Movies You Missed the First Time Around: Beer Wars
Synopsis (from Amazon):
In America, size matters. The bigger you are, the more power you have, especially in the business world. Director Anat Baron takes you on a no holds barred exploration of the U.S. beer industry that ultimately reveals the truth behind the label of your favorite beer. Told from an insider's perspective, the film goes behind the scenes of the daily battles and all out wars that dominate one of America's favorite industries. Beer Wars begins as the corporate behemoths are being challenged by small, independent brewers who are shunning the status quo and creating innovative new beers. The story is told through 2 of these entrepreneurs, Sam and Rhonda, battling the might and tactics of Corporate America. We witness their struggle to achieve their American Dream in an industry dominated by powerful corporations unwilling to cede an inch. This contemporary David and Goliath story is ultimately about keeping your integrity (and your family's home) in the face of temptation. Beer Wars is a revealing and entertaining journey that provides unexpected and surprising turns and promises to change the world's opinion on those infamous 99 bottles of beer on the wall.
DSB Review:
Last week, Matt over at Warming Glow had a post that Discovery Channel will begin airing a new series in the fall, "Brewed", which will explore beer in various cultures. That news reminded me to watch the documentary, Beer Wars, that I had stuck in my Netflix queue a couple of months ago.
Beer Wars follows Anat Baron as she examines the impact of craft beers and independent breweries on the beer industry. Baron is upfront about her former role running Mike’s Hard Lemonade and makes no bones about her inherent bias against the multinational corporations of Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors.
How much of the US beer market do you think those big three account for? Would you be surprised if it was 78% (Anheuser-Busch 49%, Miller 18%, Coors 11%)? Yet, the big boys don’t seem content on just battling each other. Instead, they’ve turned their attention to the 5% of the market that craft beers and microbrews garner. The film focuses on the independent breweries’ uphill battle to cut into the distribution, control of shelf space, and sales when the corporate behemoths lobby for favorable legislation, steal new product development ideas (like fruit, organic, and caffeine), and advertise to the tune of $800M per year.
Amongst her travels, Baron visits Yuengling, Stone, New Belgium, and Dogfish Head to get an understanding of where these independent breweries are headed into the 21st century as they philosophically value quality over shareholder revenue. Dogfish Head’s founder Sam Calagione becomes the star of the movie (I’m sure this how he got selected to host “Brewed”) and the poster boy for slaying the whales of the beer industry as he dives headlong into debt to expand his brewery and fight ridiculous lawsuits over the names “Punkin Ale” and “Chicory Stout”.
Quite honestly this movie could have been about any big industry that curries governmental favor, controls distribution, and advocates consumption of a product. Fittingly, the brewery titans are compared to Microsoft and Wal-Mart multiple times throughout the movie and this could be about coffee shops or the frozen pizza industry. However if you are like me and you go out of your way to avoid Budweiser and look for the smaller, tastier beers when you go out to bars and restaurants, this movie will play directly into your sensibilities.
Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
Posted by Max Power at 7/7/2010 9:00 AM 
Categories: Movies You Missed
Tags: Brewed Anat Baron Yuengling Stone Budweiser New Belgium Coors Dogfish Head Miller Anheuser-Busch Sam Calagione Beer Wars
Categories: Movies You Missed
Tags: Brewed Anat Baron Yuengling Stone Budweiser New Belgium Coors Dogfish Head Miller Anheuser-Busch Sam Calagione Beer Wars
Comments