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Written & narrated by Philip Van Munching - Abridged Nonfiction - CASSETTES

Publisher, Audio Book Club (July 1999)

2000 Audie Award Winner for 'Best Business Information' Audiobook, presented by the Audio Publishers Association for excellence in Spoken Audio publishing.

The Inside Story of the Brewing Industry's Bizarre Battles for Your Money. A third-generation beer exec Philip Van Munching has quit the biz, but he takes a look back and delivers an inside account of the great beer wars of the past few decades. From the disaster of the first lite beer (Gablinger's, which tasted "god-awful ... so metallic it would set your teeth on edge"), to the later marketing triumphs (and occasional embarrassments) that mark today's brewing industry, Van Munching tells the story with great detail and mostly good humor. How the brewers, the ad agencies, TV networks, and retailers all work to deliver the suds in your mug turns out to be an engaging and frequently funny story.

The rise and fall of beer trends--from sports sponsorships to low-cals, and status-conscious imports to creatively crafted microbrews--mirror, in many ways, the larger culture that embraces them. Philip Van Munching offers a clever and knowing look at its ups and downs in the industry.

"You don't have to drink the stuff to enjoy Beer Blast, a behind the scenes telling of the battles among beer manufactures. The author spares no one, including himself, with his insider analysis and acid wit as he describes major characters in the beer business. Their efforts to one-up the competition would be comical if the financial stakes weren't so high." --USA Today

About the Author: Philip Van Munching is from the third generation of his family to enter the beer business.

He spent a decade at the Van Munching & Company, Inc. holding the posts of special projects representative, director of corporate communications, and finally, director of advertising. He is now a freelance writer. To the great disappointment of his friends, he can no longer get free beer.