Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

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Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#1

Post by golf_lover44 »

BRUSSELS (AP) — The guardians of Champagne will let no one take the name of the bubbly beverage in vain, not even a U.S. beer behemoth.

For years, Miller High Life has used the “Champagne of Beers” slogan. This week, that appropriation became impossible to swallow.

At the request of the trade body defending the interests of houses and growers of the northeastern French sparkling wine, Belgian customs crushed more than 2,000 cans of Miller High Life advertised as such.

The Comité Champagne asked for the destruction of a shipment of 2,352 cans on the grounds that the century-old motto used by the American brewery infringes the protected designation of origin “Champagne.”

The consignment was intercepted in the Belgian port of Antwerp in early February, a spokesperson at the Belgian Customs Administration said on Friday, and was destined for Germany.

Molson Coors Beverage Co., which owns the Miller High Life brand, does not currently export it to the EU, and Belgian customs declined to say who had ordered the beers.

The buyer in Germany “was informed and did not contest the decision,” the trade organization said in a statement.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/calling- ... 13245.html


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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#2

Post by Dixie Dave »

So if the French are that upset by this, why wait so long to fuss about it? Miller has been using the slogan "Champagne of Beers" in one form or another for well over 100 years, and they have been a major player in the American beer industry since at least the 1970s. On the other end, the EU has been the main governing body in Europe for maybe 30 years.

Whole thing seems kind of silly to me. I don't think anybody is going to confuse beer with actual champagne.
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#3

Post by beershop »

Winemaking kits have had their names changed a few years ago as well. The former Beaujolias wine kit is now called Bergamais. The Italians are doing the same. Valpolicella is Valroza and Chianti is Sangiovese.
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#4

Post by kamsquared »

That's it!! I'm not eating French fries anymore!!
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#5

Post by Summitcan »

100% on my champagne budget is now going to be used to buy Miller
To me it makes Goog Goog sense !
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#6

Post by eric »

Let's see, England now has a king, so does that mean Budweiser can no longer call itself the "King of Beers"?
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#7

Post by Dammit Jim! »

eric wrote: Sat Apr 22, 2023 11:28 pm Let's see, England now has a king, so does that mean Budweiser can no longer call itself the "King of Beers"?
But he was just crowned King. Budweiser has been "King of Beers" for about 150 years, so I guess he'll have to be crushed if he ever comes to the US without changing his title!
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#8

Post by menke »

It was a one-time shipment to a private individual, I don't know if miller routinely exports to Europe but if they did they'd tweak their label to comply with local rules. Budweiser does too, since they stole their name from the Czech town before anyone thought to copyright such things. You can buy Budvar here, because of the name conflict, so it's marketed here as Czechvar. Do you feel sorry for the brewery, being forced to change their storied name, not just a single word on the label? Nope, that's just an even playing field. We protect our Bud, they protect their Bud. Fair enough.

Here's an experiment- what would you think if some Eurotrash spirits company (they all are, btw) started selling their own Bourbon here? Would you gladly take a sledge hammer to their displays? I sure would! There's a right-handed shoe for every left-handed shoe.

I'd destroy that beer, anyway, just because it doesn't taste good.

No one thinks beer is champagne. It's just a form of advertising spam, degrading legit products and distracting customers.
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#9

Post by Summitcan »

Miller .. “ The Cadillac of Beers “ :smt110
To me it makes Goog Goog sense !
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#10

Post by josh »

Menke, stop being sensible. Where's your fake outrage?
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#11

Post by eric »

I'm sorry, I don't come here to be sensible, I can do that at work.
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#12

Post by Tinman »

menke wrote: Mon Apr 24, 2023 9:53 pm Oh you want FAKE outrage??? Hmmm, I’m not used to this game. Let’s see… Canadian swill....
Personally, I didn't think we had swill here in Canada until the Canadian brewers started to try and reproduce American, Brazilian and a few other main stream brands....

Just my personal opion,

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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#13

Post by bodean »

Here's an experiment- what would you think if some Eurotrash spirits company (they all are, btw) started selling their own Bourbon here?
An honest question with a surprising answer (at least to me). I'm a big fan of good bourbon and I have some most every day. Imagine my surprise when I looked up who owned the companies of my favorite brands.

My favorite -Wild Turkey and my second favorite - Four Roses, are both owned by foreigners. Or non American companies, if that's more politically correct... :smile: Turns out that Wild Turkey has been owned since 2009 by the Compari group (an Italian corp.) and Four Roses has been owned by the Kirin group since 2002 (a Japanese corp.). Both have a relationship with Pernod Ricard (French corp.) even earlier than that.

Looks like you only have to own a distillery in KY to claim your brand as bourbon. I'm not likely gonna change what I like because of who owns the company. They still employ Americans and Americans enjoy it. They make good sippin' whiskey and unless they change the recipe, I'm still a buyer. :smt030 Ok...off the soap box....
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

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Post by pinnacle-project »

bodean wrote: Tue Apr 25, 2023 12:11 am quote]

Looks like you only have to own a distillery in KY to claim your brand as bourbon.
This is not a topic I am familiar with so please help clarify.

Are you saying if I make something someplace other than Kentucky, I can still call it bourbon as long as I own a distillery in Kentucky? Can they be completely different drinks? So I make Bryan's Special Bourban in Tennessee and I make Rusty Special Bourban in Kentucky. Two different recipes but I can call both of them bourban because I own a distillery in Kentucky. Did I understand this correctly?
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#15

Post by bodean »

My understanding is that only spirits that are distilled in KY can be called bourbon. I believe it's more of a regional distinction than anything. An example is Jack Daniels. It's distilled in TN and can't be called bourbon. It's simply called whiskey. Bourbon (by law) has to be distilled with 51% corn and the rest is left to interpretation. Other whiskeys don't have to comply to this rule but many do.

To me good bourbon has little or no rye. The rye is replaced by wheat in the mash which, to me, makes for a smoother finish. Canadian makers and consumers prefer blended whiskey. Crown Royal is a higher end brand but it's a blended whiskey and while not a bad drink, I prefer Bourbon. It's more of a 'root for the home team' thing than what is good or bad.

I kind of got off topic from the original idea of this thread. :oops: I was just surprised that my 'home team' was owned by a corp that wasn't from the USA. I know a lot breweries are owned by companies outside the USA, I just didn't think it happened with distilleries. My mistake and I learned something. :smile:
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#16

Post by hemmings »

I've heard it said that Rusty Special Bourbon is the Champagne of Bourbons! pretty sure....
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Re: Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

#17

Post by Summitcan »

Dang Champagne Velvet has 5.5% I might have to give it a try .
( don’t tell France )
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To me it makes Goog Goog sense !
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