When Did Coors Banquet Come Out And Why? (Explained)

Coors Banquet was one of the first beers to really dominate the American beer market. Many know Coors Banquet has been around for a long time, but few know when precisely the beer came out. Aside from its actual age, many also wonder why the beer hit the market in the first place. Here’s a quick answer.

Coors Banquet debuted in 1873 from the Coors Golden Brewery, established by Adolph Coors and Jacob Schueler. The beer was originally known as Coors Golden Lager, officially adopting the name Coors Banquet in 1937. Brewing a beer with unique water was always the dream of Adolph Coors, causing him to create Coors Banquet from Rocky Mountain water.

That’s a quick answer to the topic question, but it lacks detail. In this article, we will consider the story behind the manufacture of Coors Banquet and the reason behind its invention. In addition, we will examine where the beer was first brewed and marketed, as well as other essential aspects of the beer’s rich history. Keep reading!

Who Invented Coors Banquet?

Today, Coors Banquet is often credited to Adolph Coors – obviously! However, there’s more to it, which we will examine below.

Coors Banquet was actually manufactured in 1873 by two German immigrants, Adolph Coors (initially Kohrs) and Jacob Schueler. The two were business partners and established the Schueler and Coors Golden Brewery, where Coors Banquet was brewed.

In 1880, seven years after the launch of Coors Banquet, Adolph Coors bought out Jacob Schueler, taking sole ownership of Coors Banquet. After purchase, Adolph Coors renamed the beer company Adolph Coors Golden Brewery and later Coors Brewing Company.

Why Did Coors Banquet Come Out?

The official launch of Coors Banquet was in 1873, but Adolph Coors had the dream of brewing beer long before that. He came to the United States five years before that and had taken up several jobs to make ends meet. Having worked in the brewing industry before, Coors wanted to brew the perfect beer, and he felt he could do this by focusing on the type of water used in brewing.

In 1873, Adolph Coors’ dream finally became a reality when he came across the water from the Clear Creek Watershed around Golden, Colorado. He felt this water was unique, and this marked the birth of Coors Banquet.

Essentially, this beer owed its invention to Coors’ encounter with the Rocky Mountain Spring Water, with early labels of Coors Banquet regarding the water as ideal in chemical composition for beer brewing.

Coors entered a partnership with his fellow German, Jacob Schueler, and established the Golden Brewery Company in the same year. He later took control of the whole brewery after buying out his partner, and one of the early changes he made was to reroute the Clear Creek stream to make the now Coors Golden Brewery access the water better.

What Was The Reason Behind The Name Coors Banquet?

Coors Banquet was not the first name of the beer, with that title belonging to Coors Golden Lager. Shortly after Coors Golden Lager hit the market, it became very popular with miners in the Clear Creek Canyon. It is widely believed that Coors personally gave cases of the beer to miners in Golden. They would drink a lot of it in banquet halls and tents, leading to the nickname “Banquet Beer.”

The beer was unofficially regarded for years before the company eventually made the name official as Coors Banquet. This name has remained since then, although the company pushed the name “Coors Original” in recent advertisement campaigns to appeal to the nostalgia of beer lovers due to sinking sales.

Aside from the name, Coors Brewing Company also took on two taglines in 1937. The tagline on Coors Golden Lager beers was “America’s Best Beer.” The other two taglines the company would turn to in 1937 were “America’s Fine Light Beer” and “Brewed with Rocky Mountain Spring Water.”

Where Was Coors Banquet First Brewed?

Coors Banquet was first brewed in Golden, Colorado. This is not surprising, as the Clear Creek water from which the beer is brewed flows through the Rocky Mountains, emerging in Golden, a city in Colorado.

In 2019, Molson Coors Beverage Company, the holding company of Coors Brewing, moved its headquarters to Chicago. However, Coors Brewing remained in Golden, Colorado. Now, the brewing facility is the single largest on the planet.

How Much Was Coors Banquet When It First Came Out?

Coors Banquet was manufactured in the 19th century, meaning much of its initial prices and finances are out of our reach. In the 1970s, though, the beer’s retail price was $1.50 for one six-pack. During this period, Coors grew massively and was the fourth best-selling beer in the United States.

The price of the beer was not universal, though. Coors Banquet had a cult status in the beer industry and was relatively scarce in several states. This was primarily because its brewing and marketing were limited to 11 states, all in the western part of the country.

The implication of this was intense smuggling of the beer. Many smugglers would sell thousands of cases of the beer weekly at three times the retail price. This further improved the cult status of the beer.

Coors Banquet retained this cult status for much of the 1970s, correlating to huge national sales. Eventually, the sales would dwindle with changing beer preferences, particularly to light beer. In 2020, the beer had less than 1% market share in the United States. In contrast, its light version, Coors Light, had a 6.85% market share.

Where Was Coors Banquet First Marketed?

Coors Banquet was manufactured in Golden, Colorado, and much of its marketing and sales were limited to the city, especially among miners. By the mid-1970s, Coors was marketed in 11 states in the United States, all on the western side of the country. This contributed to the beer being scarce and a target of smugglers.

The beer being limited to these states was not entirely by choice, as it couldn’t be transported easily around the country because it was unpasteurized and had to be refrigerated in transit. Coors Brewing was also uncomfortable with smuggling because not all smugglers transported the beers in the proper cold conditions necessary to preserve their quality.

In 1991, Coors Banquet finally became available in all 50 states of the country.

Was Coors Banquet The First American Beer?

Despite the old age of Coors Banquet, it is not the oldest in the United States. Honestly, it’s not even close! There are 13 beers older than Coors Banquet, with the oldest being Yuengling Lord Chesterfield Ale & Porter, introduced in 1829.

Nonetheless, Coors Banquet deserves credit for being one of the beers to survive the Prohibition era that began in Colorado in 1916 and ran till 1933. Unfortunately, Adolph Coors had passed away four years before.