Beer Wars

3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
An irreverent and eye-opening journey through the underbelly of the American beer industry pitting the country's smallest brewersagainst the largest in a classic David and Goliath battle.
  • Starring: Sam Calagione, Rhonda Kallman
  • Directed by: Anat Baron
  • Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Release year: 2009
  • Studio: Gravitas Ventures LLC
 
  
 
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Product Details
Synopsis: An irreverent and eye-opening journey through the underbelly of the American beer industry pitting the country's smallest brewersagainst the largest in a classic David and Goliath battle.
Starring: Sam Calagione, Rhonda Kallman
Directed by: Anat Baron
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
Captions and Subtitles: Details
Release year: 2009
Studio: Gravitas Ventures LLC
ASIN: B0030S25JI
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Format: Amazon Instant Video (streaming online video and digital download)

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Theatrical Release Information
  • US Theatrical Release Date: April 16, 2009
  • Production Company: Ducks In A Row Entertainment Corporation
  • Filming Locations: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | Milton, Delaware, USA | New York City, New York, USA | Pottsville, Pennsylvania, USA | Somerville, Massachusetts, USA

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Customer Reviews

3.4 out of 5 stars
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3.4 out of 5 stars
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting perspective on the beer industry April 4, 2013
By BW
Format:Amazon Instant Video
If you can get over the voice of the narrator, this is an interesting look at some if the history and current dynamics of the beer industry. Not sure if anyone who doesn't really like beer would enjoy this movie, but I did.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars A bit over the top February 12, 2013
By Brian Bischoff
Format:Amazon Instant Video
I'm 90% a microbrew drinker. There were some good pieces of information that I didn't realize about the largest beer maker in the US, but for the most part it was over the top propaganda against Budweiser. I'm a firm believer that documentaries should share both sides of a story, and as much as I don't believe the three-tier system is in the best interest of consumers, this was pretty much a one-sided documentary
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5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful insight into the beer industry! April 30, 2013
By James
Format:Amazon Instant Video
This is a must watch for craft beer drinkers, and even more important for those who think bud light is good enough. The documentary is full of information on how the beer market got to be what it is today, and exactly how much power the big brewers have. It also sheds some light on the daily operations of a craft brewery. Good stuff!
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4.0 out of 5 stars The Big Two control the beer business October 13, 2011
By CGScammell TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase
There is a lot that I already knew about the major breweries holding a monopoly of the beer that's sold across the country. Just talk to any experienced bartender, bar owner or liquor store manager and they will tell you pretty much the same thing this documentary did: Anheuser-Busch and Miller control who sells what beers and where they are displayed in stores. A-B and Miller control 70% of the beer market and the smaller and better craft brewers are struggling.

So to gain the other 30 percent of the market, marketers for A-B try to buy up the smaller brewers, such as Rolling Rock. As one brewer said, they buy up the smaller companies not so much for the beer, but for the brand recognition.

A few brands featured are Dogfish Beer and Yuengling, all eastern beers, but the story is pretty much the same across the country. When Congress allowed craft beers to be sold in the late 1980s, that is when A-B, Miller and Coors started paying attention to the growing microbrewers that were springing up across the country. The Big Three were all about cheap beer with cheap adjuncts (a fine word for fillers such as rice and corn) whereas the finer craftbeers are more about real beer made the old-fashioned way with pure ingredients. This documentary featured one segment where several beer drinkers would mention their favorite beers but then couldn't tell one brand apart from the other during a taste test. People drink the national brands not for taste but out of habit.

Although I could say that this documentary could go into more detail about the wars between the Big Two and the smaller brewers and less about the woman beer entrepeneur, the point is made.... Read more ›
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Tactless January 7, 2013
By Andrew
Format:Amazon Instant Video
After about the first hour of the documentary, I was a bit baffled by the reviews bashing the last half hour or so, but now I understand. If you want to make a multi-national macrobrewery look bad to the kind of beer snobs that would dig this film, it's not hard to do. All you have to do is interview several microbrewers and hear them talking about their passion for beer. Then, you interview a few macrobrew employees and listen to them talking about sales figures, advertising, basically anything but quality beer. Somehow, this film blows a solid hour charming (if disjointed) footage that gives some insight into some passionate people and why they do what they do by getting intolerably heavy handed at the end. I do have even more respect for Sam Calagione than I did before I started the film, so that's something, but the film ends feeling more like it attacks the macros for being successful than for producing lousy beer. It takes an easily made case, ignores it, and instead attacks successful people for having the audacity to be successful. Do yourself a favor; watch the film, and stop after an hour. It's probably a solid 4 stars then. Don't sully a perfectly good hour by watching the obnoxious last 1/3 of the film, a 0 star subtraction/addition.
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