It sure sounds like a good time was had by all and certainly amounted to a great flight experience. But free upgrades and beer, is it any wonder that such imprudent business practices hurt the bottom line? If this type of stuff was widespread during the time that TWA was struggling, it's no surprise that American Airlines was able to buy them and kill them.
I'm not trying to detract at all from the enjoyment you had on that journey and I'd have loved it too. But it's so very representative of unionized employee behavior -- give away freebies from "the man" because they have no stake at all in the enterprise.
It was a cooler in the aisle with domestic cans. Cost was probably 30 bucks. The upgrade was due to an overbooked flight from PHX to STL on an L-1011. I was military.
I doubt TWA lost anything.