Expert: Ed Westemeier - 12/21/2006

Question
A coworker recently told me that Corona and Miller are the same beer just under different labels. That most alcohol is made by a few manufactures and individually labeled.  Is this correct?

Answer
Sorry, but your friend is wrong.

If you think about it, you'll realize it's pretty obvious.
For example, SABMiller (they own the Miller Brewing Co.) has well over 50,000 employees. Grupo Modelo (the company that makes Corona) has over 40,000 employees. Anheuser-Busch (they make Budweiser) has over 30,000 employees. Molson Coors has over 10,000 employees.

If they weren't doing everything themselves, why would they each need so many people?

Maybe what your friend really meant is that these major brands of beer all have a similar taste. That's certainly true, when you compare them to the much more flavorful beers available from the small breweries and brewpubs. But that's a different question.

Hope this helps.