Review of Beer Wars (2009) by Allison B — 23 May 2010
An excellent look at how the market domination of Budweiser/Miller/Coors has spawned an entire industry of microbreweries and craft breweries across the country.
The profile of "Dogfish Head" was enough to make me immediately go out and try their 90-minute IPA, while the corporate profile of Budweiser--which introduces supposedly "craft" beers into the market on labels identifying imaginary breweries, such as "Green Valley Brewing," just to take away shelf space from the quality microbreweries--was enough to make me vow never to drink another Bud (not that I enjoy it to begin with).
"Beer Wars" is a film that is as much about the beer industry as it is about the dangers of unchecked or mis-regulated capitalism. We want competition, but when a company can devour the competition before it starts, capitalism doesn't work. And when we have a three-tiered system that prevents new competitors from joining the market, capitalism is also compromised.
Great documentaries don't just tell a single story, though, and that's why "Beer Wars" is such a fine piece of work. We get the human side of the beer industry, the history, a glimpse into the future, and an argument about the flaws in the semi-capitalist structure of the industry. Good stuff.
This review of Beer Wars (2009) was written by Allison B on 23 May 2010.
Beer Wars has generally received mixed reviews.
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