American Beer (2004) User Reviews

Could it BE?? Entertaining AND Educational?? You bet!

[johnryeh · 8/10 · 15 April 2010]

I showed this film to 60 people in a small gallery in Laurel, MD, just outside of DC. We had a blast!! Not only did we show the movie, but we served as many of the beers featured in the movie as we could find. This was a fun, entertaining documentary that not only entertained us as a travelogue of the United States, but educated us about the small independent brewers in America.

This film gave us unique American stories about the culture surrounding local beers and the independent brewers throughout this land. Big time corporate America might not have as much fun with this film, but it shows us just how much we should try and look for the under- recognized brands. There is talent and ability all throughout the United States and this film showed us the quintessential American story. If you love doing something, and you get creative with it, then you and the world will be better for it.

Interesting documentary, though more a piece of history considering age

[chanvat · 8/10 · 25 January 2015]

I'll begin by saying that this documentary was filmed in 2002, and released in 2004. At the time there were something like 1,000 breweries and they toured 38. I have 38 breweries in a 30 mile radius from me now. In fact, I saw a documentary made in 2007 that toured nearly as many breweries in North Carolina alone. That being said, this is more a historical document than anything else, though from a cursory search of breweries they traveled to, ALL seem to be still open today. Many that they toured are still the landmark craft breweries in the USA today, such as Allagash, Brooklyn Brewery, Dogfishhead, New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, Anchor, and others.

A lot of the information in the film itself is what I now take for granted to be basic information about beer, seemingly spoon-fed to an audience that probably knew little about beer besides Budweiser and Coors at the time. However, I was impressed about the information provided in the deleted scenes, and many were in-depth interviews with brewery owners, and a few provided hints as to odd fermentation styles that those breweries did. I still am curious about "open fermentation" as a homebrewer.

Though the information is a bit dated, I have to give the filmmakers a hand for decent production values on an admittedly shoe string budget. Fully deserving an 8/10 for its ambitious premise and providing me a bit of information I did not already know, oh and a historical document of the growing American craft brewery revolution.

I liked it

[DaBishop2 · 10/10 · 5 April 2004]

Once every few years a film comes along that makes you stand up and say "I wanna beer". Barfly, Leaving Las Vegas, Affliction and in 2004 that film is American Beer. Okay, maybe those other films were poor examples but rest assured it's still a good. Four men go on search of the meaning of life through craft beer in America. I know it says five men, but don't believe the hype. Just watching the movie I felt drunk. On the serious tip, the soundtrack is great and the movie is extremely informative. While the plot revolves around the journey the three young people and their two companions are on, the real star of the film is the beer. A good watch for those who love beer, want to know more about beer, or just like watching guys get drunk.

Great Beer, Fun, and the pioneering American Spirit!

[BA-Loki · 30 September 2004]

This movie is half roadtrip, half education hilarious jaunt through 38 of America's craft breweries with five friends on a mission. That mission is to learn about beer, the craft brewing industry, and what makes it tick. Along the way the are educated and of course run into several mishaps.

The film is a true testament to the American Craft brewing industry and the struggles that all the brewers and breweries go up against trying to educate the public and fight corporate America for their piece of the pie.

Fantastic flick. Can't wait to see it again and own the DVD!

The anti-Budweiser movie

[info-2379 · 10/10 · 28 April 2004]

A movie that seems to be about beer, but is really more about America and 38 of its small, independent brewers who are living out the American dream and struggling to survive (as one of them puts it) against a country gone corporate. Put down your Bud and start drinking local, people. Wake up! The only thing wrong was that I saw it in a theater and it just made me want to drink. The movie follows 5 guys who travel from brewery to brewery in a 40 day binge of good drinking and good living. The highlights were definitely the smallest guys - McNeill's brewery in Vermont, Climax Brewing in New Jersey, Hale's in Seattle, but it was nice to see some of the old guard of craft beer - Fritz Maytag of Anchor, also Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn, Yuengling. Needless to say, I rushed out to a bar immediately and downed a cold one. Cheers to good beer.

A Budweiser of a movie

[dogglebe · 3/10 · 23 April 2004]

Watching a movie about four guys visiting microbreweries and drinking and like being the designated driver on a pubcrawl. After ten minutes, you're dying for a beer, yourself. There's simply no point to it and you get nothing out of it. The four beer travellers/drinkers do nothing to movie this movie along. If anything, they slowed it down. You can easily leave half this movie on the cutting room floor and nobody would know the difference. It seems like a student film, or a home movie that was never edited. If you want to learn something about beer, there are plenty of books on Amazon.com to read. If you want to be entertained, your spit out of luck.

The Best Beer Movie Ever

[WildHockey · 10/10 · 8 May 2006]

If you like REAL Beer, not mass produced garbage called Miller, Coors and Bud, than this is your movie. I bought this DVD because I love craft and micro brewed beer and was not disappointed. I also learned a lot about brewing beer that has always been a mystery for me. Getting to see and hear the stories of guys who just left there normal everyday jobs to invest and start a brewery and then on top of it be successful is very interesting to say the least. I Wish there were more movies like this. The guys who made this movie were all average joe's and were not acting just for the camera, so it made it much more appealing and involving for me as I watched it. They toured 38 breweries only, so I am hoping that a sequel would be in order because there are about 1000 more in the US that I would love to see.