Craft Beer – A Hopumentary isn’t just a documentary showing the history of craft beer. It’s a look at the many different types of bars, pubs, and beer stores across the country, some of which you might not know exist. It shows the human side in addition to the business aspect of one of the fastest growing industries in America.
For most of the 20th century, beer was dominated by large-scale breweries like Anheuser-Busch, Miller and Coors. By the early 80’s, through industry consolidation there were little more than 100 breweries left in the US. The result was an entirely American style of beer, one that had been diluted, homogenized and mass produced. In this environment, American beer lovers seeking quality and variety began brewing their own with a few intrepid pioneers eventually going commercial. With this, a new movement in American brewing began, one of smaller producers focusing on quality over quantity. This is a story of Craft Beer.