And indeed, as expected there have been 2 kinds of reviews – love and hate. Luckily, for my emotional well-being, the positive reviews run at 75%. I’m happy with that. Especially when they come from film critics whose opinions I respect.

What I wasn’t prepared for were the personal attacks. Yes, I know that I set myself up for it. After all, I chose to put myself into the film. Frankly, I tried everything not to have to do that. But the film needed a narrator to tie it together and well, I didn’t think a celebrity voice over would do. How would I explain their connection to the film? So I tried to limit my on screen time and voice over so as not to take over the film but rather guide it along. And most people got it.

But this past week, I saw this comment on a blog “review” of the film: “her shrill nasal tones were totally inappropriate as the narrator. “ Really, he didn’t like my voice? Another reviewer thought I looked and talked like a schoolteacher. Must be the glasses. I made this movie to start a conversation about issues. Real issues. And some critics really get it: “Beer Wars is a pretty damning indictment of not just the beer industry but contemporary unfettered unregulated capitalism’s disturbing excesses.” Now you’re talking. So you can insult me all you want. But can we please focus on the issues? And how to fix them. Because much as I try, my voice is here to stay. And yes, I’m working on closed captioning…

Let me start by admitting that the film is not perfect. Most documentaries are flawed. When you start out without a script and are creating a narrative structure, things aren’t as seamless as in a film that has an inherent beginning, middle and end. I chose to make a mainstream film about a topic I’m passionate about. And like the independent brewers in the film, I’m an entrepreneur. The challenge of making a feature film that’s both entertaining and enlightening while providing an emotional connection for the audience is no easy task. I can’t apologize if the film wasn’t what you were expecting. Like a brewer, I realized my vision with the ingredients I had at hand. And it didn’t help that it was nearly impossible to get the brewers to speak honestly about the obstacles they face with the camera rolling. I understand why but it made my job as the director much tougher.

Let’s get to it. The top 5 recurring issues brought up by bloggers’ critiques of the film (some made by people who have not even seen it) are:

1. The filmmaker doesn’t drink craft beer (or beer at all) and doesn’t know anything because mike’s hard lemonade is not a beer. The filmmaker’s presence irritated me.
2. Rhonda (or the Moonshot lady) should have been cut out of the film. She is not a craft brewer and her beer is shit.
3. There should have been more breweries represented from [insert region here].
4. The film is dated. Everything is good now. Craft beer is growing so the distribution issues are moot.
5. It is preaching to the choir.

Let’s address these from my perspective.

1. I never hid the fact that I’m allergic to alcohol nor my background. So yes, I can’t drink and I’m not a member of the craft beer club (maybe that’s a positive since I’m objective about the beers themselves). And let’s not debate mike’s any longer. It is sold in the beer cooler and distributed by beer wholesalers. So I may not be an expert on how beer tastes but I do have the experience of running an entrepreneurial company in the beer industry. You may not like mike’s or what it stands for but that doesn’t diminish my understanding of the way the industry operates.

   I’m not sure how to address what some have portrayed as my “irritating presence.” I made a choice to tell the story from my point of view. The feedback from screenings was always that the film needed a narrator to tie it together and that my character worked fine.

2. On to Rhonda. I didn’t pick her because she’s a woman. Or because Moonshot is a “marketing gimmick” like mike’s. Or because she’s a craft brewer. Because she clearly is not. I chose Rhonda because she had a compelling story that was different than Sam’s. Following 2 craft brewers while interesting to the beer geeks would have made for 2 parallel stories at a time when craft beer’s trajectory is rising. Frankly — not that interesting. Especially in a feature film. Hopefully one of the myriad of TV series pilots about craft beer will make it to the airwaves and that’s where you’ll satiate that appetite.And I always knew that I’d get this reaction from the beer community. But in test screenings with umpteen mainstream audiences, her story is the one that got them feeling something. Some loved Rhonda and some hated her. But that is the test of a great character in a film – the ability to evoke emotion from an audience. And yes, I tried taking her out but without her, there was no movie. If Sam is the soul of Beer Wars, Rhonda is its heart. And if you pull yourself out of what you know and look at her as a character in a movie, I think you’ll agree that her story is powerful. She had it all. The Queen of beer. Chose to start over again. On her own this time. And despite the obstacles, she kept on going. You have to wonder why she chose to compete with mainstream beers when she could have jumped on the craft bandwagon. What drives this woman? Will she make it? Try to look at her story objectively (like others have) and maybe you’ll see that she has just as much in common with other independent brewers trying to realize their dreams. Maybe the reason that Moonshot doesn’t succeed is that it’s running counter to what consumers want. As to taste, I can’t comment but I never saw anyone spit it out. It may not be for you, but does that mean that anyone who doesn’t make a craft beer should fail? Isn’t the point that we should let consumers decide? And to do so, give them the choice?
3. I had 90 minutes to tell a story. There is no way to show even a fraction of all the amazing breweries in America. I had to make choices early on. I selected some of the better known breweries to highlight (Yuengling, Boston Beer, New Belgium and Stone) and Dogfish Head which in 2005 was still tiny and was just starting to get some heat. Sure, there are many others. I even filmed at breweries like Schlafly in St. Louis but ultimately everything had to fit into the bigger story. And so, yes, I made creative choices and I stand by them. The breweries I excluded (over 1400) were absent from the film because their story was either similar to others already represented or because they simply did not fit into the narrative structure. Again, hopefully a cable network will buy a TV show that showcases all these fabulous breweries. It was just impossible to introduce any more complexity into the structure of this film.
4. I’m really not sure how to address this. Ironically, this comment was out there before the film was even screened. Rather than repeating myself, I’d like to direct you to a comment Greg Koch made in response to a blog post about this very issue .And speaking of Greg, I must say something here about his integrity. Here’s a guy who knew that the film wasn’t specifically about him and yet he not only agreed to sit on the panel (even though he wasn’t the “Star”) but he graciously supported the film by encouraging people to see it. And all this before he ever saw one single frame. If I make a sequel, I’m making it about Greg.
5. I made the film to appeal to the widest possible audience. That’s why I chose to create (and pay for) a one night event to be simulcast to 440 theaters. I thought that being in mainstream theaters would bring out a wider audience. It’s why I got into business with Fathom Events and not independent art house theaters. I still don’t know how many people actually attended the event so let’s hold off on this discussion until I have all the facts. Suffice to say that I am sorry that many of you never got to see the film and/or panel because of technical issues at your theater. I’m trying to do my bit by giving you first dibs on the DVD at a reduced price.

Todd Alstrom was right when he said that the Internet makes everyone a critic. And while I welcome the strong opinions on the film, I really hope we can move on to discussing what really matters. As to film reviews, they were provided by the Los Angeles Times and CNN, with more to follow. And these mainstream media players seemed to get the film and the message.

So please, let’s continue the discussion but make it about consumer choice. The question before us is, do we accept the status quo of being at 5% or is there room to grow from there and reach more beer drinkers? I encourage you to think about Greg’s words as they echo the reason why I made this film in the first place.

And hopefully we can spread the conversation to a wider audience once I announce additional screenings and DVDs. Isn’t that the whole idea? To bring the issues out to a mainstream audience and get them to care about their beer choice and having access to it?

So let’s talk. Openly and honestly about the future and what it can be.