Beer Wars has changed how I view the beer industry on a fundamental level. As someone who has designs on entering the brewing industry, I can say this movie has made me take a step back and take pause to consider what it is I really want to do. Sammy and I honestly say that we have learned so much from this movie. There’s a lot to talk about so I’ll just dive into it.,
The movie theater I watched the movie in is my local movie house. It’s very close where I live which made it the ideal choice. I don’t live in a beer enlightened community so I fully expected to have the theater to myself so I was surprised when Sammy and I walked in and saw two other people. About 20 minutes into the movie, one person left and we ended up with just 3 of us. I had a brief look at the lady and it looked like she had no idea what the movie was about. She was probably just in there waiting for her grandkids to leave another movie.
While some people may believe that his movie was “David vs. Goliath”, an A-B vs. craft brewers. I happen to think it was more of an A-B vs. small brewers. I say this because of who the film maker decided to include in the movie: Dogfish Head Brewing and Moonshot/Epic brewing.
Sam Calagione, and Dogfish Head by extension, makes for a great craft beer ambassador. He is charismatic, sharp as a tack and his company also happens to embody a lot of the values of the craft beer industry. I loved the footage of Sam working the crowds, operating at ground zero, trying to market and sell his product. I love how he’s still driving around his beat-up, red pick-up truck. If you’ve ever met Sam and watched him work a room, it’s easy to see why he was included in this movie.
Rhonda, of Moonshot Beer/Edison Beer, showed a very different side of the small brewer side of the Beer Wars equation. As someone who doesn’t brew, she comes from the business side of the brewing industry. Her focus is on marketing and growing the brand and entrepreneurship. As an entrepreneur, you have to survey the landscape, find a hole, and fill it. That’s what she’s done, or is trying to do. It’s world’s apart from Sam, and the majority of the sentiment of the movie’s audience, but as a small brewer she’s still facing the same sort of challenges that Sam does.
That being said, I will never buy her product because the values she advocates and the way she markets her product (Moonshot in particular) is against what I believe good beer is. I commend her entrepreneurial spirit and all, just not her product offerings. I will admit to sympathizing with her ordeal. She’s a one-woman crew hitting the pavement and trying to win customers one person at a time and you can see the toll it’s taking on her family. Any small business owner will instantly sympathize with her. Still, if I wanted caffinated beer, I’ll just brew up an espresso porter.
While no one has actually said this to me in my comments or via email, I would not fault someone for labeling me a Budweiser apologist. In the past, I have often excused A-B’s decision to brew the way they do by chalking it up to good old fashioned American capitalism. I have said that they have the resources and the talent to make exceptional beer but choose not to because it’s not as profitable as the light lagers they do currently make. This a sentiment that was even echoed by Greg Koch of Stone Brewing and I felt somewhat relieved that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
My views on Budweiser have changed. Some people call them the “evil empire” in jest but I think they truly believe that and I think I do as well. When I hear breweries like Stone or Dogfish who are experiencing phenomenal rates of growth, I can’t help but wonder if they’ll end up turning into what they’ve been fighting all this time. I still have hope that they’ll remain true to their core values. Unlike A-B who want to continue growing to satisfy their shareholders, companies like Dogfish and Stone continue to grow not because they’re actively pushing for growth but because consumer demand warrants it. Therein lies the difference; organic growth versus artifical growth. There’s nothing artificial about A-B’s 50% marketshare but they hold themselves accountable only to the bottom line instead of what the consumers are asking for.
The really scary thing about A-B is that if they really wanted to, they could obliterate the entire craft beer market. As Sam points out, A-B doesn’t even have to make a good craft ale. If they make a pumpkin beer that is cheaper than his, guess what Joe Sixpack is going to buy. If the A-B pumpkin ale sucks ass, do you think Joe Sixpack is going to go out of his way to pick up another pumpkin ale? There goes that segment. Rhonda faces the same issue with her caffine beer. I can’t imagine how Sam sleeps at night when I think about what he’s up against.
Ungh. I won’t even get started with the three-tier system of beer distribution. That’s as broke a system as I’ve ever seen and there’s little chance it will change simply because too many people are making too much money off the status quo. It’s not unlike the oil industry or the car industry.
Fucking lobbyists. I understand the need for “representation” in our government but what lobbyists are getting away with is unethical and should be illegal. It seems like the only thing they’re protecting is their own interests. Speaking of which…
Neo-Prohibition is a threat that I think Beer Wars seems to gloss over. I definitely think the film maker didn’t cover this concern in any great detail at all. In fact, she presents neo-Prohibition as some sort of “Phantom Menace” that was created by beer industry lobbyists to which they can position themselves against.
As good as I thought this movie was, I do have some gripes about it. The official Beer Wars Movie website markets this movie as an “event” versus a movie. They justify the much higher ticket price by saying the live panel segment at the end of the film warrants this event status instead of a movie. I get it. I work in marketing and I get your positioning. That being said, I believe the west coast was screwed by being forced to watch a tape delayed showing of the film. It’s not an event for us more than it is a rebroadcast. This definitely downgrades the experience from event to documentary. By the time the movie is over for us, the afterparty is over for the rest of the country who saw it live. That’s just bullshit. I’m not trying to come off as cheap because I paid what was asked of me and I would gladly do it again. I just wish the promoters held up their end of the contract.
My other gripes are just nitpicks. The movie had a very “homebrewed” feel and even though tonight was the official movie launch, it already felt dated. Like I said, just nitpicks. Oh, and the focus seemed to be a bit off as well.
