It was a marketing decision by Coors Brewing Co., which at the time was a
regional brewer. The eastern line, if I recall correctly, was Kansas City. I
did a college road trip in '73 to Boulder CO from Philadelphia. My
roommate's uncle in St. Louis gave us cash to bring him back two cases of
Coors Original.
From the Coors website (
http://www.coors.com/didyouknow/history.asp):
"Coors' transition from a regional to international brewer began in the
1970s, when the company started expanding both its product line and
distribution. At the time, the company still produced only one beer, the
original Coors Banquet brand, for distribution in just 11 Western states.
"Coors' limited distribution left consumers in the eastern United States
clamoring for a taste of the Rocky Mountains' finest beer, and many of them
went to great lengths to experience what became known as "the Coors
mystique." Former President Gerald Ford was known to return from his
"western White House" in Colorado accompanied on Air Force One by several
cases of Coors."
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin Meynell [mailto:knm@...]
> Sent: Friday, March 18, 2005 12:05 PM
> To: BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [BoundaryPoint] Coors beer
>
>
>
> All,
>
> I recently watched the film 'Smokey and the Bandit' again (after many
> years) and was reminded of the plot which is about a
> supposedly-illegal
> shipment of Coors beer to the Eastern US. Various sources suggest the
> storyline was based on the true fact that Coors was not allowed to be
> distributed in US states east of Mississippi until the late-1970s.
>
> Can anyone shed any light on whether this was a real
> restriction, or a
> figment of popular imagination?
>
> Regards,
>
> Kevin Meynell
>
>
>
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