The Discovery Channel TV show How Stuff Works tonight visits Charlie Papazian, as well as the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The Show, entitled simply Beer, airs twice tonight at 8:00 p.m. and Midnight. Check the schedule for your local airing time. There are also clips from the show on their website.

According to Charlie Papazian, President of the Brewers Association, “the producers spent a full morning and part of the afternoon with [him] this past summer. Shooting [his] hop garden, homebrew “garage,” beer stash and sampling of various brews while asking [him] to tell the story of “how beer works.” He also mentions that he believes Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head will also be featured in the show. It should be interesting, set your TiVo.

Overall, it seems like there’s definitely more general interest in beer from cable television and other video outlets recently, with many more shows being devoted to beer in development and airing. I did another show recently for a new online channel, Reason TV, which is partially funded by Drew Carey. It should air online in a few weeks. The show was devoted more to the politics of craft beer and distribution hurdles and featured a roundtable discussion with me and several Bay Area brewers. I’ll update you here when it’s ready to go live. In the meantime, watch tonight’s How Beer Works.

Jamie Smith (right), co-executive producer of the beer episode to be aired on the Discovery Channel tonight (Dec. 18), and Charlie Papazian after shooting on location at his “home” brewery earlier this summer.