Documentary examines the dichotomy of the beer industry, American dream

Gloucester Daily Times, By Alexandra Saville, Correspondent

Beer. Is it really possible to see the American Dream drenched in the amber, foamy alcohol that we have all come to enjoy? Anat Baron, former general manager of Mike's Hard Lemonade, explores this in her documentary, "Beer Wars."

The film, released nationally on DVD last week, delves deeper than what is ordered at a local bar or restaurant. "Beer Wars" looks at beer as an icon, a culture, a business, even as a symbol of the American Dream.

The beer industry is a multifaceted business that is more complicated than what is seen on the surface. For the small independent brewers, it is their perfected blend, their life's work, realized. A beer that is unique and individual is brewed with the sweat, blood, and tears, of independent, sprouting businesses. However, independent craft beer breweries, such as Boston Beer Co., Yuengling, and Dogfish Head, only make up a tiny percent of the industry's yearly income. About 78 percent of the annual revenue is brought in by beer's "Big Three" — Miller, Coors and Anheuser-Busch.

Taste tour around the country

But this was not the first beer documentary released in recent years. Jeremy Goldberg of Cape Ann Brewing Co. in Gloucester was featured in a full-length documentary released in 2004 titled "American Beer, a Bockumentary," produced by his childhood friend Paul Kermizian.

In 2002, he was among a group of five friends who traveled across the country, exploring the world of craft beer in the United States by stopping at 38 breweries in 40 days; two years later this road trip would become their documentary.

"We went from Maine to California, up to Seattle and down to New Orleans, and all the little places in between," said Goldberg.

This experience was a catalyst for Goldberg to enter the beer brewing industry.

He was working in a small finance firm in Manhattan on Sept, 11, 2001.

"I was one of those people you saw running from the collapsing buildings. We started leaving after the second plane hit," recalled Goldberg. He had planned to leave that job in December anyway, when he was invited by Kermizian to be part of the beer documentary.

"I was planning on moving, and since I was between jobs, he asked if I was interested," he said.

As a result of the documentary experience, Kermizian entered the beer business in Brooklyn and Goldberg started Cape Ann Brewing Co. in Gloucester.

The dichotomy of the beer war

The Baron documentary takes a different angle, looking at the competition between the big brewers and the small brewers.

The "war" is being fueled by television with the catalyst of consumerism. The "battle ground" is the liquor stores. There is a lot at stake for such a simple beverage choice; the industry has become a microcosm for everything capitalism, for all that works in America, and for everything that we as a nation should be simultaneously proud and ashamed of.

"Beer Wars" takes viewers on a trip complete with hops, barley and bars, as Baron interviews several owners of small microbreweries who divulge their work ethic and their thoughts on never being as recognizable as the "Big Three," despite putting in the tremendous effort required to start a company from scratch.

The story of Anheuser-Busch was once described as one of "classic American dedication," but can it still be considered that now? According to Baron's documentary, the formula for Anheuser-Busch's light lager has little room for improvement and their behemoth profit numbers can be directly tied to their equally large marketing expenses. The film begs the question: Has decades of repetitive marketing brainwashed America into thinking they want a light beer with less taste?

Can it still be considered "classic American dedication" when the story ends with the American company selling out to a Belgium beverage giant known as InBev?

During the documentary Baron tried to answer the "brainwashing" question by holding a taste test using Miller Lite, Coors Light and Bud Light. She asked some of "America's beer drinkers" to decide which of the "Big Three" they were drinking. Even staunch "Bud Light guys" or a "serious Coors gal" couldn't tell the difference between the three light beers. When asked "What makes you a Coors Light guy?" one consumer responded, "Habit."

"The Big Three have been selling 'sameness' for years," says Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head brewery in New Jersey, and one brewer of this "David and Goliath" story.

It's a strange dichotomy. Does the American Dream always default to the bottom line, or does pride in your product still count for something? The founder of Boston Beer Co. and Samuel Adams beer, Jim Koch, admits that it is an uphill battle.

"A company like Anheuser Busch is 100 times our size. They literally spill more beer off their packing line than I make in a year. My passionate life's work is their waste," Koch explains during the film.

No matter which side of the fence you stand on, one thing is for sure — the craft beer movement is growing and America is in the middle of a beer renaissance. In the midst of a poor economy, where the Big Three are experiencing sagging revenues, the craft beer segment is the only segment that is improving, according to the film.

