Mixing a powerful sense of storytelling, community and the relentless pursuit of passion isn’t just a powerful driving force behind enthralling filmmaking. The pilot episode of the new food docuseries, ‘United Crafts of America’ captures the personal stories that have driven craft beer to become a cultural cornerstone across the nation. The show dives into the dynamic world of local breweries, highlighting the people behind the taps, the communities they serve and the flavors that bind them together.

The pilot was written by Jonathan Adelson and directed by Sergio Camacho. The two also served as producers on the series with Robert Scoville.

‘United Crafts of America’ offers an intimate look into America’s most vibrant craft beer cities, while also uncovering the country’s most innovative breweries and the passionate people behind them. The journey begins with New York City’s Interboro Spirits & Ales, where co-owners Laura Dierks and Jesse Ferguson blend beer and hip-hop to create one of the area’s most influential breweries. The business brings new life into the city’s rich brewing heritage.

For these brewers, craft beer is more than just a beverage – it’s a symbol of identity, community and pride. From the rustic charm of small-town breweries to the urban sophistication of city brewpubs, the show chronicles how craft beer is the story of America.

‘United Crafts of America’s pilot episode had its World Premiere during the Pilot Series Blk 4 this past Saturday, December 7 at 11:30am during Dances With Films: NYC 2024. The screening was held at Regal Union Square during the festival’s third annual event in New York. To help promote the pilot’s screening, Camacho and Adelson generously took he time to talk about penning, helming and producing the series during an exclusive interview over Zoom.

Film Factual (FF): Together, you produced the pilot for the new docuseries, ‘United Crafts of America.’ What was your inspiration in making the show together?

Sergio Camacho (SC): I was brought into the world of craft beer as a consumer. I lived in New York and a friend of mine said, “Stop drinking whatever you’re drinking. Let’s put some good stuff on your palette.”

I was single then, so on Saturdays I would go to a lot of breweries and taste a lot of things. I would also learn about the culinary aspect. But it was an enjoyable thing.

Then when the pandemic happened, I was on my couch and I had nowhere to go and nothing to do. I then found this beer delivery service that curates beer. You can order beer from the finest breweries from around the country, and it comes in a big box.

So during the pandemic, whenever I was done with whatever I was editing on a Friday afternoon, I would pull out a beer. I would see the logo that was designed from this brewery from Utah and Oregon. Every can has a story and message in its logo.

Most breweries are small businesses, and have a particular passion about what they’re doing and why. All beers vary, so what you’re tasting in Miami is different than a lager in Boston and San Diego. So during the pandemic, I would sit on my porch writing about how the beers were different.

I thought, we haven’t seen anything like this. I really love the chef’s table shows that really take you into a world of passion that the artisans have the kitchen. But no one had done this type of show for beer. So the idea sat and I mustered with it

I then met Jonathan randomly about a year ago. We met over beers and we were chatting about the projects we were working on. I think the last thing I pitched him was this beer project. Then when I got into it, he said, “That’s a great idea. Let’s do it.” A year later, here we are – we made it happen.

Jonathan Adelson (JA): I came more from an outsider’s perspective. I like beer, but I couldn’t have told you the difference between a lager and a Pilsner.

But once Sergio told me about this, I dove into the research of craft beer and this community. I was really struck by how incredibly sophisticated it is, and how these brewers are so much more than what you would think. They’re scientists and artisans, and they’re an incredible talent. They’re also an incredibly connected community.

So as I dove into it and Sergio and I figured out what the show would be, we realized there’s a real story behind the craft beer that we could tell. We also realized there’s a real story that we could tell about the people and the cities, and how the beer unites people together.

FF: Speaking about the research, how did you approach finding more information about the breweries and the beer during the show’s production?

JA: It’s difficult research to go brewery to brewery and drinking all of these beers! Overall, we talked to people who are part of the craft beer community. Then we spoke to as many micro-breweries as we could in New York City to figure out what the story was, and who we should be focusing on.

We were incredibly lucky to have met Laura Dierks and Jesse Ferguson in the midst of our research. As soon as we met them, we knew that they understood the story that we were trying to tell. They have such fascinating and diverse backgrounds.

As soon as we met both of them, it sparked this thing within both of us. We thought, this is who we want the story to be focused on.

SC: We also talked to critics. While I was still coming up with the idea for the project before I even met Jonathan, I knew it wasn’t enough to just hear about the beer from the people who are making it, or even the people consuming it.

I wanted to also feature the critics who are educated in beer and do it for a living. They’re really an authority on what’s effective to consume and what these things are. So we spoke with John Holl, who’s a wonderful beer journalist, and Joshua Bernstein.

They made wonderful interviews. They helped paint a bigger picture of what’s going on with beer in the United States and around the world. They sewed the 50 states together as a story, and created a profile of what I think is the American persona. That’s the bigger story that we wanted to tell, and will tell, when we finish the entire season.

FF: Speaking about Laura Dierks and Jesse Ferguson, how did you decide who you would include in the season?

SC: Well, every brewery is different. Some owners really walk in sparingly, while other owners are the ones who actually brew the beer.

We heard from so many brewers, as we talked to everyone in New York. That’s a learning experience for us.

With Laura and Jesse, it was right hand/left hand. Laura is an entrepreneur and has a great background in Silicon Valley, and she was at the Naval Academy. She’s a woman who’s doing really great things that you don’t find very often in a male-dominated space.

