In recent years, the Discovery Channel has become a channel of documentaries about crazy careers. From American Chopper, to Dirty Jobs, all the way to Deadliest Catch, if you can think of an awesome career, Discovery probably has a show about it. Now, it has come up with its most ultimate idea about a career: being the head of a craft brewery on the show Brewmasters.Brewmasters follows Sam Caligione, president of the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Del., as he travels the world searching for recipes and dealing with the problems of operating a high-demand brewery in this era of explosive growth in the craft beer market. In the first three episodes, Sam has been to New Zealand, Peru and to Ethiopian-American neighborhoods to discover both ancient and new experimental forms of brewing. He has created a corn beer that breaks down starches via human saliva and a porter made with tamarillos, a new Zealand fruit similar to tomatoes. He also went through the process of creating the collaborative Miles Davis Bitches Brew, one of the first beers I reviewed for this column.

All the while, as Sam is traveling the globe, his team back at the brewery is dealing with the challenges of a commercial operation. In the first episode, a metal rod falls into one of the bottles, causing production to grind to a standstill as the team tries to isolate the defective bottle. In the third episode, it receives the wrong type of bottles, and the mistake is not caught until several hundred cases are produced, costing the company thousands of dollars.

You really see the struggles that the brewery faces but also just how fast Dogfish Head has grown. A greater concern during all these emergencies is the fact that production is on a tight schedule, and if the employees fall behind, they have to dump tanks of beer just to keep up with demand for certain products. I think one of the best parts of the show is it offers a very interesting look at a job many people wish they could do.

I think it's safe to say that most people who drink craft beer or any beer in general have thoughts of quitting their day job, and becoming brewers. It's the adult form of being Willy Wonka, and I think this show gives off the idea that this is what Sam Caligione's life is like. Countless times in the program, I have thought to myself, "Wow, I want to be Sam right now." That being said, Brewmasters also shows the sacrifices Sam has gone through in his family life. He is frequently away from his children for weeks at a time in order to promote and explore his brand.

This show also provides a great understanding and respect for how beer is made. I think they've struck a great balance between the aficionado and the regular viewer. There is some well-explained technical detail as to how starch in the grain is broken down into sugar and then is fermented into alcohol, but it is never so technical that the common person wouldn't be able to follow along. This show works because it's accessible, and it is quite educational, which is something I think Discovery Channel has lost over the years.

That isn't to say I like everything about the show. Sometimes Sam acts as though the only good beer is the one which defies the traditions, one that must put some kind of fruit or spice in the brew to create a delicious and exotic beer. Many of the best beers I've ever had have stuck to the big four ingredients: malted barley, hops, water and yeast. I understand why this is portrayed on the show; Dogfish Head is big on experimentation, and Sam is a firm believer in creating completely new beverages. I just feel it's a vast oversimplification.

Also, there are constant advertisements for Blue Moon, a brand owned and created by Coors, a brewing conglomerate that has been hurt by the recent explosion of craft beer. The company created Blue Moon to compete with the small breweries and beat them out with lower costs due to the size of the operation. It hides under the veil of being "Artfully crafted," and this is deceptive to the consumer and takes away some of the impact the show should have on craft beer.

These concerns are minimal at best, however. Brewmasters is a fantastic show. It is one of the best things to air on Discovery in a very long time. Brewmasters is shown on Thursdays at 8 p.m.: Be sure to check it out.

This concludes the semester here at Innermost Brew. I hope you have enjoyed reading this column as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I'll be back next semester with more reviews, interviews and discussion of beer. Until that time, support your local brewery, and be sure to drink responsibly. Cheers!