The 20th Anniversary India Pale Ale label urges customers, “Remember, enjoying a Raging Bitch, unleashed, untamed, unbridled — and in heat — is pure GONZO.” Ralph Steadman, an illustrator best-known for collaborations with author Hunter S. Thompson, penned the disputed phrase.
The case began in September 2009 when Flying Dog applied to sell “Raging Bitch” beer. The commission denied the request and affirmed its decision on appeal. The commission based its decision on its power to regulate language on the bottle that is “detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of the general public”, the filing said.
I’ve had it — decent enough beer, quite drinkable and certainly not deserving of a ban, especially not a ban because some Mrs. Grundys get offended by a bloody label. And actually, it was the Ralph Steadman labels that first made me notice these beers. Amidst the usually much more staid beer labels of other breweries they stood out. But they stood out because they were interesting, not because they were offensive.
(Via Tom Spurgeon.)