If your beers have sexist names, it's clear your beers aren't for me.
February 23, 2017 8:29 AM Subscribe

It's time to take a stand against sexist beer marketing.

posted by Kitteh (178 comments total) 49 users marked this as a favorite

There is something to be said for getting craft beer almost exclusively in draft: I never see the terrible labels. But the labels are, indeed, terrible.
posted by suelac at 8:36 AM on February 23, 2017 [10 favorites]

They make some reasonable points but what's amber hair? Isn't amber the colour of amber? Which, uncoincidentally, matches the colour of some beer?
posted by biffa at 8:37 AM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

So many names and labels of microbrews are cringe-inducing for so many reasons. Very off putting. Is there a group of people who chuckle all the time over the name "Moose Drool" for instance? I hate that aspect of the brewing industry.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 8:41 AM on February 23, 2017 [6 favorites]

Personally I'm basically done with Lagunitas. Their beer isn't even that great, and the awful labels don't help.
posted by koeselitz at 8:42 AM on February 23, 2017 [20 favorites]

Just another reminder to not read the comments.

Sigh.
posted by teleri025 at 8:42 AM on February 23, 2017 [12 favorites]

Unbeknownst to me, my ad agency created a very sexist ad for a keg company -- it was essentially a zoom-in of a woman's breasts in a bikini. The client dictated all the art direction. Something about "cans", probably. Of course, I was furious when I found out (I think folks hid it from me, knowing I'd lobby to fire the client before the job was done.). Turns out the publication it was submitted to refused to run it, so there is some small comfort there.
posted by Wossname at 8:43 AM on February 23, 2017 [43 favorites]

Many of the labels on that Tasteless Beer tumblr page remind me of the kind of awful cover art you'll find on Amazon self-published books. I mean, seriously?
posted by Atom Eyes at 8:50 AM on February 23, 2017 [8 favorites]

Saturday Night Live was ahead of its time by calling out beer advertising... heck, probably NSFW... unless you work in a Speedo Factory... Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the greatest 90's beer commercial of all time: Schmitt's Gay.

If you really want to use sex to sell beer... why does it have to be straight?
posted by Nanukthedog at 8:50 AM on February 23, 2017 [41 favorites]

I was at a brewery just outside of Zion where the salt/pepper/ketchup was charmingly stored on in each table in this six pack holder. I noticed a lot of people sitting around us had put their purses or an extra menu in front of the girl.

This was at the height of the pussygrabgate and it just really pissed me off to have to stare at that image while otherwise celebrating a day of super fun with my boyfriend and friends. It just felt really in my face that this was FUN and CUTE and BE COOL with it, and it just reminded me that I'm a woman in a man's world, and there will never be beer holders featuring a hot man holding a sausage or anything like that to pander to me, no I just have to deal with the fact that I'm an afterthought to marketers and it just reminds me why I'd rather be out in nature than participating in this mess.
posted by cakebatter at 8:51 AM on February 23, 2017 [43 favorites]

Denny and I just recorded our next episode of the podcast and we covered this. One, I'm really glad a big industry name like John Holl put his sentiment out there. It caught a lot of people's attention. I've been railing against this for years and getting a lot of "ugh PC bullshit" pushback. My answer has always been the same:

1) Ethically speaking, my first line of reasoning is always to be kind. If a thing isn't kind then why bring it into being? Is being unkind really worth a half second chuckle at something that feels like it's thought up by a 5th grader who's just discovered being naughty?

2) Economically speaking, for those who worship at the altar of the market, why ffs would you potentially piss off half the population and cut that segment out of your sales? It's stone stupid.
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:59 AM on February 23, 2017 [44 favorites]

I'm glad this is not a thing for any German brewery I know of. We like our beer serious, with monks and nature and crowns and stuff :)
posted by SAnderka at 9:00 AM on February 23, 2017 [35 favorites]

I've had the pleasure to make some great contacts in the ON/QC beer industry, and one of my local faves (what up, Stone City Ales!) absolutely refuses to use gendered language regarding its beer labels. The owner says he and the brewers (one of whom is a woman) discuss how to keep their marketing wording gender-inclusive, erring to gender neutral most of the time. There are beers named after women's name--usually relatives of the owner--but the labels are just local artists.

Beau's All Natural tends towards the same, IIRC. I don't think I have ever seen a scantily clad or overly sexy beer from them.
posted by Kitteh at 9:02 AM on February 23, 2017 [15 favorites]

Pre-emptive note: criticizing sexist beer labels is not censorship.

It's annoying to have to make this note, but far too many dudebro brewers (and yes, that is a descriptive term) have viewed their "right" to make offensive beer names as sacrosanct. If you are offended, they believe that "the market will decide," so you shouldn't say anything to interfere with the invisible hand.
posted by stannate at 9:03 AM on February 23, 2017 [15 favorites]

FWIW I know of at least one brewery that's changing the name & label of one of their beers specifically because of this sort of criticism, so change is possible
posted by beerperson at 9:05 AM on February 23, 2017 [23 favorites]

If there was a beer holder of a hot man holding a sausage, would that make it OK? If there were an equal number and variety of hot men holders? (i'm probably just muddying the water here)

I know there used to be ladies on the tins of some of the mass market stuff in the 70s and 80s, but they've moved away from that. The large companies realised that they had the capacity to produce more and they were alienating 50% of the population. I suppose some of the craft beer industry is stuck at a point where potentially they sell all they can make anyway so they don't need to change their marketing.
posted by trif at 9:05 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

2) Economically speaking, for those who worship at the altar of the market, why ffs would you potentially piss off half the population and cut that segment out of your sales? It's stone stupid.

"Kirk, Big Knocker Ale is a dude's beer. Horny dudes. Maybe female people drink our beer—we don't know. Frankly, we don't want to know."
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:07 AM on February 23, 2017 [17 favorites]

I guess I was picturing the image of a man used in that way and I couldn't conceive of a restaurant that would pander to women at the expense of men in the same way that men are pandered to at the expense of women. Still not right, but it was an interesting thought exercise.
posted by cakebatter at 9:08 AM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

1) Ethically speaking, my first line of reasoning is always to be kind. If a thing isn't kind then why bring it into being? Is being unkind really worth a half second chuckle at something that feels like it's thought up by a 5th grader who's just discovered being naughty?

If you are offended, they believe that "the market will decide," so you shouldn't say anything to interfere with the invisible hand.

Yep, this is my biggest problem with the way these discussions with brewers usually go. I get that lots of dudes aren't even the slightest bit woke. Maybe you can excuse them as ignorant children for doing the shitty thing in the first place (if you want to be so kind). But to double-down when somebody points out the shitty thing that you've done is a conscious decision to be shitty to other people. That's not even a little bit okay.

(And actually, yeah, I do really like Little Sumpin Sumpin, but I wish Lagunitas would change the label.)
posted by uncleozzy at 9:09 AM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

Is a drawing of a comically endowed woman in a bikini needed to sell a beer? If your answer is yes, there’s something wrong with the beer.

This. But then, it makes for a pretty good rule of thumb which beers to avoid. Sexist art and absurdly-complicated semi-puns are generally never first-rate. It's a pretty good indicator of what their focus was on in producing the beer -- and it wasn't the beer.

