FOUND ON THE NEW YORK TIMES WEBSITE

June 13, 2008, 11:53 am
To Beer! The Cause of, and Solution to, All Life’s Problems!
By Leslie Wayne
Beer-powered cars.
An idea Homer Simpson can get behind.
That is what Molson Coors Brewing Company will be providing to the political elite at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August. Beer, it turns out, can be turned into ethanol and used to fuel cars. This alternative source will be on display at the convention, which is trying to promote its green bona fides.
There is, of course, the obvious question: Why would anyone want to pour good beer into the tank of a car?
For starters, it’s not actually good beer, but beer that is “lost during packaging or deemed below quality standards,” according to Coors. Since 1996, Coors has been converting this waste beer, as it is called, into ethanol and generating about 3 million gallons of waste-beer ethanol a year.
The happy cars getting an injection of beer in their tanks are to be provided by General Motors, designated as the convention’s “Official Vehicle Provider.” G.M., a major sponsor at both conventions, will be showing off its fleet of cars with biofuel capabilities and hybrid technologies to lawmakers often been dubious about Detroit. A fleet of 400 G.M. cars will chauffeur around members of Congress, Democratic officials, state party leaders and other Democratic V.I.P.’s during the four-day extravaganza.Coors is a “Presidential” level sponsor of the convention, meaning it has paid over $1 million and, in return, promised access to prominent Democratic politicians. It has also been named the “Official E85 Ethanol Producer” for the Democratic convention, referring to the term for motor fuel that is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
If beer is going into cars, will there be any left over for all the partying by delegates and the Democrats’ corporate sponsors?
Coors says: Yes! In a press release, Coors said it would provide beer for various Host Committee events, pre-convention meetings, V.I.P. gatherings and the media briefings. So convention delegates and visitors can end up being just as happy as those G. M. cars.