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8 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Caution...You may reevaluate the beer you drink. Dec 16, 2009
By D. Gajewski
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
4 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Could've been a lot better Mar 28, 2010
By Gene Twilley
"GTwilley"
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...)
Drink Crafty Feb 19, 2012
By Jim M. Van Cise
"My Pen is Huge"
"You don't hear much about guys who took their shot and missed." -Matt Damon from the movie Rounders. I liked this movie as I've been trying as many different beers as possible for a few years now. The recent 6 hour Ken Burns documentary on Prohibition was interesting yet I couldn't stay awake during it. For the first hour of this movie, I enjoyed the personalities like Sam from Dogfish and Jim Koch from Sam Adams. This reviewer will never have much to say about politics but I did do homework on whatever became of Rhonda and her Moonshot beer. In 2009, the FDA took a strong interest in alcoholic beverages with caffeine in them. Rhonda never stood a chance. In short, they banned it but gave her no guidelines on what is an acceptable level of caffeine. But we still can drink Red Bull and Vodka can't we? Some believe that caffeine distorts your judgment on how sober you are. The movie is a great look at how powerful marketing is to people who habitually have brand loyalty. I didn't like any craft beer I tried initially. Using Stouts and Pale Ales as two extreme examples, you'd never know what malty or hoppy is if you only drank Miller, Coors and Bud. Still, the common beers from the big 3 (now the big 2 after Miller merged with Coors) do have a place in the workplace. These weaker beers are more suited to someone who is working, getting their hands dirty etc. Anything above 6% is more of a recreational, stay at home product.
The Big Two control the beer business Oct 14, 2011
By CGScammell
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.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Eye opening look at what's on our grocery shelves! Feb 24, 2011
By Alexa Uhrig
"thrifty college student"
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.
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