Glad to hear that Side Launch is headed by a woman. They're pretty good beers, and they'll be getting more of my patronage from now on. Bye bye, Nickel Brook -- your sexist labeling demeans both your customers and your own product.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:10 AM on February 23, 2017 [11 favorites]

I feel like I'm missing something about why this Left Handed Stranger label is tasteless. Can someone clue me in? Is this like one of those Magic Eye pictures, but for sexism?
posted by Gin and Broadband at 9:11 AM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

I have a podcast that focuses solely on women in craft beer & spirits (you can find the link in my profile so as not to violate community rules) and believe me, sexism in the industry gets talked about off or on record. This is definitely big deal, seeing as how the industry is exploding at the moment.
posted by Kitteh at 9:11 AM on February 23, 2017 [7 favorites]

Here in Victoria, which is arguably ground zero of the Canadian craft brewery scene (more craft breweries here per capita than anywhere else in Canada) I haven't seen any sexist advertising at all.

For whatever it's worth, while I like Driftwood's Fat Tug IPA, it's way way too strong and I get hammered way too easily. That's my main complaint with beers out here.

While I love Fat Tug and the Red Racer IPA (from Vancouver), both are too strong, so my go-to beer on the weekend is Russell's Bloody Alley ESB. Hoppy but balanced.
posted by My Dad at 9:12 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Glad to hear that Side Launch is headed by a woman. They're pretty good beers, and they'll be getting more of my patronage from now on. Bye bye, Nickel Brook -- your sexist labeling demeans both your customers and your own product.

Side Launch consistently knocks their products of the park. I am not a huge wheat beer fan, but they make a damn good one.

Nickel Brook makes me sad as I am friends with a female rep of theirs, and their funkier beers are so so good.
posted by Kitteh at 9:12 AM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

In the summer, "Double D Blonde"^* shows up on a lot of taps around here.
It's actually a pretty good patio beer, but I can't order it without cringing.

Especially not from a waitress or female bartender. It's just too much.

"Blonde" in general seems irresistible to tacky beer namers and label makers.
It's a style almost guaranteed to have a stupid name.

On the other hand, I think that "unsurprisingly, breweries went with the "harmless fun" defence. " is an uncharitable read of the responses given.
All of the breweries, especially Nickel Brook Brewery, that responded appear to have at least considered the issue and come to a different conclusion than the author.

^*The brewer of which is now half owned by Miller. It will be interesting to see if their label names get cleaned up along the way.
posted by madajb at 9:13 AM on February 23, 2017

I no longer drink for various reasons. I like to pretend that the biggest reason is all the stupid hop puns/cutesy-poo names on beer labels.

It's like the craft beer industry are all writers and fans of A Prairie Home Companion.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 9:13 AM on February 23, 2017 [6 favorites]

Hmmm, come to think of it, Red Racer IPA *does* incorporate sexist advertising (but Central City is from New West, not Victoria).

So I guess I had better keep my eyes peeled. Although I certainly don't purchase beer based on the packaging.
posted by My Dad at 9:14 AM on February 23, 2017

Sexist art and absurdly-complicated semi-puns are generally never first-rate. It's a pretty good indicator of what their focus was on in producing the beer -- and it wasn't the beer.

wait what
posted by beerperson at 9:14 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Red Racer IPA

Oh yes, with its label of a woman riding a bike with her skirt flying up to reveal her underwear.

Yup, not sexist at all.

(nvm, I see My Dad got it)
posted by Kitteh at 9:15 AM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

Yeah, I clued in shortly afterwards. Duh. It's a good beer though. Just a little on the strong side.
posted by My Dad at 9:16 AM on February 23, 2017

It is a good beer, true.
posted by Kitteh at 9:17 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

What's nice about the current proliferation of craft beers is that there are so many to choose from. If your favorite beer happens to have sexist or otherwise terrible marketing, there is a pretty good chance that you can find an alternative that tastes as good or better that also has decent marketing. And with the market being as crowded as it is, small shifts in consumer choices can have a big impact - this is a place where boycott can be quite effective.
posted by cubby at 9:19 AM on February 23, 2017 [9 favorites]

By the way, I don't agree that there's something inherently wrong with punny labels.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:21 AM on February 23, 2017 [6 favorites]

Ugh. Our favorite weekday red seems more apt every day.
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 9:21 AM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

And then you see the occasional double whammy of sexist and racist, as in Sweetwater's Happy Ending which featured a Geisha. It's among their grosser marketing.

cakebatter makes a great point, there is the attitude that you should let it slide even if it offends you because pointing it out ruins everyone's fun. I don't think sexualizing men is the answer to this problem, but it is tempting because then maybe they would understand how women experience the world.
posted by arachnidette at 9:21 AM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

(For those who don't know, MeFi's own Kitteh, the OP, has a good podcast about beer that I listen to, as does MeFi's Own drewbage1847, commenting above, who does the Experimental Brewing podcast. They Know Their Shit.)
posted by wenestvedt at 9:23 AM on February 23, 2017 [19 favorites]

Nickel Brook makes me sad as I am friends with a female rep of theirs, and their funkier beers are so so good.

Indeed. They're pretty good, and they're local to me, and it's important to support the local ones, but not if they're going to be dismissive about sexism by a) pointing out worse examples and b) claiming one group of women didn't vocally have a problem with it so therefore it must be OK for all women. Come on, dudes -- are you listening to yourselves? Own your work.

Not to mention that the 'Naughty Neighbour' concept is (I think supposed to be) based on an American Pale Ale being brewed in Canada, that that's the neighbour relationship. Somehow, that got turned into this Peeping Tom thing, which has nothing to do with that original concept. And it can easily go back to that more sophisticated idea, if they just had the class and sensitivity to do it.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:23 AM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

Gin and Broadband, there were a couple like that, and I finally linked it to bad sexual puns(Left handed Stranger, Pearl Necklace).
posted by herda05 at 9:26 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

dudebro brewers (and yes, that is a descriptive term)

Dudebrews.

I have two hard-and-fast rules about beer:

* never drink anything with "hop" in the name
* never drink anything with a sexist name or label art

These rules have served me pretty damned well, actually. There's so much good craft beer that there's no need to waste time with the lazy stuff.
posted by tobascodagama at 9:27 AM on February 23, 2017 [17 favorites]

I definitely recommend letting Nickel Brook know, Capt. Renault, as the sad truth is, as a dude, they might be more likely to listen to you.

I attend beer festivals like it was my job during the spring and summer. I always rate the beer first unless there is just flat out shitty sexist or racist names/labels. I make ones of the breweries who do that and contact them saying, "Hey, I am a lady beer drinker and WTF is up with you calling a beer this name?"
posted by Kitteh at 9:28 AM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

I feel like I'm missing something about why this Left Handed Stranger label is tasteless.

You can only see one hand of the blacked-out figure in the middle, and the angle of the arm suggests that the other arm might be...in front of them? With their thumb hooked into their belt? Or...*sigh* otherwise occupied.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:29 AM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

that tasteless label tumblr makes me miss Battle Martin
posted by beerperson at 9:31 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

> If there was a beer holder of a hot man holding a sausage, would that make it OK? If there were an equal number and variety of hot men holders? (i'm probably just muddying the water here)

Power relations exist. Hypersexualized images of women in marketing work to reinforce extant power relations. Hypothetical gender-swapped versions would serve to undermine them.

Note that the gender-swapped version doesn't exist, while the "hot chixx0rZzz" stuff is omnipresent. This fact alone highlights what power relations are at play. Brewers and marketers presumably think that "hot dudez!!1!" labeling would reduce sales in a way that the extant misogynist labels don't. Women are expected to play along with misogyny; (straight) men are allowed to demonstrate the social privilege associated with masculinity by pitching a fit about anything that sexualizes men.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 9:32 AM on February 23, 2017 [78 favorites]

Personally I'm basically done with Lagunitas. Their beer isn't even that great, and the awful labels don't help.

