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Guardians of France’s prized champagne industry ordered some 2,352 cans of Miller High Life beer to be destroyed by Belgian customs for violating their chosen slogan, “The Champagne of Beers”.
At the request of the French trade organization Comité Champagne, tasked with protecting its national products and producers, the American beers were drained after being stored in a Belgian bonded warehouse for two months.
Miller High Life, owned by Molson Coors Beverage Co., is not currently exporting to the European Union and an order for more than 2,300 cans of the American beer was intercepted in Antwerp, Belgium, en route to Germany in February.
In this image provided by the Champagne Committee, cans of Miller High Life beer sit in a container after being crushed at the Westlandia plant in Ypres, Belgium, Monday April 17, 2023. Belgian customs destroyed more than 2,000 cans of Miller High Life… (Champagne Committee via AP/AP Newsroom)
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It’s unclear who ordered the beer delivery, although France saw the company’s characterization as “champagne” as an affront to its prized sparkling wine.
The buyer in Germany was apparently “informed” and “did not contest” the decision to destroy the beers.
According to the Milwaukee-based beer company, the Miller Brewing Company — founded in the 1850s by German immigrant Frederick Miller — began using the slogan “champagne of bottled beers” in 1906 after Miller High Life became the company’s flagship after its beer Started 1903.
The slogan was then changed to “The Champagne of Beers” in 1969.
| ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEAT | MOLSON COORS BEVERAGES CO. | 58.32 | +0.63 | +1.09% |
| BUD | ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV | 65.52 | +0.09 | +0.14% |
| STZ | CONSTELLATION BRANDS INC. | 226.95 | -0.92 | -0.40% |
“With its elegant clear glass bottle and fresh taste, Miller High Life has proudly been nicknamed ‘The Champagne of Beers’ for nearly 120 years,” Molson Coors Beverage Co. said in a statement. Although it said it “respects local restrictions” affecting the classification of “champagne”.
In this image provided by the Champagne Committee, a worker pours out the contents of cans of Miller High Life beer before they are crushed at the Westlandia plant in Ypres, Belgium, Monday April 17, 2023. Belgian Customs has more than 2,000… (Champagne Committee via AP/AP Newsroom)
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“But we remain proud of Miller High Life, his nickname and his Milwaukee, Wisconsin ancestry,” Molson Coors Beverage Co. said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We invite our friends in Europe to the USA at any time to toast the high life together.”
Despite its 120-year reign as the top beer choice in the US, the EU protects its products tightly to prevent counterfeit or misleading items from entering the market – meaning Miller High Life is unlikely to ever make it into the 27th century -headed block is exported as long as it keeps its current slogan.
In this picture provided by the Champagne Committee, a label on the side of a carton of Miller High Life beer at the Westlandia factory in Ypres, Belgium, Monday April 17, 2023. Belgian customs have more than 2,000 cans of Miller advertised High life destroyed… (Champagne Committee via AP/AP Newsroom)
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The executive director of the Comité Champagne, Charles Goemaere, said the decision to scrap the beer “confirms the importance that the European Union attaches to designations of origin and rewards the determination of champagne producers to protect their designation”.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.