WASHINGTON — “Raging Bitch,” “Fat Bastard,” and “Bare Ass Blonde” are some of the most popular craft beers on the market, but edgy names can also be offensive.
And craft brewers seem to think the beer names should be toned down.
The 34th edition of the Craft Brewers Conference and Beer Expo America in D.C. this week drew more than 13,300 brewing professionals to town. But in addition to sharing some great beers, the Brewers Association got a little business done too.
Among agenda items: Adding new language to the association’s marketing and advertising code.
Specifically, the code now says that brewers should not use advertising and marketing materials with sexually explicit, lewd or demeaning brand names, language, text, graphics, photos, videos or other images that reasonable adult consumers would find inappropriate for consumer products offered to the public.
It also says that any name that doesn’t meet the marketing and advertising code that wins a beer association produced competition, including the Great American Beer Festival or World Beer Cup, will not be read on stage or promoted in association materials and won’t be permitted to use the competitions’ intellectual properties in their marketing.
The Brewers Association will convene an Advertising Complaint Review Board if an issue arises that warrants review.
The association did not specifically cite any brewers or product names.
“A lot of brewers have edgy names that work fantastically well, but in this world of heightened sensitivity (we want brewers) to not be demeaning, to not be derogatory, to not be publishing anything that is considered sexually explicit,” Julia Herz, craft beer program director with the Brewers Association, told WTOP.
“If that is in fact happening, than it definitely can work against the brewer and frankly lose them business,” Herz said.
The Brewers Association also established a Diversity Committee at the conference with the goal of bringing a more diverse group of brewers into the craft brewing industry.
Members also traveled to Capitol Hill to discuss with lawmakers legislation that would lower the federal excise tax paid by craft brewers.
Next year’s craft brewers conference will be held in Nashville.
The next Brewers Association event in D.C. is set for June 2 and 3 for SAVOR, a big craft beer and food pairing event featuring nearly 90 small and independent craft brewers from across the country.
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