Over 2,000 cans of American beer destroyed in Belgium over ‘Champagne of Beers’ label
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The destroyed beer, Miller High Life, was launched as Miller Brewing Company’s flagship beer in 1903.
PHOTO: AFP
Some 2,352 cans of Miller High Life beer were crushed by the Belgian authorities this week for bearing the slogan “The Champagne of Beers”.
The cans, which were en route to Germany before their confiscation at a port in Antwerp in February, had caught the eye of Comite Champagne, a trade association for the sparkling wine.
Comite Champagne requested the beer’s destruction on the grounds that its slogan breached the protected designation of “champagne”.
In the European Union, protected geographical designations are meant to guarantee the origin and authenticity of food products. Under those rules, champagne is a sparkling wine made only in France’s Champagne region, about 145km east of Paris.
Products that infringe those naming rules are treated as counterfeits.
Comite Champagne said in a joint statement with Belgian Customs that the cans of beer were destroyed on April 17 “with the greatest respect for environmental concerns by ensuring that the entire batch, content and container, is recycled in an eco-responsible way”.
The beer’s buyer in Germany “was informed and did not contest the decision”, the trade organisation said in a statement.
The destroyed beer was launched in the United States as Miller Brewing Company’s flagship beer in 1903. A crisp, effervescent beverage, it earned the nickname “The Champagne of Bottled Beer”.
The Molson Coors Beverage Company, which now owns the beer brand, said it “respects local restrictions” on the word “champagne”.
“But we remain proud of Miller High Life, its nickname and its Milwaukee, Wisconsin, provenance,” the company said in a statement to the Associated Press. “We invite our friends in Europe to the US any time to toast the High Life together.”