Plus, they're not even a microbrew now, Heineken bought them a few years ago.
posted by octothorpe at 9:33 AM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

Plus, they're not even a microbrew now

They moved to Chicago where water is better and cheaper. Their manufacturing plant is ENORMOUS. They have a tap room you can go to, tours, and they even have catwalks you can go out on to see the plant without an official tour. No how, no way a microbrew anymore.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 9:36 AM on February 23, 2017

I don't even like going to beer joints or most breweries because of the overwhelming dudebro culture. I didn't even think about the labeling as a part of that until reading this, probably because I'm a guy.

But last year I met some of the fine people behind Queers Making Beers! Hooray, an amazing way to avoid dudebro culture!

The original Queers Makin’ Beers Meetup started on July 2, 2015 in Oakland, California and has grown to be one of the largest homebrew groups in the Bay Area with more than 400 members. QMB are a community of queer-identified people teaching one another how to homebrew, while drinking beers we've made. We address the need for experiential, educational spaces free of racism, misogyny, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, and judgement. Making good beer is an empowering and radical act; we are radical people. QMB is for the genderbenders, the dykes, the fags, the weirdos, the normal but not heteronormative. Queers are pouring forth to join the homebrew revolution, and it’s rad.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:36 AM on February 23, 2017 [15 favorites]

I actually enjoy punny names, and yes, I giggle at Moose Drool. And I really want Bell's to make a beer called Equality. (bad physics joke).

But yeah, this sexist shit, and the sexist racist shit, is pathetic. It just reeks of "I have no idea how to make anything funny or how to make good beer".
posted by nat at 9:37 AM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

Um... a 'stranger' is when you sit on your hand until it goes numb and then masturbate with it. The left handed stranger label is offensive because it could be the silhouette of someone masturbating in public, i guess.

I can't believe i just typed that.
posted by dazed_one at 9:37 AM on February 23, 2017 [25 favorites]

SAnderka: "I'm glad this is not a thing for any German brewery I know of. We like our beer serious, with monks and nature and crowns and stuff :)"

Um, sure.
posted by octothorpe at 9:39 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Is there a group of people who chuckle all the time over the name "Moose Drool" for instance?

I'm in that group. Mostly because I have seen moose during mating season.

So unappetizing.

But I'd still try the beer.
posted by srboisvert at 9:44 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Um, sure.

It's possible that there's a domestic German beer with a sketchy label, but you can't point to St Pauli Girl as a counter-example for beers that SAnderka knows of (assuming they're in Germany), since it's export only.
posted by zamboni at 9:48 AM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

Yeah, but the brewery is called "Left Hand", and one of their beers is named "Stranger". The beer is not named "The Left Handed Stranger".

No one says "MillerCoors-ian Coors Light" or "Anhesuer-Busched Budweiser".

But I'd still try the beer.

Don't bother. The best thing is has going for it is the name.
posted by sideshow at 9:50 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

I haven't tried the original Moose Drool, but I brewed a clone a couple of months ago and it was great!

I hate this type of beer marketing and naming, to the point that I actively avoid them and have tried to talk my friends down from making a seriously sexist label for their blonde ale. I like to think that while it isn't great now, it's a damn sight less offensive than the original concept, and I'm not embarrassed to gift it or drink it in front of family.

Ben's original article is great, and I'm happy to see that some strides are being made.
posted by sauril at 9:53 AM on February 23, 2017

I can't find it online right now, but there's a scene in Big Trouble (Starring Tim Allen and Rene Russo) which is how I imagine a lot of meetings about beer advertising go. Allen's character is pitching a quirky ad with character and all the client wants is:

"You got a guy and a boat and a girl. The girl's in a bikini. She has big tits. They're on a boat, getting
shitfaced, drinking Fish Hook Ale."
(beat)
"The girl has really big tits! The feeling of this ad is somebody's going to get laid. It's perfect. I gave you the perfect concept."
posted by ODiV at 9:57 AM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

Yeah, but the brewery is called "Left Hand", and one of their beers is named "Stranger". The beer is not named "The Left Handed Stranger".

Flagged as "willfully fucking obtuse".
posted by tobascodagama at 9:58 AM on February 23, 2017 [26 favorites]

I have never bought anything off the shelf from Dominion, despite having enjoyed their beers on draft, for precisely this reason. I like pinup art, and I like beer, but there's something about their branding that just skeeves me right the fuck out.
posted by aspersioncast at 10:01 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

"Flagged as "willfully fucking obtuse"."

Eh, a guy having one hand in his pocket does not automatically imply masturbation.
posted by I-baLL at 10:05 AM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

I really wish I liked red ales more, cause the labels for them tend to be only offensive to the bourgeoisie and their lapdogs.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 10:06 AM on February 23, 2017 [6 favorites]

I too was confused about the Left handed stranger thing... and even after the kind explanations I'm still not sure I really see it. I'm going to go ahead and assume that they were trying to be edgy and offensive and were just plain bad at their jobs.

I drink a fair amount of craft beer in Southern Ontario but I'd managed to avoid the ones mentioned... at least I haven't drank them. One advantage of there being an app to gamify drinking (Untappd) is that I have a pretty complete record of everything I've drank in the last few years. But then the pubs I go to you order from a menu and the 'clever' labels aren't shown.

I mean on one hand I get why brewer's might be tempted to do this stuff... there are piles of different beers out there and anything you can do to be memorable right. But we as customers really shouldn't be rewarding the any attention is good mentality, it's time for the industry to grow up.
posted by cirhosis at 10:08 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

She is too polite to mention it, but the OP actually does a podcast on women in beer (and spirits).
posted by Shepherd at 10:08 AM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

tobascodagama: “Flagged as ‘willfully fucking obtuse’.”

Okay, put me in that category too. It seems like a completely, totally ridiculous conspiracy theory to see something about jerking off in the Stranger label. I've drank Left Hand brews for years, used to live down the road from their brewery, and there's nothing I know of that they've ever put out that seems weird in that way – or even punny or trying-too-hard-to-be-funny. Since the name of their brewery is actually "Left Hand," you'd think they'd have used that awful pun some time in their history, but I don't think they have. I feel like they haven't used any puns in their history. The picture is just a silhouette. You can't even see the right hand at all.

The theory that that label is somehow a reference to masturbation is crazy. I mean, everything's about masturbation if you want to make it, I guess, but there's an actual problem with blatant sexism and creepiness in brewing, and I can't see how this is part of that.
posted by koeselitz at 10:09 AM on February 23, 2017 [21 favorites]

Is it sexist to deliberately market beer towards women? I mean, if you really wanted to go after that market segment exclusively, would that be sexist?
posted by No Robots at 10:11 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

I could be wrong, but I think Left Hand's Stranger (an American Pale) replaced an earlier offering called Jackman, which, for me, sort of erodes their plausible deniability here.
posted by AgreeableAnne at 10:14 AM on February 23, 2017 [19 favorites]

No Robots, speaking as a female beer drinker, I don't want beer deliberately marketed to me. Odds are it would overly feminine and playing to a soft delicate version of what women like as beer.

No, as a female beer drinker, I just want to be seen as an equal. Having labels with women with their boobs out or short shorts reinforces that beer is for dudes only and GFTO if you can't take a joke.
posted by Kitteh at 10:17 AM on February 23, 2017 [46 favorites]

For those who don't know, MeFi's own Kitteh, the OP, has a good podcast about beer

Whoa, thanks for mentioning this!
posted by My Dad at 10:18 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I avoid any beer with a sexist label. Too many good beers from breweries that don't pull that kind of shit. Beau's is a good example of doing labels and beer names right. Their labels (and beer) are works of art.
posted by fimbulvetr at 10:18 AM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

I don't drink much beer because I don't particularly care for it (especially the super-hoppy stuff that's omnipresent in the craft beer scene), but the general bro-ey vibe doesn't help either.

