Press release:

BELLINGHAM, WA – The Love of Beer, a documentary about women in the Pacific Northwest brewing industry, will make its Washington debut Wednesday, March 7 with two screenings at the Pickford Film Center in downtown Bellingham.

The Pickford (Bellingham’s non-profit community theater), the Bellingham Beer Lab (a cooperatively owned brewery incubator) and the local homebrew club (Bellingham Homebrewers Guild), joined forces to bring filmmaker Alison Grayson to town for a pair of screenings and a beer-tasting reception. The first screening will be at 7 p.m. With the second screening at 9 p.m. In between, there will be a beer tasting reception with Grayson and possibly some of the women featured in the movie. The film is being screened in the Pickford’s T1 theater, which is 21 and older only so that patrons can take beer and wine into the theater.

The film premiered Aug. 11, 2011 at Portland’s Bagdad Theater with more than 350 people in attendance.

Tickets are $9.50 for the general public and $6.25 for Pickford members. Tickets are available online at pickfordcinema.org.

Synopsis:

The Love of Beer is a documentary celebrating the women at the forefront of the Pacific Northwest beer community.  As of 2011, there are 1,927 breweries operating within the United States– more than 1,900 of these are craft breweries. While the industry is expanding rapidly, growing 11% by volume in 2010, women within the industry are a vast minority.

Traditionally, brewing was a household chore that fell upon women.  It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that brewing shifted from a woman’s small enterprise to the domain of male factory workers. Beer and brewing gained a “men’s club” stereotype and, further enforced by marketing and popular media, the industry has remained a heavily male-dominated field.  However, in the Pacific NW, women are fighting their way towards being some of the most influential people in the brewing industry. From the farm to the consumer, Pacific NW women are setting new standards for brewing and changing the way the nation looks at women and beer.

With a heavy supporting cast and featuring Sarah Pederson, publican of Saraveza, and Tonya Cornett, award winning brewmaster of Bend Brewing (now at 10 Barrel Brewing), The Love of Beer provides an intimate portrayal of the women in the Pacific NW craft beer industry.  These inspiring women are not afraid to fight discrimination and make sacrifices for the sake of their craft. While they acknowledge that their struggles are opening doors for females everywhere, they’re not doing it for feminism or equality…they’re doing it for the love of beer.

Reviews:
-“I watched the documentary with a lump in my throat and tear in my eye. Thank you for creating this documentary. It was moving in many ways and thank you for addressing the taboo subject of childbearing as a professional woman. Cheers to amazing women!” -Julia Ratcliff

-“The Love of Beer captured the extraordinary personalities & talent of the women you highlighted in the film…On the way home I stopped at the store and bought a craft beer from one of the brewers I saw on screen.”- Annette Hadaway

-“A sensitive yet honest appraisal of women’s strength and joy. Cheers to The Love of Beer and all involved” -The Beer Babe

-”What a great portrayal of passion in brewing, and the women who help spearhead the craft beer movement. Simply awesome.” – The Beer Goddess

email:   theloveofbeermovie@gmail.com
website and trailer:    http://theloveofbeermovie.com
imdb:    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2040553/

facebook:    http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Love-of-Beer/219482591397332

twitter:    http://twitter.com/TheLuvofBeer