At Cape Ann Brewing Co., Goldberg isn't concerned about the "Beer War," or the David vs. Goliath scenario. Theirs is a "story about the David." Of course, Goldberg understands that the Big Three offer the cheapest drink and the beer that most have grown up with. But he, and many craft brewers like him, are excited to put out a quality beer that will be supported by "people looking for authentic, local brews that give value to a dollar."

The 2004 documentary, "American Beer, a Bockumentary," is available at Cape Ann Brewing, or at sixhundred.com. "Beer Wars," is available at local retailers as well as online at beerwarsmovie.com.

Staff writers Gail McCarthy and Scott Pytlik contributed to this story.

Home Brewing Basics with T. J. Peckham of Cape Ann Brewery

Home brewing was actually outlawed at the end of prohibition. In 1979 President Carter, at the urging of his brother Billy, changed the law to allow legal home brewing. Homebrewers often become craft brewers, making beer for a living.

Charlie Papazian wrote the "bible" of home brewing - "The Joy of Homebrewing". He founded the AHA (American Homebrewing Association). They have a magazine and their web site is www.beertown.org.

Ingredients:
Water
Grains (malted barley and adjuncts)
Hops
Yeast

Equipment:
5-7 Gallon Stainless Steel Pot
Thermometer
5 gallon glass Carboy fermenter
Bottle capper and caps
Air lock
Kitchen scale
Bottle filler with tubing and siphon hose
Hydrometer
Thermometer
Mesh strainers
Rubber stops
Large spoons
Large funnel
Bottle brush for cleaning bottles
Wort chiller
48 beer bottles

Basic Home Brew Beer Recipe

This is an American-Style Microbrewed Pale Ale that is easy to make and easy to drink. It provides an excellent introduction to the art of brewing for the first time brewer.

Before beginning to brew this recipe, you'll need to make sure you have all the required equipment and ingredients. See Basic Brewing Equipment for a list.

Ingredients:

1 can (3.75 lbs) Coopers "Bitter" Brewing Kit
2 lbs of gold or light dry malt extract
1 oz Cascade hops (pellets)

Instructions:

Bring one gallon of water to a boil in an uncovered pan large enough to hold 1.5 to 2 gallons.

While heating the water:

Remove the plastic lid and yeast packet from the top of the Cooperâs extract can. Put the can in a container of very hot tap water so that the thick paste inside will soften.

Clean and sanitize your "brew day" equipment according to the directions found in Sanitation.

When the water has come to a boil:

Open the can of extract from the bottom, pour the contents into the pan with the water. (Scrape out with a spatula, rinse with a small amount of hot water.) Stir until dissolved. Add the dry malt extract. Stir until dissolved. When this comes back to a boil, add the hop pellets and boil for 5 more minutes.

During the boil, empty the sanitizing solution from fermenter. Then fill the fermenter about one-half to two-thirds full (approximately 3 gallons) with cold tap water.

At the end of the boil time, turn off the fire under the kettle. The strong, unfermented beer now contained in the pot is called "wort." (Pronounced "wirt.")

Carefully pour this wort into the fermenter containing the cold water. If your fermenter is marked in gallons, add additional cold water, if needed, to bring to total volume to 5 gallons.

Put the clean, sanitized floating thermometer into the fermenter so that you can check the temperature periodically. Set the lid for the fermentation bucket loosely on top while the wort is cooling.

Adapted from All About Beer Magazine

Quick facts about the beer industry

• Eighty percent of the beer made in the United States is now controlled by two companies, one based in Belgium and one in South Africa.
• The top American owned brewer is Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams).
• Anheuser-Busch took 40 years to get to 50% of the beer industry from 12%.
• Bud, Miller and Coors' beers are made using rice or corn as adjuncts to the original ingredients (water, yeast, malt and hops).
• On average, every American now lives within 10 miles of a brewery.
• Beer is the second most popular beverage in the world, coming in behind tea.
• Beer is sometimes referred to as "liquid bread" because brewer's yeast is a rich source of nutrients. Beer can contain magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, biotin and B vitamins.
• The freshest beer is found at your local brewery.
• Beer is one of the most regulated industries in America with over 37,000 beer laws.
• The United States is the only country in the world with a three tier system for alcohol distribution.
• It is illegal for brewers to sell beer online.
• Beer is sold in over 531,000 retail establishments.
• Directly and indirectly, the beer industry employs approximately 1.7 million Americans, paying them almost $55 billion in wages and benefits.
• In 2006, the beer industry recorded 2.2% growth, hitting an all-time record of over 210 million barrels of beer.

Source: beerwarsmovie.com

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