I know there are plenty of beer nerds who just like beer, but there are also a lot of dudes with lumberjack beards who Take Beer Seriously as some kind of signifier of masculinity. As if the sexism wasn't bad enough, it's also just plain tedious to listen to some brogressive dude's gender performance.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 10:20 AM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

Beau's labels are so gorgeous! Collective Arts crowdsources their can art, IIRC.
posted by Kitteh at 10:21 AM on February 23, 2017

I'd say the Golden Shower one from Dogfish Head is in bad taste, but at least it's not sexist. That's really damning with faint praise, isn't it?

Is there a list of companies that don't pull this shit? Off the top of my head I can come up with five(River Horse, NEw Belgium, Big Sky (of Moose Drool fame), Six Point (even if there is something foul in all their beer) and Smutty Nose), although I'm sure that if I sat for more than a few minutes, I'd get a whole bunch more (and I just thought up another eight). I'm going to avoid Coney Island Brewing from now on, but I'd like to not discover that a beer I'm buying (even if it's label is ok) is put out by a brewery that pulls this sort of shit. (Like Left Hand and Coney Island)
posted by Hactar at 10:23 AM on February 23, 2017

I'd add Schlafly and Boulevard to the list. Hell, Boulevard managed to have a beer named "Tale-Tell Tart" and not make it a sexist label.
posted by teleri025 at 10:27 AM on February 23, 2017

Left Hand brewing is named after Chief Niwot of the Arapoho Indians here in Colorado. Niwot literally means Left Hand in the Arapaho language. There's tons of stuff named after him here, Town of Niwot, Left Hand Creek in Left Hand Canyon, etc.

As for the hand on the label, I know the guys whose hand is used on the bottle and it is just a tracing of his hand.

Not everything has a sexual subtext.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 10:29 AM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

I've seen some really terrible beer names but come on "amber" and "blonde" are a problem?

If the label artwork looks like St. Pauli Girl or some such, sure, I'm all for boycotting whatever is in the bottle...but come on there's nothing wrong with those words. Maybe take the "e" off blond or something but really, that's some A-plus political correctness gone overboard if someone is getting butthurt over just those words alone.

It's not getting butthurt over some words if those words are implying the only value a women with light colored hair has is her breast size (Double D Blonde). Or if she's slutty (Dirty Blonde). It's seriously a pain in the ass (actual butthurt) to have to face those words and images every where and seeing on a beer doesn't do me any favors.
posted by teleri025 at 10:30 AM on February 23, 2017 [12 favorites]

Eh, a guy having one hand in his pocket does not automatically imply masturbation.

Not automatically,no. But given the connotation of the name (of which I doubt they were unaware), and the leering faces of the people watching the man in silhouette, I don't think it can be automatically ruled out, either.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:31 AM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

As the article indicates, it's not just the "beer color = hair color" thing but that it's frequently a thing for the company to go from "blonde" to "blonde woman doing something sexxors" on the label.

We have a lot of local breweries. Empyrean Brewing" goes with more of a new-agey, landscape kind of thing with titles like Chaco Canyon and Winter Axis. Zipline goes with a very straightforward descriptive approach: Oatmeal Porter, Copper Alt, etc.
posted by PussKillian at 10:31 AM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

And I really want Bell's to make a beer called Equality. (bad physics joke).

I never realized how much I wanted this.

I've seen some really terrible beer names but come on "amber" and "blonde" are a problem?

I don't think any of the objections are to the words "amber" or "blonde;" those are legitimate style descriptors. But try a Google image search for "blonde beer label" and see how many of the pictures that come up feature images of women. And there's the proliferation of names like "Skinny Blonde," "Bombshell Blonde," or "Dirty Guera." It's overwhelmingly the form of branding used to sell blond(e) ales.
posted by egregious theorem at 10:31 AM on February 23, 2017

Hactar, Summit Brewing is very well-behaved, visually, and Surly is good, too.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:32 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Metafilter: I can't believe i just typed that.

(Geeze, dazed_one, now I am going to have that disgusting factoid stuck in my brain forever. Yech.)
posted by wenestvedt at 10:33 AM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

I don't get what's offensive about the Sweetwater Motorboat label. Can someone explain it?
posted by Redstart at 10:33 AM on February 23, 2017

Beer + sex is a time-honored advertising technique: note the women in vintage beer posters.

The promise of joy (even if unfulfilled) is renewed by yet another bottle.
posted by cenoxo at 10:35 AM on February 23, 2017

I guess none of you have spent much time in the Homebrew Labels subreddit, then.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:36 AM on February 23, 2017

"Motorboating" is slang for sticking your face in a woman's chest, possibly with sound effects.

I thought there was plausible deniability on that label until I read the left-side text which is *full* of double-entendres.
posted by explosion at 10:36 AM on February 23, 2017 [14 favorites]

Explosion, there's also the fact that the boat shown on the label doesn't have a motor.
posted by peppermind at 10:39 AM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

The ones I'm not clear about are:

Muffintop

and

The Citizen

Am I missing something?
posted by I-baLL at 10:41 AM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

And then an earlier Sweetwater label in the series is for a beer called "Happy Ending."
posted by redsparkler at 10:42 AM on February 23, 2017

Left Hand brewing is named after

Who gives a shit what the brewery was originally named after tho -- you think that means the joke couldn't have been intentional? They're called "Left Hand," they made a beer called "The Stranger" and the label has a silhouette of a dude plausibly-deniably jerking it. I didn't even find it that offensive compared to all the gross pin-up nonsense but I am totally amazed that people think it's some kind of giant coincidence, or that the makers of a microbrew would never stoop to teenage boy humor.

I swear to god if a brewery in Ohio had released a steam beer called "Cleveland Steamer" we'd still be getting a bunch of "well actually" responses about how the label couldn't possibly be a double entendre and aren't we the real pervs for noticing it.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:45 AM on February 23, 2017 [35 favorites]

As a designer, it's an interesting exercise in self-examination to see how easy it is for me to condemn mediocre sexist labels, but when it comes to an artist I respect — like Ralph Steadman on this Raging Bitch label— I immediately get defensive. Sure, the name of the brewery is Flying Dog and none of the artwork depicts women, but that doesn't keep it from being problematic.
posted by redsparkler at 10:46 AM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

Six Point (even if there is something foul in all their beer)

Pistols at dawn.

The Crisp is my desert-island beer. And yeah, I do appreciate the plain labels.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:52 AM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

I've seen some really terrible beer names but come on "amber" and "blonde" are a problem?

So here is the sentence from the actual article: "And all the unfortunate beers that use the color of a woman’s hair that also coordinate with a beer style—Blonde, Amber—and take a large bra size to create a name" (my emphasis).
posted by en forme de poire at 11:02 AM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

What a fucking shock that a thread about sexist shit has turned into a thread about denying specific examples of sexist shit by any means necessary. Completely shocked. It never happens, I'm totally amazed at it.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:06 AM on February 23, 2017 [57 favorites]

Am I missing something?

The description of the Tumblr possibly? "An image blog highlighting tasteless, controversial, sexist, racist, and offensive US government TTB approved beer labels."

Someone could plausibly find the Muffintop label tasteless and The Citizen label racist.

(Is it poor reading comprehension day again at Metafilter?)
posted by Squeak Attack at 11:07 AM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

A lot of these arguments amount to "A faggot is actually a bundle of sticks used for kindling!"
posted by jeff-o-matic at 11:11 AM on February 23, 2017 [38 favorites]

Is there a list of companies that don't pull this shit?

