Written, produced, directed, shot, and edited by me. Starring Gabe Fremuth, Mahogany Ayot Eerised, Doug Adams, and Angelina Will.
The 2011 Retribution Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout video holds a special place in my heart for a number of reasons. It was the first DuClaw video that I made without a script. The beer is such a revelation – a precise to style imperial stout aged six months in Kentucky White Oak Bourbon barrels – that (DuClaw Brewing Company owner) Dave and I had almost no idea what the video should be. He found the song, but otherwise, only the theme was clear, given voice by one of the best taglines I created while the voice of DuClaw Brewing Company: Patience, Justified.
So I took a new approach. I decided that I was going to place a casting call and develop three to five stories from the talent that responded. This was a ridiculously risky story generation idea because this was an Oktoberfest video, I had to make four more videos that month (I usually made one per month), and THIS IS NOT MY IDIOM!!!
I met Doug first and it was sealed: Athlete with something burning under the surface. Then Gabe. Still who I think of first every time I write a hero, Gabe is a TALENTED but humble guy. I was immediately determined to mess him up and make him trashy; a hillbilly with a problem that could only be solved by digging a hole. Angie was a model/actress, even more attractive in person than in photos AND a complete sweetheart to work with. I made her an in-patient in a terrible asylum because it just felt right. And finally, Mahoghany. A beautiful and talented artist/actress. I put her behind a computer and had her run through the full spectrum of human emotions because she was SO engaging that I didn’t want to risk playing into/trying too hard to subvert any stereotype – I just wanted to let her kill it.
I still think of this as the best overall video that I made in my 13 years at DuClaw, and when it rocked the packed 2011 Maryland Brewer’s Oktoberfest, it became a highlight of my career.