diff --git a/components/hero-video.tsx b/components/hero-video.tsx
index 15e43f3..9e4acfd 100644
--- a/components/hero-video.tsx
+++ b/components/hero-video.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@ import { useEffect, useRef, useState, useSyncExternalStore } from "react";
 import Link from "next/link";
 import Image from "next/image";
 
-const POSTER_SRC = "/photos/herograin.jpg";
+// Issue #135: the brewery still replaces the grain hero photo so the static
+// experience looks intentional instead of duplicating the hero above it.
+const POSTER_SRC = "/photos/video-still.jpg";
 const WEBM_SRC = "/videos/ddbwebvid.webm";
 const MP4_SRC = "/videos/ddbwebvid.mp4";
 
@@ -25,7 +27,7 @@ function useMediaQuery(query: string): boolean {
 export function HeroVideo() {
   const reducedMotion = useMediaQuery("(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)");
   const isSmallScreen = useMediaQuery("(max-width: 768px)");
-  const [canPlay, setCanPlay] = useState(false);
+  const [playing, setPlaying] = useState(false);
   const [inView, setInView] = useState(false);
   const sectionRef = useRef<HTMLElement>(null);
   const videoRef = useRef<HTMLVideoElement>(null);
@@ -53,12 +55,26 @@ export function HeroVideo() {
     if (!video || !inView || reducedMotion || isSmallScreen) return;
 
     // Load metadata first so the browser can decide codec, then play.
+    // play() itself initiates the fetch — no explicit load() needed.
     video.preload = "metadata";
-    void video.play().catch(() => {
-      // Autoplay may be blocked by browser policy; the poster remains visible.
+    void video.play().catch((err: unknown) => {
+      // Autoplay may be refused by browser policy (e.g. low-power mode);
+      // the still stays visible either way. Dev-only diagnostic keeps
+      // expected rejections (NotAllowedError) distinguishable from real
+      // decode/network failures without sending noise to monitoring.
+      if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production") {
+        console.info(
+          "[HeroVideo] play() rejected — static still remains.",
+          err instanceof DOMException ? err.name : err,
+          video.error?.code
+        );
+      }
     });
   }, [inView, reducedMotion, isSmallScreen]);
 
+  // Deliberate: small screens get only the still — a multi-megabyte
+  // decorative autoplay video is not worth the data/battery cost on
+  // phones, and the approved still is a complete design, not a fallback.
   const showStaticPoster = reducedMotion || isSmallScreen;
 
   return (
@@ -83,17 +99,33 @@ export function HeroVideo() {
         <video
           ref={videoRef}
           className={`absolute inset-0 h-full w-full object-cover transition-opacity duration-700 ${
-            canPlay ? "opacity-100" : "opacity-0"
+            playing ? "opacity-100" : "opacity-0"
           }`}
           muted
           loop
           playsInline
           preload="none"
           aria-hidden="true"
-          onCanPlay={() => setCanPlay(true)}
+          // `playing` — not `canplay`: a refused play() still reaches
+          // canplay (the fetch proceeds), which would fade in a frozen
+          // first frame. Fading in on actual playback keeps the approved
+          // still up whenever the video is not genuinely playing.
+          onPlaying={() => setPlaying(true)}
         >
           <source src={WEBM_SRC} type="video/webm" />
-          <source src={MP4_SRC} type="video/mp4" />
+          {/* The error event on the last <source> means every candidate
+              failed — the still remains; log only in development. */}
+          <source
+            src={MP4_SRC}
+            type="video/mp4"
+            onError={() => {
+              if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production") {
+                console.info(
+                  "[HeroVideo] no playable source — static still remains."
+                );
+              }
+            }}
+          />
           Your browser does not support the video tag.
         </video>
       )}
diff --git a/docs/operations/performance.md b/docs/operations/performance.md
index 32e603f..2ce912b 100644
--- a/docs/operations/performance.md
+++ b/docs/operations/performance.md
@@ -100,11 +100,13 @@ re-creates the contention it solves.
 
