A Pint Half Full

I was browsing around my Netflix streaming library and saw the movie "Beer Wars" available for streaming.  I thought perhaps this movie was like "Beerfest", a comedy about a beer olympic competition.  Far from it, "Beer Wars" is a documentary about the beer industry in America, attempting to explain why the "Big Three" beer companies dominate the market and how difficult it is for smaller breweries to gain marketshare and bring their products to the masses.  The documentary pretty much demonizes the Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors companies and makes you want to never buy or drink their products again.  It highlights Dogfish Head Brewing as an up and coming brewery trying to make its mark on the beer world and contrasts the passion of one man to the profit-scheming of corporations.   The director, Anat Baron, is pretty annoying as the narrator (see Michael Moore), admits that she is allergic to alcohol, and was the CEO of Mike's Hard Lemonade prior to making this movie (which knocked her credibility down a bit for me - that stuff is weak!).  However, it's a decent documentary, creating this David vs Goliath story and portraying the craft beer world with love and passion.  I did not like the extreme bias against and repeated hatred for the larger brewing companies (we get it!) and the following of one story line which seemed to contradict the agenda the movie was trying to promote.  Read on for more of my thoughts.

First, I just want to say that I still hold by my opinion that American light beers (Coors Light, Miller Lite, Bud Light et al.) are weak, flavorless, and are a detriment to the beer landscape.  They reduce the appreciation of better quality beers with richer flavors brewed with creativity.  Due to the mass production and cheap-ness of it however, it is impossible to escape these choices when out and sometimes they are your only choice.  Case in point - my friday night at BBQ Chicken and Beer (BBQ = Best of the Best Quality, really).

I've been talking alot about craft/micro brews lately and beers that aren't typically served in your restaurants and sold at 7-11s.   That doesn't mean I hate on/don't drink any of the macrobrews that are so common.  So this edition of Quick Brew Hits will list some of the beers I typically order when you can't get the small, local craft brews.  These are mainly lighter in flavor, lighter bodied, and pretty unassuming beers that are good when you're just hanging out with your friends and munching on pub grub (except for one of them). 

In this edition: Stella Artois, Yuengling Lager, Newcastle Brown Ale, Coors Light


Stella Artois - Not sure why, but Stella is becoming one of the beers I will usually get when at a typical American restaurant.  It is becoming more and more prevalent at the bars, probably because it is easily accessible, but a tier above the typical light beers.  It's got a thin sweetness, is refreshing, somewhat fizzy, and has this very slight metallic/skunky flavor (even on tap) to it which, oddly enough, balances out the sweetness.  Pretty much, it won't get in the way of anything.