Gary,
The bourbon industry is an interesting example but I think you are comparing apples to oranges here. The brewing industry does not have to wait years for their product to come out and as a result they are deeper into the instant gratification of the stockholders trap. They also produce more beer in one day than the whiskey industry does in a month or more. A consumer will go through a six pack of beer in one football game whereas a bottle of bourbon may take weeks to drink. The cultures of the industry is very different from the distilling industry where it takes years to make a product for sale.
Stockholders still put pressure on the distilleries for profits but there is not the same type of pressure. It is also interesting that the distilleries that are most invatitve are the ones with the less public control. Brown-Forman is controled by the Brown family even though there is public stock. Buffalo Trace is not controlled by the stockholders as is Heaven Hill. Jim Beam and Barton have made entries into the super premimium market, but that was mostly because they did not want to be left behind. How long has it been since Beam did something innovative? Barton's 1792 immediately got into trouble because they mostly tried to ride the coattails of success of Woodford Reserve and all of the other "Reserve" Brands that popped up immediately after L&G opened and made waves. (Since Woodford Reserve appeared on the market we have had Jefferson Reserve, Russell Reserve, Ridge(wood)mont Reserve, Thedford Reserve and probably a few others I am not thinking of now.)
What the world needs now is more small family owned distilleries and breweries. Then we would have regional products that have unique tastes.