MovieChat Forums > Smokey and the Bandit (1977) Discussion > Is or was Coors beer really illegal in s...

Is or was Coors beer really illegal in some states at the time?


I don't get it why it would be.

Also, did they steal the beer from the warehouse or did they just take it out earlier than they should have?

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If I remember there was an issue with distribution at the time.

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Even President Ford liked to smuggle some back to DC on Air Force One after a ski trip to Colorado with the family.

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The beer itself wasn't illegal. It was unpasteurized and couldn't be transported far. But I think, and I could be wrong, that transporting it across state lines without being a licensed distributor was illegal. I think the time component was getting it there before it went bad. There was a huge mystique about Coors. It was marketing genius. Colorado Kool-aid was a big deal. I had friends back East begging me to bring them some, and I always asked "Why? It's not that great"

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You are right

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It may have had to do with the alcohol content. It was probably not illegal to possess the beer in other states, but the truckfull was clearly being shipped with intent to sell.

My husband and I don't drink, but know plenty of people who drive down to Texas because their beer has a higher alcohol content than what's available in Oklahoma.

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I doubt it was or is, but for God's sake, it's so crappy it should be!

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

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It is a horrible beer, I have never understood why it's so loved.

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Pasteurization may have figured into it. But it think it mostly had to do with distribution rights and state regulation regarding distribution of alcohol.

I recall in the 70s Coors was not to be distributed in any state east of the Mississippi (company policy?). Because of popularity and demand distributors in Kentucky got around the restriction because a change in course of the river put a small section of KY west of the Mississippi.

Shortly thereafter the beer was distributed throughout the east.

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It's explained in the opening scene. Transporting liquor across state lines = Bootlegging.

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Think its a plot hole because prohibition ended like in the 1920s or early 30s. All they had to do was go to a 7 11 and buy Coors there instead of picking it up and racing to whatever city they went to

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This is not true…there were regulatory reasons Coirs was not sold in the East until the 80s

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