Miller Brewing Company

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Miller Brewing Company
Industry Alcoholic beverage
Founded 1855
Headquarters Milwaukee, Wisconsin , U.S.
Key people
Tom Long (CEO)
Products Beer
Parent SABMiller
Website millercoors.com

The Miller Brewing Company is a beer brewing company owned by SABMiller, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin . The company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas; Irwindale, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Trenton, Ohio. On 1 July 2008 the MillerCoors company was formed as a joint venture with rival Molson Coors to consolidate the production and distribution of its products in the United States, with each parent company's corporate operations and international operations remaining separate and independent of the joint venture. The stock ticker symbol is SAB.L.

History

File:Miller Valley, location of the Miller Brewing Company, in Milwaukee, WI.JPG
Miller Valley contains the Miller Brewing Company in Wisconsin.

Miller Brewing Company was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller when he purchased the small Plank Road Brewery. The brewery's location in the Miller Valley in Milwaukee provided easy access to raw materials produced on nearby farms. The company remained in the family until 1966.

In 1966, the conglomerate W. R. Grace and Company bought Miller from Mrs. Lorraine John Mulberger (Frederick Miller's granddaughter, who objected to alcohol) and her family. In 1969, Philip Morris (now Altria) bought Miller from W.R. Grace for $130 million, outbidding PepsiCo. In 2002, South African Breweries bought Miller from Philip Morris for $3.6 billion worth of stock and $2 billion in debt to form SABMiller, with Philip Morris retaining a 36% ownership share and 24.99% voting rights.

In 2006, Miller Brewing purchased Sparks and Steel Reserve brands from McKenzie River Corporation for $215 million cash.[1] Miller had been producing both brands prior to this purchase.[2]

In 2007, SABMiller and Molson Coors combined their U.S. operations in a joint venture called MillerCoors. SABMiller owns 58% of the unit, which operates in the United States but not in Canada, where Molson Coors is strongest. Molson Coors owns the rest of the joint venture, but the companies have equal voting power.[3][4]