Overall, I thought this was a good movie about the beer industry. I don’t particularly think A-B was presented in a positive light but I don’t think they care really. I would highly recommend this movie to other beer lovers or people who are interested in the business of business. At the end of the credits, that’s what this movie is about anyway. You could’ve swapped Starbucks for A-B and two neighborhood cafes for Dogfish Head and Moonshot and still have gotten the same film.
One more thing before I go. I spend a great deal of time on this blog talking about real beer and good beers, blah, blah, blah. I won’t repeat myself. But if there’s one thing I will take away from the movie and evangelize to my readers, it is this: vote with your wallets. Resist corporate beer, rise against. It’s not enough to talk or write about craft beers. You must make your voice heard through your pocket books. The only way our favorite craft ales will be around is if we go out and buy them. If we can’t find them, request them. A paying customer is a customer who is listened to.
Related posts:
- Beer Wars Movie playing tomorrow Outside of a combination post I wrote a few weeks...
I enjoyed the movie as well but did leave slightly disappointed. I would have been interested to here some perspective and stories from other brewers besides the two that were prominently featured. Also, the history was very brief and disjointed. I think a little more background could have tied it all together for people not familiar with the craft beer scene.
Moonshot’s story was pretty compelling. I am fascinated that someone that was in the industry at such a high level would be struggling so much to re-gain entry.
As for Dogfish, I totally agree that Sam is a perfect fit to be the ambassador for Craft Beer. Interestingly they are good marketers just like AB. Oh, and they have the beer and the passion to back it up.
It definitely did not paint AB in a positive light, and I am not saying it should. However, I think you have to have AB to have a Craft Beer Movement. Without it there would be no void to fill, no one to educate, no grass roots, and less boot-strapping entrepreneurial spirit. That’s what makes Craft Brewers and Craft Beer exciting. Their excitement is highly contagious and that’s the feel I was hoping the movie would have and maybe that’s why I left a little underwhelmed. Then again, maybe I am just nitpickin’ too.
I liked the way the movie showed Sam, clearly a businessman, but true to his home brewing roots, happily pursuing his passion, while Rhonda on the other hand, seems to be losing her soul and her family trying to come up with the next big thing. I’ve never had Moonshot, which seems to be some sort of craft brew/energy drink -hybrid. You don’t go to venture capitalists unless you talking about creating 100+ million dollar company, not some niche, but slightly profitable, craft brewing company.
Did you see the slightly disturbing scene where her kids are screaming for her not to go out again? After trying to seduce the devil (Anheuser-Busch) and failing, she says to the camera “My kids tell me to keep going for it, that you’re not a quitter.” I’m not buying it. Even after the movie, in response to Ben Stein question about why she thinks she’s going to be bigger than all the other craft breweries, she blankly stares into the camera and responds with some bland marketing speak. I hope she finds her way.
What I found frustrating is that we hear all about the evils of the three-tiered system, and a lot of recyled cliche’s about big business stomping on the little guy, but never do we get an alternative that would give craft beer a level playing field. What would be a fair distribution system? There’s no answer. A three-tiered system openent labelled as a neo-abolishionist denys being one, saying he drinks beer. So what does he stand for? The movie never bothers to say.
Interesting enough, I can go to my local liquor store, and find craft brew from the East Coast, and when travelling on the East Coast, I can find plenty of West Coast beers. Some how, this evil oppressive unfair system is being cracked. How is that happening? You won’t find out from this movie.
But I enjoyed this film, and I rate a film by how much I’m talking about it afterwards. My wine-loving girlfriend and I talked about it all the way home, so on that level, I think they did a pretty good job.
Thanks for the recap Pete. I didn’t go to the movie because I feared what you complained about. I’ll see it when it hits DVD.
As for “Evil Empire” topics, I think it’s hard to not fall into that once you’ve reached a certain size. Without naming names (and don’t read into my choice of adjectives) I’ve found that brewers are aware that part of their growth as a brewery is also an embrace of corporatism. You start doing the multi-state distribution dance and you have to pay attention to the bottom line because it’s not just a few thousand dollars on the line, mistakes can cost people millions.
Is this so bad? Quality control seems to follow, as does wider availability of our favorite brews.
One scarier option, to me anyways, is a sort of arrogance (there’s that adjective you shouldn’t read into) that some breweries operate with where they seem to not care about the consumer. Yes, they brew great beer. Yes, they bring us what we want. But do we have to be treated like beggars in order to get it? I’ve seen this attitude from more than one brewery and it’s employees and as their sales increase, it only gets worse.
So which is worse, the grungy homebrewer that’s cleaned up, wears a suit and carries a blackberry or the same guy that openly shows his disdain for the beer geek because he knows he posses the fix we need and there’s nothing we can do about it?
I actually enjoyed the movie. I did kind of cringe when they were interviewing people from my hometown of Fairfield…..they made us look like idiots and nobody knew of Blue Frog Brewery, which is right next door to the mall!
I did feel screwed over being on the west coast, I got home and looked through the past 3 hours of after party tweets dying out so I drank alone in the dark. OK I played xbox with my wife, but still!
I was amazed at how much I learned from the movie. As someone who wants to open a brewery one day, my wife turned to me after the movie and asked how I could still want to after knowing all of that about the brewing industry.
As was said earlier… “vote with your wallet”. I have experience at the retail side of the gravy train and much of what was said in the movie is true. Shelf placement and space is a big deal.