Customer Reviews

Beer Wars

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An interesting documentary on the beer industry. There is a reason why the big brew companies are big. From political clout in the form of huge donations to politicians to frivilious law suits against small brewers that are becoming successful and may become a threat. I found it startling the control that the 3 largest brewers (Anhheiser Busch, Coors and Miller) have over the markets. If you are happy with the thought of Horse drawn beer wagons or beer made from fresh mountain streams, don't watch this documentary. It will tarnish your views forever. Cheers

This movie was okay; that's about it.

It kind of played like one of my undergrad papers would have read. I felt like there was a lot of good content and argumentation that could have led us in any number of directions. The conclusion, however, felt rushed and thrown together to meet time or spaced deadlines. What I'm saying is that it felt like starting out the night with a porter and ending with a big branded lite beer.

There was some guilt by association, but nothing to show (really) what sort of legislation was being guided by the PAC money being spent. In addition, this was a clear smear against AB, who was ultimately purchased by InBev (and mentioned as such in the film - which made the attacks against AB throughout the film seem ultimately silly). There wasn't a coherent line of argument that showed that a bias exists because certain groups exist to push out the small guys.

Yet, this is the point that was being made. Baron is trying to convince us that greedy corporations are pushing out the mom and pops for the sake of share holder satisfaction.

Nothing really new here, but the argument could have been more convincing with better investigations.

I would have liked to have seen more about the craft breweries - what are they dealing with and / or going through to produce their product and stay competitive. While I hold to my AB smear theory, I think this is also a clear advert for Dogfish Head (not that this is a bad thing - I LOVE their beers); Sam (the founder) has more face time than even Anat Baron. Too, there was a lot of East Coast representation (again; not a bad thing - I live in Philly and travel a lot in New England for work - this is what I usually drink; I would have liked to have heard more about some of the Left Coast's stories. There were some other brewers who got their 3 minutes of fame, but it seemed like Baron spent all of her time in Delaware with Sam Calagione.

Altogether, an interesting watch because of the features on Dogfish Head and Sam Adams but nothing that really gets me going (like Who Killed the Electric Car did...)

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. Distributors are controlled by A-B and Miller so if the regional distributor doesn't want to carry the smaller craft beers, they can shut out the smaller brewers out quite easily.

I discovered craft beers over ten years ago when I lived in New Jersey and can never go back to the national brands. The only time I buy Bud Lite is when I need a cheap fly attractant. Bud Lite has so much added sugars in its mixture that flies are attracted to the beer, crawl inside the bottle or can, and drown. You won't see as many flies be attracted to a high-quality craft beer as often.

So, enjoy this 90-minute documentary. Open your mind to real beer. Once you taste a real beer, it's hard to go back to that stale Bud. You truly are what you drink.

A great film if you're at all interested in beer and it's history in the US. If you like craft beers, it's a must see to appreciate the work that goes into you getting those Dogfish, Sam Adams, and hundreds of smaller brewery beers.

I saw Beer Wars at one of the many premieres across the U.S. with the live discussion at the end. It was quite the eye opener--and I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the beer industry too.
If you like good beer and root for the local and little guy, this will probably make you mad. That has been a common reaction from the people I know that's seen it. That ranges from serious beer drinkers to just someone that will drink what's in front of them.
I think it details the gist of the industry pretty well. If you're an insider, maybe not, but for the average person, there's a lot to offer. I guess if you're a big three lover, you might get defensive, but it's an accurate account of the beer industry for the length it is.
If anyone calls themselves a beer lover, this is a must.

I purchased this DVD for my fiance who is a lover of beer. I never seen a man so moved by a documentary that focuses on the elixir of the Gods. I have no interest in beer but it was rather fascinating. I didn't know the background story of how beer is sold and the politics that surround the distribution of smaller, independant beer manufacturers. If any man in your life is a true beer connuisseur, then he should not be without this DVD.

Let's think carefully about the premise of this documentary: a woman who admittedly bailed out of corporate America because she didn't like the politics and competition decides to make a documentary about one of the most political and competitive industries in the world. Furthermore, she chooses an industry based on recreational alcohol consumption when she claims to be allergic to alcohol and personally avoids alcoholic beverages. Finally, she made a film about the American beer industry, especially the fine art of microbrews and craft brews, when she considers Mike's Hard Lemonade "beer".

