The brewing and consumption of beer in America has a long, fascinating history. George Washington loved a good porter and even had his own beer recipe. Barack Obama this past week caused a stir by having a beer while attending a Bulls/Wizards game.
According to the Brewers Association, there are over 1,500 breweries currently in operation in the United States. Those breweries produced about 200,000,000 barrels in 2008, according to the same report. Vying for the wallets of the American beer drinker has become almost as important, if not more so, to these breweries than just competing for their taste-buds. Beer Wars the movie, is simply enough, the story of the business of beer in modern America. It's the story of all the little guys taking on the giants of American brewing and all their struggles to bring their beers to you.
On April 16th, Beer Wars Live will be shown in select theaters throughout the country where a panel of beer industry experts and independent brewers, along with director, producer, and writer of Beer Wars, Anat Baron and host Ben Stein (you might remember him from Ferris Bueller's Day Off) will be discussing this topic live after screening the film.
So can the beers of both David and Goliath coexist in America?
And what would George Washington have thought of Hop Stoopid by Lagunitas?
-Tommy Ortega
"May he be choaked with the grains, or drowned in hot ale whose business it is to brew mischief."
-Anonymous American Brewer, 1888
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- Thomas.Ortega's blog
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