 ## Findings reviewed and intentionally left alone
 
-- **Hero video files** (`ddbwebvid.mp4` 13.3MB, `ddbwebvid.webm` 4.2MB):
-  large, but the video only loads when the section scrolls into view on
-  desktop without reduced-motion — it never competes with initial load.
-  A lower-bitrate re-encode is a content/quality decision for the owner,
-  not an engineering default.
+- **Hero video files** (`ddbwebvid.mp4` 2.1MB, `ddbwebvid.webm` 2.2MB):
+  re-encoded in #135 (H.264 High CRF 27, VP9 CRF 33, both ~0.8Mbps, no
+  audio, MP4 faststart) — down from 13.6MB/4.3MB at equal SSIM ≥0.98.
+  The video only loads when the section scrolls into view on desktop
+  without reduced-motion — it never competes with initial load. The
+  static poster is `photos/video-still.jpg` (approved brewery still,
+  distinct from the `herograin.jpg` hero image above it).
 - **`/beers/[slug]` is now static** (Issue #104): `generateStaticParams`
   enumerates build-time slugs with `dynamicParams = false`, reading via
   `getDocsFromServer` so a backend failure throws and fails the build
diff --git a/public/photos/video-still.jpg b/public/photos/video-still.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d3a69d1
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/photos/video-still.jpg differ
diff --git a/public/photos/video-still.png b/public/photos/video-still.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c840a2a
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/photos/video-still.png differ
diff --git a/public/videos/ddbwebvid.mp4 b/public/videos/ddbwebvid.mp4
index e7a244b..f133579 100644
Binary files a/public/videos/ddbwebvid.mp4 and b/public/videos/ddbwebvid.mp4 differ
diff --git a/public/videos/ddbwebvid.webm b/public/videos/ddbwebvid.webm
index bf8f1b8..de11b88 100644
Binary files a/public/videos/ddbwebvid.webm and b/public/videos/ddbwebvid.webm differ
diff --git a/scripts/hero-video-check.mjs b/scripts/hero-video-check.mjs
index e45ee37..7d1f644 100644
--- a/scripts/hero-video-check.mjs
+++ b/scripts/hero-video-check.mjs
@@ -13,10 +13,11 @@ async function check(contextOptions, label) {
   await page.waitForTimeout(800);
 
   const videoCount = await page.locator("video").count();
-  const posterCount = await page.locator('img[src*="herograin"]').count();
+  const stillCount = await page.locator('img[src*="video-still"]').count();
 
-  // Count only the brewery section image/poster (the hero has one too).
-  console.log(`${label}: video elements=${videoCount}, herograin images=${posterCount}`);
+  // The brewery section poster is the video still (Issue #135); the grain
+  // hero image belongs to the hero section above it.
+  console.log(`${label}: video elements=${videoCount}, video-still images=${stillCount}`);
   await context.close();
 }
 
