Beer Blast
The Inside Story of the Brewing Industry's Bizarre 
  Battles for Your Money
Philip Van Munching
ISBN: 0-8129-6391-1

[Zube (4/17/02)]

As someone whose consumption of beer is roughly two pints of Guinness Stout
per annum and who lives in the computer/video game world, it might seem 
surprising that Beer Blast is one of my favorite books.  Yet it is true.

Mr. Van Munching chronicles the history of beer in the US, focusing mostly
on the mid-70s onward (after the purchase of Miller Beer by Philip Morris).
It's a interesting story of money, avarice, power, advertising, government 
regulation and in many cases, breathtaking stupidity.  His insights, coupled 
with his crisp, if terse, style make for an enjoyable read.

Perhaps one of the reasons I like this book so much is that one can
draw parallels between the beer industry and the computer industry.
Anheuser-Busch has been the number one US beer producer since 1957 and
it hasn't been because everyone believes that AB makes the best beer
nor is it because management is top-notch.  No, it's because a very
large company with deep pockets can wait for others to innovate and
then swoop in when it decides it wants to dominate, using its money,
size and leverage as large clubs.  As Van Munching notes, AB did this
with lite beer:  Miller introduced it and it took off.  When the
segment became big enough to notice, AB eventually introduced Bud Light
and after many years and many millions of dollars in advertising, Bud
Light passed Miller Lite for the top spot.

Large companies can also kill off a product fairly easily.  Take, for
example, ice beer.  Ice beer is brewed at low temperatures.  Since water
freezes before alcohol, ice crystals form in the beer and are removed,
resulting in a stronger beer.  Unfortunately (according to Van Munching),
AB poisoned the category because their brewing process never actually 
removed the frozen crystals (they were allowed to melt back into the beer)
resulting in a product that wasn't terribly different from ordinary Bud.
Thus, the segment was written off as hype.  

Anyone want to guess who AB's parallel is in the computer industry?

Beer Blast also offers some good insights into marketing in general,
and at times, life itself (no, really).  The last bit of the book details
the eleven rules of beer marketing and people in all areas of business
would do well to heed them.  However, two of these rules:

* Don't be seduced by the other guy's market

and

* Don't lose the romance

are applicable to many areas of life.

Finally, if you get a chance to listen to the audio tape, do so.  Mr. Van
Munching speaks as well as he writes.  However, do keep in mind that
the audio version of the tape is *abridged*, regardless of what Amazon
states on their pages.  The abridgment is good, but it turns a fluid book 
(sorry) into a slightly choppier one;  the audio tape does not cover a
major brewer (Heileman), the terrible Schlitz downfall that occurred when 
it changed its ingredients and shortened its brewing time, the malt 
liquor industry, the wine cooler craze, Coors Zima and several other 
interesting bits.

I do wish there was an unabridged audio version and since the book ends
in the late 90s, it would be nice to have a couple of new chapters taking
the industry up to the present.  However, Beer Blast is a Grand Day In;
don't miss it.