Lights, Camera, Lager! Beers With Big Supporting Roles in Movies

Sometimes a beer is more than just background in a film. Whether chosen to reflect character, setting, or just a blatant product placement opportunity, beers can earn cinematic starring roles for many reasons.

And here are 10 beers with big supporting roles…

Budweiser

Movie: Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
Why it fit: Budweiser’s role in Smokey and the Bandit (1977) is actually central to the plot — and its inclusion made perfect sense both narratively and culturally. In 1977, it was illegal to ship beer across state lines for resale in certain states, making Budweiser the perfect symbol of this kind of outlaw run.

Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR)

Movie: Blue Velvet (1986)
Why it fit: PBR was gritty, blue-collar, and had lost its former mainstream glamour—perfect for David Lynch’s disturbing, small-town America aesthetic. There’s a famous scene where Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) screams, “Heineken? F** that s***! Pabst Blue Ribbon!”*

Michelob Ultra

Movie: Iron Man (2008)
Why it fit: Tony Stark is a billionaire obsessed with performance and status. Michelob Ultra, a “health-conscious” beer brand with an aspirational image, aligns with Stark’s modern, tech-forward lifestyle.

(Courtesy Heineken and Eon Productions)

Heineken

Movie: Skyfall (2012)
Why it fit: Bond’s partnership with Heineken was modern product placement, but it also underscored the franchise’s contemporary, global tone. Bond drinking a premium import fit his jet-setting image perfectly.

And with Bond foregoing his trademark martini,  “Shaken, not stirred,” for a beer, and the many Heineken commercials it spawned, this was obviously a product placement opportunity.

Corona

Movie: The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Why it fit The early Fast & Furious movies were rooted in Southern California car culture, which had strong Latino influences and a relaxed, outdoor party vibe. Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) famously drinks Corona throughout the films.

According to reports, Corona did not pay for its placement in the first film, that happened later.

Rolling Rock

Movie: Cinderella Man (2005)
Why it fit: Rolling Rock was founded in Pennsylvania in 1939, but its humble, working-class branding felt authentic for the Depression-era setting of this boxing film focused on everyday struggle. It also was prominently featured in Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter (1978)

(The Most Interesting Man in the World / COurtesy Dos Equis)

Dos Equis

Movie: The Hangover Part II (2011)
Why it fit: The Hangover is a wild, chaotic, larger-than-life comedy about an unforgettable (and mostly forgotten) night in Las Vegas. Around the same period, Dos Equis was running its massively popular “Most Interesting Man in the World” ad campaign—the commercial’s tagline, “Stay thirsty, my friends,” perfectly aligned with the film’s theme of reckless alcohol-fueled nights. It was the kind of beer you’d expect to see in a Vegas suite with a group of guys partying hard.

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Movie: The Departed (2006)
Why it fit: Martin Scorsese often uses brands that help ground his films in real places and cultures (think of the New York products in Goodfellas). The Departed is set deeply within Boston’s culture — the characters, accents, settings, and even background details are steeped in Boston identity, and Samuel Adams Boston Lager is one of the city’s most iconic local beers. This wasn’t a generic cop story, it was a Boston story through and through.

Red Stripe

Movie: The Firm (1993)
Why it fit: In The Firm, Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) travels to the Caribbean  (filmed in Jamaica) as part of the plot involving offshore banking and money laundering. Red Stripe’s presence during a Jamaican beach scene added realistic local flavor. When Mitch is seen drinking Red Stripe, it underscores that he’s temporarily in a different world — but one still touched by danger. Red Stripe is what you’d realistically find at a Caribbean bar or beach.

There’s no verified record that Red Stripe paid for placement in The Firm.

Carlsberg

Movie: The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Why it fit: The film takes place across an international military and political landscape: Soviet submarines, American naval forces, and NATO allies. Carlsberg, a Danish beer, has long been a common international beer aboard NATO and allied naval vessels and in military circles.

There is no known record of Carlsberg paying for placement in The Hunt for Red October.In this case it was most likely a set dressing choice by the film’s production designers, who frequently use recognizable, realistic brands to enhance atmosphere.

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