Philip Van Munching

Uneven writing is the ultimate downfall of why this book isn't better. Van Munching does his best work when discussing the pillars of the beer industry, the former titans and the upstarts, Budweiser, Miller, Pabst, Boston Beer and so on. It falls apart when his gaze turns inward. The author was a part of the family owned distribution network that handled Heineken in the states. Its especially funny and pointed when the book focuses on the outrageous ways that the brewing industry has marketed itself to the American people in the last 20-30 years - a ramble down memory lane of marketing dollars that will boggle the mind. For me the weak parts of the book are when Van Munching turns the narrative into a memoir of his years in the business, and always tends to revert back to a Heineken central approach. Small nit - the author refers to Heineken as "we" on multiple occasions- and the Van Munchings simply serve as the vehicle for Heineken to enter the US - and has little to do with marketing or brewing. Would probably be a decent marketing textbook for business students.… (meer)