Then Jesse is a brilliant artisan who’s dedicated to his craft. He’s so meticulous in the way he approaches crafting beer. Everything he does has a point.

Not everyone makes a great interview on television, as some people are shy. But they were just themselves. We wanted to tell an honest story, as we’re not making a commercial. They were just so pleasant and open. We just wanted to develop a trust with them so that we could do our work on our side, while also letting them be themselves while they told their story.

FF: Once you began working on the series, Jonathan, how did you approach creating the overarching story? Did you write an outline of how you wanted to showcase the breweries?

JA: We really wanted the episode to tell the story of Interboro, but also tell the story and history of brewing in New York City. As we plot out the rest of the series, that is what will really make each episode distinct. Not only does each brewery have a story, but so do the city and that specific community.

Something that struck us about Interboro is that its name comes from the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, which is one of the oldest railroads in New York City. It was actually a brewery across the street from Ebbets Field back in 1910.

When we heard that, we realized that we could tie in not only Jesse and Laura’s story with the creation of Interboro and the brewery, but also the history of New York City as a brewing destination, which goes all the way back to the 1600s. There’s been a resurgence in that over the past 20 years. So it was all about sewing together the story of the brewery itself, as well as the story of the city itself.

FF: Sergio, you also served as the director on the pilot. How did you approach helming the episode during the production?

SC: That was the fun part. I did a lot of creative development even before the story. I love classic cinema, so I wanted cinema lenses. The color is very versed in the look, which was an important element when I was working with my creative director on color palettes.

We wanted New York to look and feel like New York through the color palettes and tones we were using. When we go to San Diego, they’re going to have the Golden Hammer Lagers, just like on the beaches.

So for me, it was all about connecting a classical feel with a classical storytelling approach visually. Our cinematographer, Joel Froome, absolutely crushed it in the way that the episode looks. We would ask, “Can you pull this off?,” and he did.

So we wanted visual elements to feel authentic to New York and wherever we go next, like San Diego. In Portland, there are a lot of redwood trees and muddy greens and blacks. So we’ll mix those with Stout beers.

So putting together the creative development on paper and through photographs early on, and trying to match that with our script and storytelling tones, we were sowing everything together. I like to think that we came close to it.

FF: Once you shot all of the material for the pilot, how did you approach editing it together to tell a cohesive story in the episode?

JA: I think we go in with a plan before we started shooting. Then as we started interviewing Jesse and Laura, as well as John Holl and Joshua Bernstein, they ended up telling the story. So in that post-production process, it was all about finding that story that they told. We also molded that with the story that we planned for going in.

With Sergio and I, it was a process of us figuring out how to work together. This is our first project together, so we had to find our groove together. It was an incredible experience to piece together their story, as well as the story of New York. It all came together through the editing process.

You really feel how vulnerable Jesse and Laura were with us as you watch their interviews. I think that really delivered a heart to the episode that we didn’t necessarily plan for going into it. But we were really pleased with it once we saw it come together in the editing process.

FF: You both also served as producers on the pilot. How did you approach producing the episode together during the production?

SC: I think there’s a level of faith anytime you work with someone for the first time. But with Jonathon, it’s been a pleasure. We’re like a right hand/left hand, and we didn’t know that going in.

Jonathon handles everything so well, even the things that I don’t want to do and we take for granted on a production. He lets me focus completely on the creative side; I’m working completely with the cinematographer and art director on the visuals, as well as the editor on the pacing and the colorist on where the look development needs to go. Meanwhile, Jonathan is making sure everything is being taken care of, and that’s a really wonderful feeling, I have to admit.

I think our backgrounds in network television over the years really helped. It helped us believe in a process and a method that we can rely on. It’s not always about agreeing; it’s about arriving where we know our goals are. So we’re always communicating. So for me, it was a pleasure.

JA: Yes, the collaboration process is a process of trust. I think we discovered through putting this together that we have really complementary skill sets. Sergio is so talented when it comes to the technical aspect and really bringing this entire episode to life and making it look so beautiful.

But at the same time, we shared a similar mindset, in terms of what story we wanted to tell. Overall, it’s a process of trust, and it was a pleasant surprise to find out how well we complemented each other, in terms of its skill sets.

FF: ‘United crafts of America’ (had) its World Premiere during the Pilot Series Blk 4 at Dances With Films: NYC 2024 (this past) Saturday, December 7. What does it mean to you both that the project played at the festival?

JA: We’re really excited. This is the start of our journey, as this is our World Premiere. It’s incredible to be starting at Dances With Films, which is such a celebration of independent filmmaking. It’s been great to be a part of the festival – they’re incredible.

We’re excited for our journey ahead, as well. There’s such a wonderful community of craft beer. So we want to show them what we’ve done, and have them rally behind it as we go through the festival circuit and ultimately look for future distribution and film the series’ future episodes.

SC: We can’t say enough great things about Dances With Films because they’re doing everything in their power to help us. We’re doing everything we can to amplify the pilot and the festival.

It’s really gratifying to have a place for the audience to watch the pilot. We also want to hear what the audience is going to say. We know for the long term of the series, it’s about listening to the audience, and hearing not just what they feel, but also what they want. Luckily, in the craft beer community, people are very vocal about that because no one has ever really made a show like this before about this subject matter.