Current brands

Miller family

File:Miller Genuine Draft.JPG
Miller Genuine Draft
  • Miller Lite: A pilsner type light beer. It is 4.2% ABV (4% in Canada).
  • Miller Genuine Draft: Miller Genuine Draft (Nickname MGD) was introduced in 1985 with the claim of tasting like draft beer, based on the fact that the beer is cold filtered and not pasteurized. MGD received the gold medal in the American-style Premium Lager category at the 1999 World Beer Cup. It also received the silver medal at the 2003 Great American Beer Festival. The concept for cold-filtered Miller Genuine Draft was developed by product consultant Calle & Company. Martin Calle evolved the concept from Miller's New Ventures effort to launch a new dry beer at a time Miller Brewing was in danger of becoming a much-cloned light beer manufacturer. Originally introduced as "Miller High Life Genuine Draft", the "High Life" part of the name was soon dropped. MGD is actually made from the same recipe as Miller High Life but with a different treatment. It was developed to try and replicate the non-pasteurized keg flavor of High Life in a can or bottle. As of 2007 Genuine Draft had a 1.5% share of the USA market; by 2012 it had declined to 0.7% market share, representing a decline of 1.7 million barrels.[5] It has 4.7% abv.[6]
  • Miller 64— (Formerly Miller Genuine Draft 64[7]) A lighter version of the regular Miller Genuine Draft Light with a 2.8% abv, also known as "MGD 64". It contains 64 calories per 12 US fl oz (355 mL) serving (750 kJ/L). Until recently, no other beer on the market had less food energy, although Beck's Premier Light also has 64 calories per 12 US fl oz serving. In the late summer of 2009, Budweiser launched Budweiser Select 55 in response to Miller's popular MGD 64. Miller launched this beer in the summer of 2007 in Madison, Wisconsin. It was received favorably and testing expanded to Arizona, San Diego and Sacramento.[8]
  • Miller High Life: This beer was put on the market in 1903 and is Miller Brewing's oldest brand. High Life is grouped under the pilsner category of beers and is 4.6% ABV.[6] The prevailing slogan on current packaging is "The Champagne of Beers", an adaptation of its long standing slogan "The Champagne of Bottle Beers". Accordingly, this beer is noted for its high level of carbonation, making it a very bubble-filled beverage, like champagne. It was originally available in miniature champagne bottles and was one of the premier high-end beers in the country for many years. Today they are popular in 7 U.S. fl oz (207 ml; 7 imp fl oz) pony bottles, introduced in 1972.[9][10] Except for a brief period in the 1990s,[citation needed] High Life bottles have always been quite distinctive, as they have a bright gold label and are made of a clear glass that has a tapered neck like a champagne bottle. High Life has brought back its "Girl in the Moon" logo, which features a modestly dressed young lady that, by legend, is company founder Frederick Miller's granddaughter. The "Girl in the Moon" logo was originally painted in the early 1900s by an unknown artist and has since been re-painted by Nebraskan artist Mike Hagel, who added his own unique touch to it.[11] High Life beat out 17 other contestants to take home the gold medal in "American-style Lagers" category at the 2002 World Beer Cup. High Life has enjoyed a resurgence recently, using its humorous "Take Back the High Life" campaign—which features a common sense-wielding deliveryman (portrayed by Windell Middlebrooks) removing beer from "non-High Life locations" (such as restaurants serving $11.50 hamburgers) to position the brand as "a good honest beer at a tasty price".
  • Miller High Life Light: Introduced in 1994. It has 4.1% ABV.[6]
  • Miller Chill: A chelada-style 4.2% abv[6] pale lager brewed with lime and salt. Introduced successfully in 2007, sales dropped in 2008 after the launch of the rival Bud Light Lime.[12] In response, MillerCoors revamped their recipe from a 'chelada' style brew to a light beer with lime, created new packaging which included switching from a green to a clear bottle, and launched a new advertising campaign centered around the slogan "How a Light Beer with a Taste of Lime Should Taste".
  • Miller Fortune: A recent addition to the lineup. 6.9% ABV Fortune is a golden lager brewed in part with Cascade hops to give it a citrusy bite and caramel malt to impart an amber hue. Targeted to males aged 21 to 27, according to the brewery "the flavor is moderately bitter with hints of sweetness, resting somewhere between a full-flavored craft beer and a light lager." The brewery further claims that Fortune has a "malty, complex flavor hinting at bourbon, the amber brew will be distributed wider and faster than any beer MillerCoors has introduced since the Molson Coors Brewing (TAP) and SABMiller (SAB:LN) venture was formed in 2008."
  • Miller Midnight: According to the brewery, "This beer combines dark roasted and light crystal malts with caramel flavor. Getting this balance right was an important part of the two-year development process, led by Ronda Dannenberg and Jackie Lauman, specialists at Miller's flagship brewery in Milwaukee. Color, aroma, taste, and finish were all carefully considered. It is available in 330 ml and 500 ml bottles. Released in November 2008 this beer is available only in Russia." It has 5.2% ABV.[citation needed]
  • Sharp's: Miller's non-alcoholic beer.
  • Frederick Miller Classic Chocolate Lager: A beer for the holiday season released October through December in Wisconsin, Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Indianapolis and northwest Indiana. It is brewed with six different malts, including chocolate and dark chocolate malts.[13]
  • Mickey's: Mickey's is Miller's "Fine Malt Liquor". It is 5.6% abv.[6]
  • Olde English 800: Malt liquor also known as "OE". It is 5.9% abv in the eastern United States, 7.5% abv in most western U.S. states and 8.0% abv in Canada.
  • Milwaukee's Best: Miller's economy label. It is 4.3% ABV, and commonly referred to as "The Beast", "Milwaukee's Beast", "Milwaukee's Worst" or "Milly B"[6]
  • Milwaukee's Best Light: Miller's light economy label. Also, it was the main sponsor of the 2008 World Series of Poker. It is 4.1% ABV. and commonly referred to as "Beast Light"[6]
  • Milwaukee's Best Ice: Miller's economy "Ice" beer. It is 5.9% ABV. and commonly referred to as "Beast Ice" or "the Yeti".[6]