Great Lakes Brewing Company has beer mostly named after old-timey things, or boat-related items. Probably the punniest beer they have is "Oats MacDonald", and no sexist or racist labels. In fact, I find their labels quite nice looking - Conway's Irish Ale is my favorite label although we don't like that particular beer in our house.
posted by chainsofreedom at 11:18 AM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

August Schell has absolutely beautiful labels, and totally great beer, too.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:19 AM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

One comment removed, a few comments Kinda Side-Eyed, Y'all. Unpacking the details of something problematic from a perspective of recognizing the problematic aspect but having nuanced thoughts or points of disagreement about that is pretty okay conversion but if your read on this stuff is taking the form of basically "nah, I'm confused/unfamiliar with the problem so maybe it doesn't exist" you're not really contributing much.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:20 AM on February 23, 2017 [8 favorites]

Ha, I always forget that Cleveland has a Great Lakes Brewery too! I'm in Ontario, so TO's Great Lakes is what I think of when I hear that name. Sorry!
posted by Kitteh at 11:24 AM on February 23, 2017

Probably the punniest beer they have is "Oats MacDonald"

Whereas I would have gone with E-I-E-I-OATS, but then I'm a bad person.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:26 AM on February 23, 2017 [18 favorites]

So I've been a homebrewer for a good long while now and the punny thing is almost universal in the culture. I would strongly suspect that there's an overwhelming cross section of homebrewers and Monty Python fans.

On the homebrew side, most of the bad names seem to really come from the older nerdy types that remind me of nothing more than a half shaven leering old man who's busy sucking his teeth. Most of the younger crowd just rolls their eyes at that sort of thing. (Though you still have 12 year old boy mentality)

The commercial side completely baffles me though. But it's interesting to see the reaction to this as opposed to last year's blowup that happened with "Special Ed's" in Galt (Story here). There was very little "PC BS" pushback against that one even with what felt like a disingenuous surprised reaction from the brewer/owner. (He wisely changed the name to River Rock Brewery).

I think it's all a matter that we need to keep pushing. I tend to strike at it from the economic angle because it's much harder for people to double down on the PC Snowflake rebuttal. But I think with enough repetition of the message it will keep getting better. And it has to because of market saturation. We're reaching a point where the weaker brewers are beginning to lose out and a lot of these names are going to keep people away when they need to be including more of the potential market.
posted by drewbage1847 at 11:31 AM on February 23, 2017 [7 favorites]

Seconding drewbage1847.

I want women especially to be more comfortable in the craft beer scene but it's a heck of a lot of fun when done right. I've gone from seeing women trailing behind boyfriends & husbands at festivals to see large percentages of attendees be female either with a group of friends (and oh man, that makes me so happy) or taking lead before dudes in queues for brews. When I see women at craft beer festivals, I visibly relax because I feel less, not unsafe, but not alone, I guess? Like, I can politely approach them and ask, "Hey, what has been your favourite beer so far? Anything you would recommend I try?"
posted by Kitteh at 11:39 AM on February 23, 2017 [6 favorites]

Agree 100%! - I'm happy to see more POC's and women at beer events - fully engaged, passionate and kicking ass. Frankly, I really enjoy their perspectives and the change it encourages.
posted by drewbage1847 at 11:43 AM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

A friend of mine made a great beer for a couple to celebrate their marriage- it was "Will & Betty's Cantaloupe Beer." Why cantaloupe? Well, they got married, so now they can't elope.

I thought that pun was pretty good. The beer was a bit shakier.
posted by jenkinsEar at 11:49 AM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

For reals. I want craft beer to be intersectional and not just white dudes with beards. I do what I can and definitely encourage brewers to be different and inclusive.

(A quick anecdote: I co-organized an all women's beer event here in Kingston in January and we of course got pushback about how unfair that was. My fave: "Hey, this is neat! But when are you going to have co-ed events?" My response: "Oh, you mean like every beer festival??")
posted by Kitteh at 11:50 AM on February 23, 2017 [12 favorites]

What's wrong with the "Muffin Top" one? On the label, both the guy and the girl have muffin tops. I never thought of that as a gendered term. I describe myself as having/being a muffin top when shirtless.
posted by Mr. Big Business at 12:00 PM on February 23, 2017

It is, in fact, pretty heavily gendered in general practice.
posted by cortex at 12:09 PM on February 23, 2017 [13 favorites]

A pretty easy way to demonstrate that is to Google Image Search "muffin top" and count how many men you see.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:10 PM on February 23, 2017 [9 favorites]

Also, do we need to nitpick every single entry on the tasteless label site? It's labels the creator of the site thought were tasteless! Calling the pudge bulging out over my pants a muffin top is tasteless, yes.

Let's move on!
posted by ODiV at 12:10 PM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

What's wrong with the "Muffin Top" one? On the label, both the guy and the girl have muffin tops. I never thought of that as a gendered term.

Again, this is the mission statement from that tumblr page: "An image blog highlighting tasteless, controversial, sexist, racist, and offensive US government TTB approved beer labels."

YMMV but characterizing visible body fat as a "muffin top" would be considered tasteless by many people, and not just Margaret Dumont types.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:10 PM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

This is why I stick to rainwater and pure grain alcohol.
posted by ryanrs at 12:14 PM on February 23, 2017 [15 favorites]

I have to admit it took me a long while to get the pun in the Kingston Brew Pub's Dicken's Cider but it is another example of a pretty gross name.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 12:21 PM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Ugh, really???? I have been going to KBC for Beau's FeBREWary this month and now I'm mad!
posted by Kitteh at 12:23 PM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

en forme de poire: “I didn't even find it that offensive compared to all the gross pin-up nonsense but I am totally amazed that people think it's some kind of giant coincidence, or that the makers of a microbrew would never stoop to teenage boy humor.”

It's hard when it's something you've been drinking for years and you trusted the people who made it. I really like their Milk Stout - probably my favorite American stout – but I guess that's gone to shit and I won't drink it anymore. Who knows, that was probably a reference to semen or something. The world is shit.
posted by koeselitz at 12:25 PM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

I had Moose Drool when I visited Alaska. It was OK.
posted by jonmc at 12:29 PM on February 23, 2017

Meanwhile, in the wine world, there was a dust-up in Australia over a wine labelled "The old bloke and three young blondes". And in France, there's been a trend toward not just sexist names, but sexually explicit labels too. Yeesh.
posted by Cash4Lead at 12:32 PM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

As a Man I am offended when I see Women only events for things that generally should be pretty gender neutral. And I should be, because the reality that Women feel that they need to exclude men so that they can have good time is something that is offensive. Women should be able to have fun and enjoy themselves without worrying about predatory, or just gross Guys. We should all be offended that this is the reality in just about every area of public life.

But till those basic realities change being sulky about it isn't going to help anyone. Hold your own events, make them inclusive and maybe Women won't need to have their own Women only events.... or maybe they still will but it'll be for reasons that we won't have to be embarrassed about.

Assholes out there need to learn some empathy.
posted by cirhosis at 12:33 PM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

One issue is that the post is framed as targeting sexist advertising. But the tumblr is just focused on tasteless advertising. Some things can be tasteless but not be sexism. I don't think references to sex are automatically sexist, absence the presence of objectifying imagery or language about women. The labels about dirty blondes, double D blondes, here's a girl in a low-cut shirt selling you beer? Obviously sexist.

But while the stranger is obviously a masturbation reference... the label itself seems to include people of all different genders in non-sexualized, normal poses. It's tasteless. I don't think it's misogynistic. I accept that others may disagree, but it bothers me that people who point this out are treated as "not getting it." This is something I feel reasonable people/feminists could have different viewpoints on. I'm a woman, for the record.
posted by Emily's Fist at 12:47 PM on February 23, 2017 [14 favorites]

Because it's taking examples from one link in a multi-link post and nit-picking it for no reason. We can all agree some tasteless things aren't sexist. Let's move on?

