I just pre-ordered my tickets for Beer Wars, a documentary on the beer industry in America, which will be in theaters for one night, April 16.

The premise of the story follows beer entrepreneurs Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head) and Rhonda Kallman (New Belgium) as they work to bring innovation and growth to craft beer while going up against the challenges posed by the big beer corporations.

The documentary is basically an insider’s look at the beer industry, and I’m sure it will be interesting. After reading Ken Wells’ Travels with Barley, which went into some detail about the beer industry, I was fascinated by the politics and relationships of big beer, beer wholesalers and craft brewers. That book was written in 2004, so I’m anxious to see a 2009 picture of the industry, especially considering all the recent mergers and the continued growth of craft breweries.

After the documentary, they will show a live panel hosted by Ben Stein that will include Sam Calagione, Greg Koch (Stone), Kim Jordan (New Belgium), and Jim Koch (Sam Adams). It should be interesting!