Anat Baron’s “Beer Wars” is finally available to stream on Netflix.
“Beer Wars” attempts to give the general consumer an insider’s look into the politics and pitfalls of the beer industry. With a couple of case studies, the most interesting being Sam Calagione and Dogfish Head, Baron shows the sysophisian struggle of the passionate craft brew industry against the monolithic big 3.
While not always successful “Beer Wars” does manage to illustrate many of the economic sleeper holds multi-national corporations have on America’s present interpretation of capitalism using the craft beer underdogs to help define and defend the more satisfying role in this battle of good versus evil. The film is at it’s best while exploring the passionate craft beer enthusiasts drafting them as the high-minded Robespierre’s pursuing great beer as both the finest weapon and the ultimate prize of this heated and holy war.
Baron has taken some annoyingly unsurprising criticism from beer geeks posturing as arm chair film critics, though typically these critics can’t seem to get beyond editorializing on the beer and brewers as people and recipes and miss the forest for the ultimately, in the context of what the film is exploring, not-very-important trees. In that way, “Beer Wars” works also as a successful mirror for craft beer enthusiasts to stare at themselves, smug and contemptuous, for a little while longer.