It seems that the Discovery Channel is also currently shooting a beer documentary entitled “How Beer Saved the World.” Sweetwater Brewing in Georgia tweeted a photo of the crew of the documentary at the brewery over the weekend.
“The Discovery channel’s, “How Beer Saved the World” Amanda from Emory with our Brewmaster Mark Medlin and the sound dude.”
There’s not much additional information out there, though on Sunday the Georgia Tech Glee Club performed the Anacreontic Song at the Brick Store Pub in Decatur, also for the documentary. If you’re not familiar with the song, it’s also known as “To Anacreon in Heaven” and is an old British drinking song. According to AstroCocktail, “Anacreon was an ancient Greek poet (563-478 BC) whose many poems about the pleasures of wine and its results earned him the reputation as the bard of the grape.”
Even if you don’t know the lyrics, you probably know the tune, as it was used as the melody for our National Anthem. “Francis Scott Key wrote ‘Defence of Fort McHenry’ while detained on a British ship during the night of September 13, 1814, as the British forces bombarded the American fort. His brother-in-law, on hearing the poem Key had written, realized it fit the tune of ‘The Anacreontic Song.'” It was later retitled The Star-Spangled Banner. You can hear a version of it here.
“Anacreon” by Jean Leon Gerome, 1848
Admittedly, not much to go on, but it would appear there is definitely another beer documentary in the works for the Discovery channel, and that’s in addition to the new series, Brew Masters, debuting next month and starring Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head.