Also, please don't use the edit window to add stuff to your comment (which I think happened, but now am second guessing myself).
posted by ODiV at 12:51 PM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

I was annoyed by this bullshit post recently: Are you as shocked by these "sexist" craft beer labels as I am?! in which the writer starts off by complaining about "SJW types" before explaining how actually most labels featuring women aren't sexist because they're variously: "positive"; "cultural norms"; "ugly"; "cartoons"; "apart from some cleavage, fully dressed"; and on and on and on before concluding that "women are some of the rarest subjects to be depicted on beer labels."

Dude. Really. Pull your head out of your ass.

I suggested to him on Twitter that he repeat his survey but consider how many labels depict decorative men. No response.

(I couldn't actually think of that many, off the top of my head; most of them monks. Or Monk.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:58 PM on February 23, 2017 [11 favorites]

I agree that there could be better behaviour from male attendees and brewers at beer festivals, but I love all women events solely because they are great safe spaces. I can put my beer down without asking my partner or a friend to watch it for me. I can go pee and not have to worry about a spiked drink. I can go to them and not worry about being catcalled or harassed. I can have a good time without having to play the everyday game of "how will I be reminded that I am a woman". I can relax, which can be really damn hard at other beer events.

If men have a problem with all women beer events, that's on them. I am not here to soothe those bruised egos. I am here to support and promote people who create a comfortable environment for women who want to enjoy beer.
posted by Kitteh at 12:59 PM on February 23, 2017 [33 favorites]

I've seen some really terrible beer names but come on "amber" and "blonde" are a problem?

If the label artwork looks like St. Pauli Girl or some such, sure, I'm all for boycotting whatever is in the bottle...but come on there's nothing wrong with those words. Maybe take the "e" off blond or something but really, that's some A-plus political correctness gone overboard if someone is getting butthurt over just those words alone.

One example of where this goes over the line this is Deep Ellum Brewing in Dallas, TX, which had an aggressively sexist slogan and ad campaign for its "Dallas Blonde" beer. They've refused to change it, despite being criticized for it since 2013, because they are assholes. Don't buy beer from people who advertise like this.
posted by demonic winged headgear at 12:59 PM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

For reals. I want craft beer to be intersectional and not just white dudes with beards.

It's enraging because I personally know a ton of women, POCs, and trans folk who work in the craft beer industry, and I don't even know very many people -- and yet the general culture of the industry is still stuck in this 'well it's just me and my friends who are all straight white dudes, no one else is paying attention, so' mentality.
posted by beerperson at 1:16 PM on February 23, 2017 [9 favorites]

totally ridiculous conspiracy theory to see something about jerking off in the Stranger label.

So, guy with his back to you, right hand at crotch level, and a big cloud of jizz in front of him. Nope, nothing even remotely suggests jerking off in that artwork.

Oh, it's not representing jizz? What is it, then? They've gone out of their way to make sure you know it's not smoke by putting a cigarette in the hand of the front-right patron.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 1:26 PM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

Mostly I drink beer that has nothing more than a star or a text logo or another text logo or at most an anchor, but the disgustingness of the many examples above made me question the two beers I like that do have sexualized women on the label, Lagunitas Li'l Sumpin' Sumpin' and Coney Island Mermaid Pilsner, and why the labels didn't keep me away.

In the first case, I think it's because when I started drinking it it was at a time and place where women were very engaged in rockabilly and burlesque scenes, and Bettie Page was considered an icon. Both the art and name of Li'l Sumpin' Sumpin' seemed to be of a piece with that retro sex-positivity. "Li'l Sumpin' Sumpin'" is an overt sexual reference, but it's not some gross pun; it's like "making whoopee" in its outdatedness and toothlessness.

In the second case, the sexy mermaid struck me as a tribute to the participants in the annual Mermaid Parade by way of Suicide Girls—yes, they're selling it with sex, but at least they're hijacking sexuality that comes from places of empowerment. (And by the way, that Albino Python label from the Tumblr is from a different Coney Island Brewing, formerly owned by Schmaltz, now owned by Boston Beer, that is gross and juvenile.)

Now that I've read this post it seems wrong to excuse two examples that seem okay to me, since they're part and parcel of a really gross phenomenon, but it leads me to ask: Women beer fans, is it possible to have a sexy woman on a label and have it not be gross? Are there any examples? (Like, if this were the label, would it still suck just for the fact that a company was using a woman to sell beer?)
posted by ejs at 1:42 PM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

This is all overcompensating for the blatant phallic-ness of beer bottles, right?
posted by mattamatic at 2:04 PM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Not to belabor the Stranger (which is an excellent beer), but how is masturbation sexist?

On edit, I just noticed Emily's Fist's comment. And, together, I guess that makes us eponysterical.
posted by sixpack at 2:08 PM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Milk stout is called so because it's made with lactose.
posted by brujita at 2:09 PM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

ODiV: “Because it's taking examples from one link in a multi-link post and nit-picking it for no reason. We can all agree some tasteless things aren't sexist. Let's move on?”

Indeed. It's easy to get defensive when it's a brewery you like and have a lot of experience with – but absolutely it's a waste of time and in fact a huge distraction to spend a lot of time screaming about how it couldn't possibly be a sexual reference, as I have been doing. I regret derailing this conversation.

The fact is that we're really just bickering over where the edges of the category lie at this point, whereas the essential fact is that the category does in fact exist. Some beers are sexist. Some beers are in fact clearly so. We are not here to decide which are and which are not. We're here to decide what's to be done about it.

I know putting pressure on individual breweries is one way to start. But I also think it's good that we're having this conversation, and that we acknowledge that it exists. Brewers need to know that we're aware of this when they name their beers, need to know that this is a consideration they should make. And it's indisputable that the vast majority of examples on this list are clearly and distinctly sexist.
posted by koeselitz at 2:20 PM on February 23, 2017 [6 favorites]

As a stranger from the internet who is undeniably left handed, I can assure you I am not always jerking it. I mean... really? Is this really a slang term? Is this a real euphemism that I've not heard in 40 years? I mean, left handed is a derogatory term? ...

Its not enough that I've encountered the injustice of right handed soup ladles, that as a left handed child we were forced to fight over the crappiest scissors ever, and that we statistically get into more accidents in the US because apparently cars and road rules are designed with a blind right hand bias. I have known only two injustices in life, one being tall enough to crack my head on pretty much everything, and the other basically handling seemingly mundane objects like an idiot because they were designed antagonistically. Unfortunately, I'm male and white and the level of prejudice which folks who look like me have undeniably foisted on others overwrites anything to do with my handedness. I'm totally okay with that being the case.

But please, can we not assume that all left handed strangers are jerking it?
posted by Nanukthedog at 2:27 PM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I didn't see Stranger as a jerking it reference. I was confused as to why it was on the naughty list. To wit: My impression is "label shows a party scene, with silhouette of someone NOBODY ELSE RECOGNIZES showing up nonchalantly in the doorway, in standard cool-person pose"

BUT... So many of you are seeing a dude jerking off. Which is weird to me because at no point did I say to myself "Oh yeah that guy is beating off in front of all of these shocked people" - especially because no one in the crowd seems to be more than vaguely surprised, rather than shocked? Many are ignoring the guy. And if you're going right to "BUT HIS HAND ISN'T VISIBLE" well shit, NONE of the people drawn on the label have both hands visible, are they ALL playing with themselves? What about this made so many people jump straight to "OMG it's a masturbation joke!" so damn quickly?