What exactly should we expect from a documentary on the beer industry made by this particular filmmaker? Not much. Happily, we get a little bit more than that from Beer Wars, but you have to look carefully for actual substance.

The film's quirky approach gets in its own way as Anat Baron, the narrator and filmmaker, tries hard to make us feel sorry for some small time brewers, especially Dogfish Head and Moonshot. It's hard to feel sorry for Dogfish Head: they started from nothing in 1995 and did $28M in revenue last year. It's easy to admire Dogfish and root for them as a good brand with a solid product, but I don't feel sorry for them. Moonshot, on the other hand, was portrayed in a depressing light and it became painful to watch the owner, Rhonda, trying to raise money for her brand when she apparently has no sustainable competitive advantage. The film spends too much time with too few of the brewers; Anat clearly spoke with many other fascinating breweries and it would have been nice to get to know more of them. I'm wondering how much of a hand Sam Calagione of Dogfish had in financing this documentary.

One of the most interesting aspects of Beer Wars was the light it sheds on the lobbying and litigation practices of the big players in the beer industry. It explains the impact of the three-tier alcohol distribution system and how this federally-enforced distribution system is a barrier to entry for small brewers. The structure of the beer industry is very interesting and the documentary manages to explain some aspects of it rather well.

Conclusively, Beer Wars beats the same, tired, drum that big bad corporations play hardball with the little guys and *gasp!* are ultimately interested in making a profit for their shareholders. The documentary all but demonizes Anheuser-Busch and is only slightly more kind to Miller and Coors.

In the end, you'll feel motivated to branch out and pay a little more for some craft brews. Beer Wars would like you to drink microbrews out of hatred for Anheuser-Busch/InBev and Miller-Coors. Beer lovers, on the other hand, would probably prefer that you discriminate based on taste, craftsmanship, and the simple joy of a darn good beer.

I consider myself a beer geek - I have a built-in kegerator at home with a two-tap faucet and only serve craft beers. When I heard about this movie I bought it immediately hoping that it would give me some behind the scenes looks at some of the small guys with some information on regulation and the changing taste preferences for craft beers.

I loved the first hour (of 90 min total) of this movie. It gave some great background on Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head, and of the startup brewery Moonshot Beer (which I had never heard of despite in its city of origin). During this time of the movie it really builds upon some of the hard-working entrepreneurial spirit of some of the small beer founders and shows some of the challenges of the industry. There are a few moments when Anit states facts that have you raising eyebrows but for the most part it makes you want to never buy Budweiser, Miller, or Coors products again (78% of the market).
...then it turned into a Michael Moore movie.

The last third of this movie was horrible, and undid all the anti-Budweiser sentiment the first part of the movie established. By the end we were rolling our eyes and chalking the industry up to good ol' fashion capitalism. Sure, the legislation behind the 3-tier system (Brewers, Distributors, Stores) needs some reform but who can blame Budweiser for looking out for their own profits?

Takeaways:
1) Previously I thought Dogfish Head as a great brewery but thought Sam Calagione was a reincarnation of Bill & Ted. I now have absolutely nothing but respect for him and his passion. I'm certainly going to go out of my way to support DFH when I can and he's always welcome at my bar.
2) Moonshot is bound to fail. With 16 well-written reviews on [...] it has an "F" rating - the first of its type that I've ever seen on the site in my 6+ years as a member. ([...])
3) The three-tier system needs reform but the public will need to get involved to make such reform happen as only the Big Three brewers (now two) have the resources to afford lobbyists in their favor. (I'll just continue to vote with my dollars.)

Overall, I wouldn't pay $20 to see this again. NetFlix it or borrow it from a friend. While I love supporting the craft beer industry this movie fell short on delivering. If you're looking for a good beer movie, check out Modern Marvel's "Brewing" (available on Amazon)History -- Modern Marvels Brewing.

Cheers!

Not a bad effort but it was real clear this film had a real agenda and wasn't gonna give even a small break to the big 3. I drink all types of beer from the small time brew houses to A&B/Miller products as well. And while some of the small crafted beers are DARN good and well worth the price there are many times when these beers are a sham and do not really warrant the seven to twelve dollar a six pack price and are trading on the idea of being a micro brew,and a Macro Brew in this case is a better value and a better beer. She never once gave the flip side of the coin.

I would say this film is worth watching but you have to sift thru her agenda to get to the real truth.