Prepare for beer censorship.
The Brewers Association plans to crack down on offensive beer labels, according to a report from the Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, D.C., last week.
If you know anything at all about craft beer, you know brewers’ propensity for coming up with clever, if sometimes crass, names for beers, and then following through with the images on the label.
Craft beer ’zine Brewbound reports that the association, in a press briefing, announced “steps to prevent breweries that use offensive or sexist names and labels from marketing their businesses with the industry trade organization’s intellectual property.” Or at least some discouragement toward this trend.
In other words, if a beer has something offensive on the label and wins a BA-sanctioned award, the brewery won’t get the same recognition other beers get. For instance, those breweries won’t be able to use the winners’ designation in marketing the beer. The policy seems to target labels that exhibit sexual innuendo, racism, misogyny, and other such themes that could be offensive to some. One example cited by Brewbound was Pig’s Mind Brewing’s PD California Style Ale — the “PD” stands for “panty dropper,” and the label features a cartoon drawing of a woman’s legs with her underwear around her ankles.
The good news is that it sounds like Against the Grain Brewery’s delicious The Brown Note may be in the clear. At least for now. Let’s hope that just shy of dirty underwear is where the Brewers Association will draw the line.
Gentlemen (and women), start your livers
You know Derby time is near when all the pre-Derby events begin to flood social media like so many videos of cats that are best friends with ducks, or particularly-offensive Trump tweets.
The latest to come across my screen is the annual Kentucky Derby Festival BeerFest — this year being touted as a “beer bonanza!” — which takes place May 3, the Wednesday before the big race. Of course, this also means that summer is nigh, which is when all the beer festivals really start to kick into gear. Let’s think of this one as a warm-up, shall we?
The BeerFest takes place at the Waterfront Overlook, 129 River Road, and will feature samples of more than 200 regional and national craft beers. Yeah, that’s a lot of beers, but at least you’ll have a couple of days to recover before heading to the infield. Some of the local breweries you can get a taste of include Holsopple Brewery, New Albanian Brewing Co., Great Flood Brewing Co., Goodwood Brewing and Old Louisville Brewery.
But even if you aren’t a hardcore beer snob, you’ll find something to drink, as there will also be “beers” by Angry Orchard (that’s cider), Twisted Tea (tea, not beer), Traveler Beer Co. (flavored beer), Truly Spiked (sparkling water with booze) and Coney Island Brewing (primarily known for hard root beer).
Anyway, tickets start at $45, which includes tastings, a souvenir glass and a BeerFest pin. There is also VIP ticketing for $75 that includes early entry, dinner, “private port-o-lets” and more. Tickets can be purchased online at discover.kdf.org/beerfest. If you’re the one stuck driving this year, DD admissions are $10 at the door.
And that’s just to get the season warmed up. Coming this summer are Highlands Beer Festival (May 20), Fest of Ale (June 3), Kentucky Craft Bash (June 24), Brew at the Zoo (Aug. 26) and Louisville BrewFest (TBD). There are more, but those are the biggies, and it won’t surprise me if a few more pop up, given the popularity of this thing called “craft” beer.
Thunder party at Goodwood
It’s that time of year again; Thunder Over Louisville happens this coming weekend, and Goodwood Brewing, located within walking distance of the Thunder-ous madness, will have a tailgate party, at which the brewery will also release its new Toasted Coconut Porter.
Food will be available via Mama’s Mustard, Pickles & BBQ, and live music by Boone Creek Crossing, not to mention cornhole and other games. The event is 1-10 p.m., with music featured 5-8 p.m.