You’ve likely seen the MillerCoors ads of crystal clear waters running through the Rocky Mountains that act as a backdrop for Coors Light, marketed as being brewed exclusively in the mountain range of North America. But Coors Light drinkers are nonplussed by what they are calling ‘misleading advertising’ in a lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade county against the brewers of one of America’s favorite beers.
A class action claim attests that the beer is brewed in other breweries that are nowhere near the Rocky Mountains, and certainly not, says plaintiff Joaquin Lorenzo, with “mountain spring water.”
Though the brewery was originally founded at the base of the Rocky Mountains, in Golden Colorado, by Adolph Coors and Jacob Schueler, the brewing company no longer brews in the area. Lorenzo argues:
“Coors Light is now the second most popular domestic beer sold in the United States, surpassed only by Budweiser Light Beer,” but it merged with a Canadian brewer, Molson who formed a joint venture with SABMiller to create MillerCoors.
MillerCoors, Molson Coors, and SABMiller now market, sell, and distribute the Coors Brand of beers throughout the United States in the popular “yellow-bellied” cans, as well as the new different can presentations of Coors Light Beers, the complaint claims.
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Lazaro says the company no longer brews from its original location, though it still markets its product as though it does. He says they wrongfully sell Coors Light beer at a premium price under the representation that it is brewed in the Rocky Mountains. Key phrases targeted in the class action suit include:
- “Proudly brewed in the Rocky Mountain tradition”
- “When the Mountains Turn Blue It’s as Cold as the Rockies”
- “What would we be without our mountains?”
- “Our Mountain is brewing the World’s most refreshing beer.”
- “Born in the Rockies.”
Lazaro claims that people would be less likely to pay a premium price for Coors Light if they knew it wasn’t actually brewed in the Rockies.
He is represented by Elizabeth Beck from Beck & Lee Trial Lawyers in Miami, Fla.
The MillerCoors and Molson Coors’ media departments have failed to make comment about the case.
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Featured image credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file