The Irony: Beer baron loses license after DUI arrest

Posted: Saturday, July 15, 2006 04:39 pm
DENVER (AP) -- Beer baron Peter Coors' driver's license has been revoked after his arrest for drunken driving following a wedding celebration. Hearing officer Scott Garber ruled Friday that Coors did not stop at a stop sign and was driving impaired on May 28. Coors, 59, said he had consumed a beer about 30 minutes before leaving the wedding, the Rocky Mountain News reported Saturday. He faces a July 20 arraignment and has 30 days to appeal the revocation.

"I made a mistake. I should have planned ahead for a ride," Coors said in a statement. "For years, I've advocated the responsible use of our company's products."

Company spokeswoman Kabira Hatland said that Coors rolled through a stop sign a block from his home in Golden and that an officer stopped him in his driveway.

In one breath test, he registered a blood alcohol level of 0.073 percent. In a second, 20 minutes later, he registered 0.088. The legal limit in Colorado is 0.05 percent.

Coors took over as president of his family's company in 1987 and in 2000 was named chief executive of the brewer, with 8,500 employees and $4 billion in sales in 2003. Following a 2005 merger, it is now the Molson Coors Brewing Co.