If it's a sly reference to jerking off, it's incredibly poorly done, because too few people are getting the "joke". If it's an innocent coincidence, and you're seeing jerkoff where no jerkoff was intended, then blame the oversexualized beer label industry in general for making you SEE a poor taste joke where none exists. But either way - for fuck's sake, it doesn't appear to even be a beer they MAKE any more, so if it WAS in poor taste they GOT RID OF IT (maybe even in response to complaints! Yay!) so let's save our collective energy to yell at the idiots still making the equivalent of Spread Eagled Naked Lady Date Rape IPA and thinking how CLEVER and EDGY they are.

tl;dr: There's too much low hanging fruit in terms of shitty sexist beer labels to spend any more energy on this one.
posted by caution live frogs at 2:28 PM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

Not to belabor the Stranger (which is an excellent beer), but how is masturbation sexist?

Note: on the 1990s slang run, "stranger" = sitting on one's hand until it is asleep so that one's hand doesn't feel what one's genitrotty do.
posted by mr. digits at 2:30 PM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

caution live frogs: “There's too much low hanging fruit in terms of shitty sexist beer labels to spend any more energy on this one.”

Hear, hear. This is bigger than a controversy about whether a single beer label is or is not a vague pun. I see stuff like the aforementioned Lagunitas "Sumpin Sumpin" label every time I go to the liquor store – so the problem is clearly real, edge cases aside.
posted by koeselitz at 2:40 PM on February 23, 2017

Hello friends, the stranger is the "sit on your hand" move but it's also the left hand because unlike your right hand, it's unfamiliar. Now to hope none of my non-MeFite friends is reading this.

(Also I love Flying Dog but they are among the worst about this and as a female beer drinker and general decent human being I really hope this industry trend goes away and am glad to see big names speaking up.)
posted by capricorn at 4:08 PM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

Btw I agree that tasteless doesn't necessarily mean sexist or racist and I do wish it were a little better parsed out in some of the links. I have a very teenagery sense of humor and love puerile sex puns, and I don't even think a joke about masturbation (I literally almost wrote "a jerk" there, hello Freud) is intrinsically offensive. But I can also see how a preponderance of dick jokes, even ones that aren't misogynist in the way that some of these labels clearly are, could still feel alienating to people who are already feeling excluded by an industry's overwhelming focus on pandering to straight white dudes (see also video games etc).
posted by en forme de poire at 4:36 PM on February 23, 2017 [9 favorites]

One thing about Japanese craft beer: there are very few companies producing beers that have names aside from the description, and very few outside of that that do anything like puns or joke names, most likely due to how difficult it is to make a joke name work in two languages. For the most part, you get COMPANY NAME: TYPE OF BEER, though you do get some more florid names for places with special features (Minoh, which makes awesome beer, is located near a waterfall famous for monkeys, so they have a series of monkey-themed beer), or some of the foreign owned breweries that have just said, why not, and gone with pun based names.

Then again, I've heard more than a couple times that craft beer in Japan is seem more as something for women, so maybe that has something to do with the lack of horrifically obnoxious bullshit on labels.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:47 PM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

I feel about this similarly to how I feel about cheerleaders at NBA games.

Last fall my wife and I went to the States and took in our first Portland Trailblazers game together (not my first) and her first NBA game. It was great, she loved it, we were having fun. Then the fucking cheerleaders came out. What the fuck? How am I supposed to encourage her to enjoy and consume the product of an industry that is so openly hostile to and objectifying of women and girls? How is she supposed to enjoy that?

She loves beer, and in the last 8-10 years she's gotten into some terrific "craft" beers--we've gone to breweries and taprooms from Russian River to Pizza Port, from De Garde to Holy Mountain, from Mikkeller to 8wired. But if we're looking in a bottleshop or sth and come across this kind of sub-St. Pauli Girl sexism, I'm ashamed. I mean, how can I in good conscience encourage her to continue to enjoy the products of an industry that is this openly hostile to and objectifying of women? How is she supposed to enjoy that?

So far it seems that her internal cost-benefit analysis is fine; she still wants to drink craft beers and she's asked several times about hitting another NBA game next time we're in the US. But if she changes her mind I'm right there with her. Fuck this shit.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 6:01 PM on February 23, 2017 [15 favorites]

Re: Japanese craft beer - Minoh in Osaka is great, and their taproom in town (not the brewery itself) is also great (and tiny, and not crowded, and the dudes working there can have English conversation as long as the vocabulary is restricted to names of breweries and types of beer). Oh--and it's women-owned!
posted by Joseph Gurl at 6:03 PM on February 23, 2017 [5 favorites]

Lucette is the only beer I've been aware of that was local to me and had overtly sexist imagery and names. Even their keg pulls are ridiculous.

Otherwise, I've been around Karl Strauss with their stuff named after San Diego-themed things; Ballast Point, named after fish; Stone; my friends' brewery; and Leinie's.

New Glarus has one beer called "Two Women", but that's because they're woman-owned and collaborated with another woman-owned company on it.
posted by LionIndex at 6:11 PM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Joseph Gurl, if you have the chance, Minoh has finished building their new taproom/warehouse space near the old brewery. It's a very nice, open space, with all of their current beers on tap, and some snacks as well. Full disclosure: Mrs. Ghidorah is a Minoh fanatic (and me, too), and works for them at pretty much every event they do in and around Tokyo, and I've worked some events for them as well. Kaori, the owner, is pretty amazing, and they have put together a pretty solid group of people working for them.

Beer Belly, the restaurants in Osaka, are not exactly part of Minoh, though they are run by other members of the family (I think, I'm not entirely sure). The Tenma branch is great because Tenma is great, but the Higobashi branch has fantastic burgers, and Hachio-san is always fantastic to talk to. They've also started brewing beer at Higobashi, too, which is kind of fun.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:35 PM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

Nice, Ghidorah. I'm sure I'll be back there in the next year or two. I didn't like Beer Belly at all, just not a vibe I could get down with. If you're ever in Seoul and feeling like a beer, hit me up!
posted by Joseph Gurl at 6:43 PM on February 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Count me in the "who tf is seeing a masturbator in that label" camp.

Maybe this is like the The Dress, because try as I might I only see a silhouette of an unknown person with their hand in their pocket. Literally nothing suggests masturbation.

And The Stranger is a good publication out of Seattle. Yeah, it also is a joke from Chapelle show. At least it's not Samuel Jackson Beer. "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!!!!"
posted by juice boo at 7:03 PM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

And, um, a book by Albert Camus. But it doesn't matter--litigating a single example is bullshit and deraily.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:24 PM on February 23, 2017 [6 favorites]

The Alaskan Brewing Company is still independently owned, the owners are decent people, and the beer is good.
posted by D.C. at 7:41 PM on February 23, 2017

Agreed, it's a total derail... but it's kind of an interesting derail, if only because so many people see such wildly different interpretations of what's going on.

But, yeah, it's a derail. To get back: gross misogynist labeling is gross. TOTALLY AGREE. I haven't drank Lagunitas in years, and this is why. It's kind of fucked when Budweiser is most socially progressive than a microbrewer.
posted by juice boo at 7:43 PM on February 23, 2017

I'm on record above as claiming that Lagunitas is on the less-gross end of the grossness spectrum, when you have other examples like Dallas Blonde, Double-D Blonde, Farmer's Daughter's Melons, and Happy Ending or Motorboat to compare it to, but I'm not only surprised that it's getting an extra amount of hate in this thread compared to those, I'm surprised someone would compare it unfavorably to Budweiser.
posted by ejs at 8:24 PM on February 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

Just noticing that Samuel Adams only has one hand visible on the label and wondering if there are any beers that don't depict a guy masturbating. You start seeing it everywhere, like the number 23...
posted by Cookiebastard at 9:21 PM on February 23, 2017

I haven't drank Lagunitas in years, and this is why.

