The one you can’t function throughout the day without?

Yes, I drink Green tea. I have 3 favorites that I alternate throughout the day. When it’s really hot I drink half & half from Honest Tea.

 

5.         Crowded restaurant or sitting on the back porch watching the clouds go by?

I hate crowds so you’d find me on the back porch watching the waves (I live in Los Angeles…)

And the lame one…

If tin whistles are made of tin, what do they make fog horns out of?

Is this a trick question? Remember, I can’t drink.

I believe a fog horn is comprised of some sort of metal (brass?) that uses liquid nitrogen to create the siren sound.

 

Time for a pint...