Molson Coors Donates Beer-Derived Ethanol to Dems

(MoneyWatch)  Molson Coors is donating ethanol made from "beer waste" to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

This is amusing for a couple of reasons. First of all, "beer waste?" This is a new one on me, but apparently, since 1996 Coors has been making E85 ethanol out of beer lost during packaging or rejected because of quality problems. The company makes about 3 million gallons of the stuff every year for its own use and for sale to ethanol wholesalers.

Second, Molson Coors is donating to the Democratic National Convention? Back in the '80s, a liberal friend of mine once gave a six-pack of Coors to a conservative friend of mine as a gift. The liberal friend called it "Contra beer," because of the late Joseph Coors' controversial support for the rebels then fighting the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua, along with other conservative causes. He bought a small plane for the right-wing Contras, funneling the money through Oliver North, Ronald Reagan's National Security Adviser who was later disgraced when the Iran-Contra Scandal came to light. Joseph Coors also was a founder of the conservative Heritage Foundation and other similar groups.

It just goes to show that since its 2005 merger with Canada's Molson, Coors is not your father's brewer.