Retired brands

  • Miller Lite Ice: A limited distribution ice beer with naturally higher abv content, 5.5%. In this form, it is now only found in select markets in Michigan.
  • Miller Gold: A limited edition version of Miller Genuine Draft containing 5.7% abv.
  • Miller 1855 Celebration Lager: The 1855 Celebration Lager was released in November 2005 to recognize the 150th anniversary of Miller Brewing. It was only available for a limited time.
  • Miller: A short-lived recipe from 1996 to 1998, sold in a predominantly red can (hence, aka "Miller Red").
  • Southpaw Light: Southpaw is labeled as a light beer but has the alcohol content of a regular beer. It has a strong hops flavor compared with other light Pilsner style beers. It also has unique labeling and marketing. Southpaw Light has been discontinued by Miller Brewing Company as of March 2013, due to lack of consumer demand.[citation needed]

Hamm's Family

File:Miller Brewery.jpg
The Miller Brewery complex in Milwaukee, WI

Miller bought the rights to the Hamm's Brewery brands.

  • Hamm's Beer: Winner of the 2007 Gold Medal for American-Style Lager and the 2010 Gold Medal for American-Style Specialty Lager or Cream Ale or Lager at the Great American Beer Festival
  • Hamm's Golden Draft
  • Hamm's Special Light

Plank Road Brewery Family

This division is named for the 19th-century name for west State Street in Milwaukee (formerly known for its full length outside of Milwaukee as the Watertown Plank Road), where the main Miller brewery has been located since its founding.

  • Icehouse: Icehouse is an ice lager (5.5% alcohol by volume) and was the winner of the 2003 and 2007 Gold Medals for American-Style Specialty Lager at the Great American Beer Festival, and also won the American-style Ice Lager Gold Cup of the 1996 and 1998 World Beer Cup competitions.[citation needed]
  • Icehouse EDGE': Icehouse EDGE is an ice lager/malt liquor (8.0% alcohol by volume) and was introduced in June 2012
  • Red Dog: Although popular during the mid- to late-1990s, Red Dog faded into near obscurity near the start of the 21st century. However, since 2005 it has been returning to stores.[citation needed]

Sponsorship

Miller has been a motorsport sponsor since the 1980s. In the CART World Series, the company has sponsored drivers such as Al Unser (1984), Danny Sullivan (1985-1989, 1991), Roberto Guerrero (1990), Bobby Rahal (1992-1998) and Kenny Bräck (2003). It also sponsored the Miller 200 race at Mid-Ohio.

In NASCAR Cup Series, Miller has sponsored Bobby Allison from 1983 to 1988, Rusty Wallace from 1990 to 2005, Kurt Busch from 2006 to 2010, and Brad Keselowski since 2011. Allison won the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, and Keselowski won the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Also, the company has sponsored the Miller High Life 500, Miller 500, Miller High Life 400, Miller 400, Miller 300, Miller 200 and Miller 150 races.

In NHRA, Larry Dixon was sponsored by Miller for several years.

References

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  2. Chicago Tribune
  3. "Coors, Miller in U.S. Venture"
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  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Business Insider BEFORE AND AFTER: Miller Genuine Draft 64 Has A New Logo—And A New Name Mar. 27, 2012
  8. Reuters MGD 64...As Light As It Gets Both Budweiser Select 55 and Miller MGD 64 have less food energy because of their lower alcohol content. Select 55 contains 2.4% ABV and MGD 64 has 2.8%. By comparison, most beer has around 5% ABV. Feb. 29, 2008
  9. Advertising and the Food System, p. 309
  10. CSA Super Markets, Volume 50, 1974, p. 68
  11. http://www.slate.com/id/2127699/
  12. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=10/11/2006&id=12634

External links