BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse “Beyond Beer”: A Full Glass, a Fast Slide and No Spills
Our culinary production for BJ’s “Beyond Beer” commercial made the real drinks hold their color, keep their foam and survive the action. The toughest shot sent a full glass racing down the bar, and the finished glasses impressed the agency and brand so much that they asked us to sign them as office trophies.
A freshly poured drink that had to be made ahead.
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse is a national restaurant chain with its own craft beers and an extensive food menu. The “Beyond Beer” commercial launched its Prickly Pear Hard Lemonade, the brewery’s first move beyond beer into a new hard beverage. This was a product introduction, with the new drink at the center of the film. Food Polka handled the culinary production and styling work across the food and beverages in the film, working with the restaurant’s chefs, the agency, the brand and the film crew.
The glass was going to travel down the bar at high speed, full of BJ’s Prickly Pear Hard Lemonade. It had to arrive with its drink inside and its foam intact, looking cold, juicy and freshly poured. We had to use the actual product supplied by the brand, but it changed color over 24 hours. And we needed to prepare the glasses ahead of production and bring them to set. That combination made this the toughest challenge in our culinary production services.
Before the shoot, we tested and experimented with the formula to improve its stability while preserving the product’s appearance. The drink and its foam had to last through advance preparation, transport and filming. We worked through that tedious testing process ahead of production, then prepared the glasses and brought them to set ready to use.
Our role in the BJ’s Restaurants commercial production.
We also prepared the beers ahead of the shoot, with the same attention to stable foam. There were several BJ’s beverages in each shot, and each one needed that freshly served appearance without having to be reset between every take. Keeping the foam stable across those glasses meant the crew could keep shooting instead of stopping for another round of pours. The sliding lemonade was the hardest problem, but we were responsible for the whole food and beverage setup.
That included working with the restaurant’s chefs on culinary preparation, styling all the food and drinks, and selecting the props, serving pieces and glassware. We coordinated with the director, DP, creative director, agency team, people from BJ’s and the crew throughout production. What went into the glass or onto the plate had to work with the lighting, camera and action, so those conversations were part of the culinary work from the beginning.
From a production problem to an office trophy.
Once the formula was right, we prepared roughly 50 glasses ahead of the shoot and brought them to set. The people from the agency and the brand were so impressed with their performance that they wanted to keep the leftovers, and we ended up signing them. They looked pretty in the branded glass, with that stable foam on top. It was like a trophy you could sit on the shelf in your office. After all the testing it took to make that drink behave, they wanted to take it home.
Watch “Beyond Beer”.
Video credits: “Beyond Beer” for BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse. Food Polka: culinary production, food and beverage preparation and styling, and prop selection.
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