diff --git a/smoke-tests/hero-video.spec.ts b/smoke-tests/hero-video.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a0f00fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/smoke-tests/hero-video.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+import { test, expect } from "./fixtures";
+
+// Brewery video section (Issue #135). The decorative <video> is intentionally
+// gated: reduced-motion and viewports <=768px get only the approved brewery
+// still. On desktop the still is always rendered underneath and the video
+// fades in over it only once it can actually play — the static state is a
+// complete design, never an error screen.
+//
+// Headless browsers cannot prove real decoding/playback, so these tests
+// assert the DOM contract (sources, attributes, gating, graceful failure);
+// media bytes themselves are verified out-of-band with ffprobe.
+
+const brewerySection = (page: import("playwright").Page) =>
+  page.locator("section", {
+    has: page.getByRole("heading", { name: "The Brewery", exact: true }),
+  });
+
+test("brewery section uses the approved still, not the grain hero image", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  await page.goto("/");
+  const section = brewerySection(page);
+  await expect(section).toBeVisible();
+
+  // The section poster is the distinct brewery still…
+  await expect(section.locator('img[src*="video-still"]')).toBeVisible();
+  // …and never the duplicated grain hero photo.
+  await expect(section.locator('img[src*="herograin"]')).toHaveCount(0);
+
+  // The main hero above keeps the grain image.
+  const hero = page.locator("section").first();
+  await expect(hero.locator('img[src*="herograin"]')).toBeVisible();
+
+  // Section remains a complete, readable design.
+  await expect(
+    section.getByRole("heading", { name: "The Brewery", exact: true })
+  ).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(section.getByRole("link", { name: "Learn More" })).toBeVisible();
+});
+
+test("desktop mounts a muted looping video with webm-first sources", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  await page.goto("/");
+  const section = brewerySection(page);
+  const video = section.locator("video");
+  await expect(video).toBeAttached();
+  await expect(video).toHaveAttribute("aria-hidden", "true");
+  await expect(video).toHaveAttribute("muted", "");
+  await expect(video).toHaveAttribute("loop", "");
+  await expect(video).toHaveAttribute("playsinline", "");
+  await expect(video).toHaveAttribute("preload", "none");
+  // No poster attribute — the SSR'd attribute would fetch the raw file
+  // before hydration, duplicating the optimized image download.
+  await expect(video).not.toHaveAttribute("poster");
+
+  const sources = video.locator("source");
+  await expect(sources).toHaveCount(2);
+  await expect(sources.nth(0)).toHaveAttribute("src", "/videos/ddbwebvid.webm");
+  await expect(sources.nth(0)).toHaveAttribute("type", "video/webm");
+  await expect(sources.nth(1)).toHaveAttribute("src", "/videos/ddbwebvid.mp4");
+  await expect(sources.nth(1)).toHaveAttribute("type", "video/mp4");
+});
+
+test("the still stays underneath as the video starts playing", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  await page.goto("/");
+  const section = brewerySection(page);
+  await section.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded();
+
+  const still = section.locator('img[src*="video-still"]');
+  const video = section.locator("video");
+  await expect(still).toBeVisible();
+
+  // Headless Chromium decodes and plays these sources for real, so the
+  // `playing` event must arrive and flip the video to opacity-100. The
+  // still never leaves the DOM underneath — before or after the fade.
+  await expect(video).toHaveClass(/opacity-100/, { timeout: 15000 });
+  await expect(still).toBeVisible();
+});
+
+test("a refused play() leaves the still intact without an error surface", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  // Simulate an autoplay refusal (e.g. low-power mode) before any page
+  // code, and answer media requests with an empty body — deterministic
+  // and leaves no in-flight fetch to abort at teardown.
+  await page.addInitScript(() => {
+    HTMLMediaElement.prototype.play = () =>
+      Promise.reject(new DOMException("Blocked", "NotAllowedError"));
+  });
+  await page.route("**/videos/*", (route) =>
+    route.fulfill({ status: 200, body: "" })
+  );
+  await page.goto("/");
+  const section = brewerySection(page);
+  await section.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded();
+
+  await expect(section.locator('img[src*="video-still"]')).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(
+    section.getByRole("heading", { name: "The Brewery", exact: true })
+  ).toBeVisible();
+  // The video mounts but never fades in; nothing breaks.
+  const video = section.locator("video");
+  await expect(video).toBeAttached();
+  await expect(video).toHaveClass(/opacity-0/);
+});
+
+test("the video layer cannot shift layout when it appears", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  await page.goto("/");
+  const section = brewerySection(page);
+  await section.scrollIntoViewIfNeeded();
+  const before = await section.boundingBox();
+  // The video is absolutely positioned inside the fixed-height section.
+  const position = await section
+    .locator("video")
+    .evaluate((el) => getComputedStyle(el).position);
+  expect(position).toBe("absolute");
+  await page.waitForTimeout(1500);
+  const after = await section.boundingBox();
+  expect(after?.height).toBe(before?.height);
+  expect(after?.width).toBe(before?.width);
+  expect(
+    await page.evaluate(
+      () => document.documentElement.scrollWidth > window.innerWidth
+    )
+  ).toBe(false);
+});
+
+test("small viewports get only the still — no video element at all", async ({
+  page,
+}) => {
+  await page.setViewportSize({ width: 375, height: 800 });
+  await page.goto("/");
+  const section = brewerySection(page);
+  await expect(section.locator("video")).toHaveCount(0);
+  await expect(section.locator('img[src*="video-still"]')).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(
+    section.getByRole("heading", { name: "The Brewery", exact: true })
+  ).toBeVisible();
+  expect(
+    await page.evaluate(
+      () => document.documentElement.scrollWidth > window.innerWidth
+    )
+  ).toBe(false);
+});
+
+test("reduced motion gets only the approved still", async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.emulateMedia({ reducedMotion: "reduce" });
+  await page.goto("/");
+  const section = brewerySection(page);
+  await expect(section.locator("video")).toHaveCount(0);
+  await expect(section.locator('img[src*="video-still"]')).toBeVisible();
+});