Talking Head: Beer Wars is a tale of David vs. Goliath
March 25th, 2009 by Jeff Holland in Drink, Events
War documentaries are perhaps best made by outsiders who are able to show the nobility and suffering on both sides of the conflict. Anat Baron brings such neutrality to Beer Wars: Brewed in America, a documentary film that explores the goings-on behind the scenes of the world’s largest and smallest breweries as they struggle to win the minds and palates of America’s 115 million beer drinkers. Anat is allergic to alcohol, so she’s never tasted the beers that are at the center of the conflict.
“I think that [not drinking] has helped me in making the film because I don’t cast judgment over one or the other group,” Baron says. “I am certainly the last person to tell you what to drink or what not to drink, but beyond that, the actual war does exist in the business of beer, and that is more what the film is focused on; it is far less about the two different types of consumers, and whether Bud drinkers think beer geeks are elitist.”
Baron’s 90-minute film will air simultaneously in 440 theaters across the nation on April 16 and will be followed by a 30-minute live discussion with a panel of brewers and beer experts hosted by know-it-all pundit Ben Stein. The panel will be answering questions generated in advance from the live audience. “They have a digital network in the theaters that can accept satellite feed,” Baron says. “It’s just a really cool idea, I think, that all these people across America are going to be watching something happen simultaneously. I wanted to get people talking, and this seemed like a better way to do that than the traditional way of rolling out a few theaters at a time.”
The movie centers on two entrepreneurs who are producing two very different types of products in the malt beverage industry, but who nevertheless face the same daunting task of making a dent in a market that’s dominated by two companies that control 95 percent of the malt beverages sold in America. Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Delaware is the brash, straight-talking iconoclast, advocating for the use of exotic ingredients and innovative techniques to shake up traditional brewing. Rhonda Kallman, the co-founder with Jim Koch of Boston Beer Company, now heads her own company, New Century Brewing Company, that produces Edison, a light beer made for the mass market but intended as an alternative to the glut of uninspired light beers on the market. New Century also developed Moon Shot, the first beer with caffeine.
Baron’s interest in the beer industry came from her experience as General Manager of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, where she was exposed to the cut-throat business practices of the dominant breweries. Baron continued to follow the industry after leaving Mike’s, even as she returned to her previous career in the entertainment industry as an independent filmmaker. She was searching for a story idea when she was invited to the annual beer industry convention. She was able to secure permission to film the normally closed proceedings, and in the course of conducting interviews she heard talk of the decline of the mainstream beer industry and the relative success that innovative, independent breweries were having. She also met Kallman, whose energy and tenacity inspired her. After attending the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, where she met Calagione, she found her story: The classic tale of David vs. Goliath.
“I [don't] have anything against corporate America. I’m no Michael Moore; I have no ax to grind. [But] issues start to arise when a big company makes beer that looks and feels, and even tastes like a craft beer but they don’t put their name on it,” Baron says. “Is that capitalism? Is that ok? Is deception involved?”
“I try really hard not to cast dispersions, and I’m not trying to make the consumer feel stupid for not knowing about something or not caring about something. All I can do is raise awareness. And some people care, and some people couldn’t care less. It’s the same with politics or anything. A film like Supersize Me, which made you realize how bad McDonald’s food is for you, really didn’t hurt their sales, because the people who eat at McDonald are going to continue to eat there. As a documentary filmmaker, all you can do is help start a conversation.”
Baron says that she hopes the conversation will continue after patrons leave the theater. “I want people to go have a beer, if they are inspired to do that, and keep talking about the issues, because the film is entertaining and fun, but it also brings up some issues and hopefully it will make people think.”
Besides Calagione and Kallman, the live panel discussion will feature Stone Brewing Company’s Greg Koch, Beer Advocate founder Todd Alstrom, Brewers Association President Charlie Papazian, and beer author and historian Maureen Ogle.
The film’s grassroots promotional effort, led by Fathom Events which is putting on the event, seems to have paid off, as the film has already spawned numerous Facebook fan pages, and beer groups and homebrewing clubs are organizing events around screenings and renting busses to theaters to see the film. “People are really having fun with it,” says Baron, “I think that really speaks to the spirit of craft beer drinkers.”
In the Atlanta area, Beer Wars will be screened at Perimeter Pointe, North Point 8, and AMC theaters at Barrett Commons, Discover Mills, Stonecrest, and Southlake on April 16. To view the trailer and purchase tickets in advance, visit the movie’s website.
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