You can buy Fat Bastard wine in Alabama, but you'll have to go elsewhere for Dirty Bastard beer.
The state alcoholic beverage control agency have said that it has banned the sale of that brand of beer in the state because of the profanity on its
label.
The drink censor's staff members rejected the brand because that parents may not want young people to see rough language on the shelves, said Bob Martin, an attorney with the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
That's the
whole reason for the rule, to keep dirty pictures and dirty words away from children, he said. Personally, I believe the staff made the right call.
The censors have drawn up a list of objectionable words that should not appear on
product labels, Martin said, and the list includes bastard.
The state allows the sale of Fat Bastard wine as the name was cleared before the age of PC nonsense. Martin said the agency considered revoking those earlier approvals when it
denied the application for Dirty Bastard, but officials decided against such action.
This month Flying Dog Brewery is launching a 1st Amendment Society, funded by the damages the Maryland company won from Michigan officials who tried to ban its Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA.
The new organization, which will sponsor a journalism
scholarship and talks on freedom of speech, is the product of a six-year legal battle that began in 2009, when members of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission took offense at the Raging Bitch label, which the agency had to approve before the beer could
legally be sold in that state.
The Raging Bitch label features an illustration by Ralph Steadman shows a wild dog presenting human female genitalia as well as possessing semblances of human female breasts.
Michigan's alcohol regulators did
not like the label. Initially, in November 2009, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission said the name of the beer and Steadman's message ran afoul of a rule prohibiting labels deemed to promote violence, racism, sexism, intemperance or
intoxication or to be detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of the general public.
This month Flying Dog Brewery is launching a 1st Amendment Society, funded by the damages the Maryland company won from Michigan officials who tried to ban its Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA. 