Burt Reynolds in ‘Smokey and The Bandit’ / Alamy
Beer is often treated as comic relief in popular culture. On the silver screen, it’s the stuff of frat parties and roadhouse indulgence. Burps, chugs and buffoonery seem to sneak into scrips where lagers and ales are part of the scenery. Dig into some movies, however, and you’ll see that beer can play an important role in developing plotlines and relationships and be emblematic of the grit that keeps hard-working characters moving forward.
In recent years, several documentaries about the beer industry were released, including Beer Wars, The Beer Jesus from America, Brewmaster and Crafting a Nation. These often focus on the struggle of small breweries in a global billion-dollar industry, chasing dreams or highlighting the bombastic personalities that exist in the craft beer space.
Independent films like Beerituality showcase how beer is a religion for some.
