Earlier quoted context omitted.
Beer is somewhat different here, in that it is not just one ingredient. One reason Budweiser/Carlsberg are not "high-end" is they use ingredients that make production cheap. For example, both of these beers use rice, which is a much cheaper source of sugar than barley. But when you get to comparing full-barley beers from Anheuser-Busch vs a micrcobrewery, you'll find just as much pretense as in the wine world.
This is all true, however even among all-malt beers there is significant variance in the quality of ingredients. That doesn't mean that there is no pretense but that high-quality beers can be measurably better (GCMS, blind sensory tests etc.) than less expensive ones made with cheaper inputs.
But it certainly hits a ceiling at some point. I've had really expensive beer and it doesn't taste any different than moderately priced beer.