Cue Smokey and the Bandit theme
I have heard from several places, (and from the aforementioned work of pop culture Smokey and the Bandit) that Coors beer was once illegal in some parts of the US after prohibition was over. The most popular being “He is so young, he doesn’t remember when Coor was banned east of the Mississippi”. Is this just some piece of folklore, or did it really happen, and why?
I don’t think it was banned (I could be wrong) but I recall my uncle would come out to Colorado from Virginia and take back about four cases of the nasty stuff. They just couldn’t buy it out there.
< yes, even as a Coloradoan I can’t stand Coors unless it’s free 
>
IIRC, it was because the stuff was shipped cold, to preserve the flavor. Back when they could only handle the logistics for part of the country. At least that’s what Daddy’s taught me as I sat on his bended knee. I think they still advertise the stuff as cold brewed, or something like that. Beer does like to get cold, then warm, then cold again. Not good. It’s okay for other stuff, like soda pop, though.
I don’t have a cite, but here’s what I remember: Coor’s claimed that their beer needed special handling like constant refrigeration because it had no preservatives. They choose to limit their target area. They also made a big deal about it. I think it was mostly a marketing ploy. But for a while Coors beer was “banned” from the east because the Coors company wanted it that way.
It was never actually banned anywhere, but the Coors company limited the states in which they would distribute it. Further until the mid or late eighties they only brewed their beer in Golden, Colorado (they took their moto, “It’s the water!” seriously).
In this way they were limited as to just how much beer they could brew and ship. They chose to limit to limit their distribution to certain geographic areas. I am told that by doing so the officers of the company discovered that it also had the additional effect of creating something of a mystique for the “Colorado Kool-aid”.
I believe that the illegality that Smokey and the Bandit dealt with (other than the breaking of hundreds of traffic laws and the transport of a woman across state lines for immoral purposes) was the transport of non-registered alcohol from state to state.
As a youth growing up in Colorado, I would drink anything else but Coors. When I returned to the states after six years overseas, I knew that I was home when I finally could get a can of Coors. I must admit, however, I’m not crazy about the taste.
TV
Thank you!
That clears up a 10 year mystery for me.
I lose sleep over these types of things…
I don’t have a cite either, but I am old enough to remember the “Last Chance to buy Coors!” signs at liquor stores on the CO and WY borders.
The previous posters have pretty much nailed it down; I’ve just got one minor nitpick: the reason Coors had to be shipped refrigerated wasn’t that it didn’t have preservatives, it was because it was one of the few major brands that wasn’t pasteurized, so it was quite perishable.
Nowadays, all major brands are micro-filtered (“Cold-filtered!!!”) rather than pasteurized, so that isn’t an issue anymore.
I always heard that it had something to do with the fact that they didn’t use Union truckers. Is this just a UL?
All the special handling, the refrigeration, and the ‘magic’ water, and the stuff is still the most repulsive swill on earth.
In my early days, I remember that Coors was not available here in Michigan due many of the reasons listed. My friends and I thought it must of been nectare of the gods because we couldn’t get it. Now that it is widely available, I would touch the swill. My big question: once the embargo is lifted from Cuba, will cuban cigars smoke like swill?
Correction: I would NOT touch the swill. Brain fart.
When (roughly) did they start shipping to other states?
Well I know the east coast was still Coors-less until they opened their Virginia brewery in 1987.
We should go burn it down and return to the good old days