By JORDAN STRICKLER

Kentucky Correspondent

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — In the Corn Syrup Battle of 2019 between MillerCoors, the U.S. arm of Molson Coors, and Anheuser-Busch, a federal court has awarded MillerCoors’ claim legitimacy.

U.S. District Judge William M. Conley, in the Western District of Wisconsin, granted a preliminary injunction sought by MillerCoors which would stop Anheuser-Busch from using the words “corn syrup” in its advertisements on certain aspects of Anheuser-Busch’s campaign against the ingredient.

The battle between the two beer giants started during this year’s Super Bowl when the St. Louis-based Anheuser-Bush launched a marketing campaign lambasting MillerCoors for using corn syrup in its Miller Lite and Coors Light beers, without giving more context.

The ad showed a medieval caravan pushing a huge barrel of corn syrup to castles for both Miller Light and Coors Light, stating that Bud Light isn't brewed with corn syrup. MillerCoors stated its rival spent as much as $30 million on a "false and misleading" campaign, including $13 million in its first commercials during the Super Bowl.

However, the ruling by Judge Conley was far narrower than Chicago-based MillerCoors would have liked, as it did not force Anheuser-Busch to pull the advertisement entirely.

Conley wrote that the ads cannot describe corn syrup as an ingredient in MillerCoors’ finished beers; cannot use the term “no corn syrup” in relation to Bud Light without also saying “brewed with” or “made with;” cannot use the term “corn syrup” in relation to Miller Lite and Coors Light without saying “brewed with” or “made with;” and cannot say Bud Light has “100 percent less corn syrup.”

“These statements, while … literally true, support a reasonable interpretation that Miller Lite and Coors Light contain corn syrup,” he wrote. “These advertisements – either in stating what is not in Bud Light or in stating what is in Miller Lite or Coors Light – cross the line from simply being susceptible to misunderstanding to being misleading.”

“You can’t quantify how badly that hurt farmers,” said Mark Lambert, communications director for the National Corn Growers Assoc. “The ad was misleading, and it was unfortunate. Most people who saw that commercial are going to walk away thinking it’s a bad thing.

“Most people don’t understand fermentation. There is no corn syrup in beer. It doesn’t matter what your source of sweetener is – by the time you’ve actually fermented that sugar, you’ve got nothing left but alcohol.”

After the ruling, each side declared victory. "We are pleased with today's ruling that will force Anheuser-Busch to change or remove advertisements that were clearly designed to mislead the American public," said MillerCoors CEO Gavin Hattersley.

Cesar Vargas, Anheuser-Busch VP of Legal and Corporate Affairs, said they think the ruling was a win because the judge’s decision does not require them to completely pull the ad.

"(The) ruling is a victory for consumers, as it allows Bud Light's Super Bowl advertising to continue. As the No. 1 selling beer in the U.S., Bud Light remains committed to leading the alcohol industry by providing more transparency for consumers, including letting them know about the ingredients that are used to brew their beer. More transparency is good for the entire industry as it responds to a clear consumer demand."

MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch have the biggest U.S. market shares at 24.8 and 41.6 percent, respectively.