Barely ever drink Lagunitas because I don't like it. This is my mental image of Lagunitas bottles, boring and forgettable, so completely didn't get the first person complaining. Google image search and oh, I see now. Also I freely admit that I have seen Little Sumpin' around and the sexism just blended into the background sexism of beer marketing. (OTOH I'm sure I made an effort to avoid remembering "Brown Shugga" even existed let alone who made it.)

Enough has probably been said on this but ranting about bad puns and incompetent art--which I like and don't really mind, respectively--in response to complaints about pretty wretched racist and sexist crap seems fairly off to me.
posted by mark k at 10:50 PM on February 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

My guess is that Lagunitas is getting extra attention because it's so mainstream. I had never seen a lot of the breweries in the tasteless labels collection; Lagunitas, OTOH, strikes me as more likely to actually be in your local corner store on average, just because they're so huge (apparently half-owned by Heineken, which I didn't know but which makes sense).
posted by en forme de poire at 2:55 AM on February 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

Regarding Left Hand - milk stout the generic name for a specific type of beer. The Stranger is definitely a 'thing', right up there with 'donkey punch' or 'Cleveland steamer'. I'd say the general take around here is correct, but the more subtle execution and 'wink-nudge' implication of male exhibitionism make me question its inclusion in a category with 'look at those anatomies!' [degrading sexual term] Blonde labels.

Also, wtf is Moose Drool supposed to be a reference to? Is it jism?
posted by cult_url_bias at 2:59 AM on February 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

There are ridiculously macho things that take skill and dedication to achieve, like driving obnoxiously or having washboard abs. Then there's drinking lotsa beer and putting hot pepper sauce on stuff. Any one can do those things, but somehow it makes some guys feel manly. Low-effort macho can be had for a few bucks a bottle! It's sort of like cosmetics.
posted by bendybendy at 4:19 AM on February 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

It was great drinking beers with you (again) this past weekend, Kitteh! Can't wait to hear the podcast that came from your interview that day.
posted by terrapin at 8:34 AM on February 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

It was great drinking beers with you (again) this past weekend, Kitteh! Can't wait to hear the podcast that came from your interview that day.

Same! That was a super pleasant surprise! You guys definitely need to make the Eastern Ontario/Toronto beer tour this year.
posted by Kitteh at 8:42 AM on February 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Also, wtf is Moose Drool supposed to be a reference to? Is it jism?

I always assumed it was meant to be taken literally. Slightly gross, I guess, but also amusing. This is how you do sophomoric humor people. No sex required.
posted by Hactar at 10:13 AM on February 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'd say the Golden Shower one from Dogfish Head is in bad taste

Ugh, that's disappointing. I thought Dogfish Head was better than that.
posted by Automocar at 10:55 AM on February 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I thought Dogfish Head was better than that.

It was quite a few years ago, to be fair, and is no longer in production, so far as I know.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:21 PM on February 24, 2017

Also, wtf is Moose Drool supposed to be a reference to? Is it jism?

This might be a stretch, but: "moose knuckle" is akin to "camel toe," aka, a euphemism for a vulva. Once you're there, well, then it's a short jump to "moose drool" being vaginal secretions.
posted by explosion at 12:46 PM on February 24, 2017

Um, Lagunitas' master brewer is...a woman.

I understand the argument running through this thread, but I disagree with it. Let me try to summarize: Making beer is big business today, and like most businesses, it is dominated by men. Because of this, beer companies are careless with their marketing, often choosing names and depictions on their labels that alienate women, and serve as a barrier to entry in this business, which has grown quite profitable in the past two decades. People who make personal attacks against those who object to this form of sexism are "pushing back" to maintain the status quo, which provides a further barrier to entry in this field. People who (like me), disagree with this argument are perpetuating both discrimination against women and other groups of people who are traditionally excluded from this industry..

If I got any of that wrong, please correct me (I mean in the factual sense...if I provoked moral outrage and you find it "wrong" in that sense...then apologize in advance. Please bear in mind that I am just trying to have a conversation with someone--you--who disagrees with me.

OK, some objections that I would like to hear responses to:

--Starting a brewery is *not* an ease-of-entry business. It takes a lot of money, or capital. White men tend to have that in spades. I will freely admit that the capital-having could come from systems that exclude non-white, non-men, but we are talking about marketing here, so let me simply agree and set that point aside.

--There are gender dynamics that are reflected in patterns of alcohol consumption that provide a pretty clear explanation of why we are seeing buxom women and sexual double-entendres. From Gallup.com:

The percentage of young men and young women who claim that beer is their alcoholic beverage of choice has actually *decreased* in recent years, but there are still about twice as many young men as young women drink beer as their "goto" beverage (53% to 20% respectively for 2012-2013; the numbers are exactly reversed for wine...this likely explains why you don't see buxom women on wine labels).

Men like boobs. I like them. A lot. I like butts, too. I may be here with you, but I refuse to pretend that there are parts of a woman's anatomy that draw my attention without fail. Put that on a beer label, and I will look at it. If I look at it, you have done your job as a marketer.

(And...perhaps I am a sleezeball, weirdo, or creep. I can accept that, because I don't think that what draws my interest and attention dictates how I have to treat you. I understand this is a huge bone of contention, and that most people here do not agree with what I have just said, and possibly find it tasteless and offensive. OK. Tastes do vary, and I believe very strongly that things can be both offensive and true).

Here is a possible counter-objection that I want to anticipate and respond to. It is absolutely possible that there is a massive untapped market for female beer drinkers. That could be driving the numbers I just cited. And marketing could certainly be a factor. Hey...that has it's own keen logic, and I see that. If women are being turned off by beer labels, then it absolutely makes sense that more men would drink beer than women. I don't know how you prove that, other than to take every poster here at his or her word and extrapolate. I'm disagreeing with you, OK? My opinion is different. I do take you who are in disagreement with me at your word, but I have a very hard time extrapolating. I am not female, but I have a lot of female friends in my peer group. They all hate Trump, but they love Lagunitas beers. (And, just for a moment, why not? Thier master brewer has two X chromosomes and supervises 19 men.)

Also, Brewers are aware of the problem and are trying (and failing!) to get more women to drink beer.

Lastly, and I mean this with a bit of cheek, but also a grain of seriousness...if there are women who would drink beer if not for the packaging, wouldn't it be a better endeavor to bring your own unoffensive product to market? You know, to corner the market? I believe some of you work in the industry...and if you are doing this, good.

Two more quick objections that I have seen addressed here tangentially, but not quite head on: I am getting the sense that many people here are making arguments as if their sensibilities aligned perfectly with positive social outcomes. Perhaps they do, but I find this extremely dubious. I love tasteless humor. I also go to church, pay taxes, and try to treat people with respect especially when I don't agree with them. One of the funniest jokes I have ever heard was the comment, "You look like you coud use a nice, cold cup of pork gravy!" said to a grad student who had passed all off his dissertation, save the oral defense after he showed up to the oral defense hung over. That probably made you retch. It makes me chuckle every time.

If I could order this beer, would. Then I would say, "Hey, I have a big dick!" which is a lie. BTW, I've actually met the owners of Minhas Brewery. They are both from India, and one of them is a woman.

Lastly, and this is a major quibble I have with the argument I see advanced here is that it presumes a very negative almost-to-the-point-of-pathological view of sex. Why do boobs, butts, and dicks makes us so uncomfortable? Why are so many people here sitting in judgment of masturbation wordplay? Sorry to go full-MeFi, but tbe only way this level of discomfort makes any sense is if there are people here who don't masturbate. What a waste!

If it's just a matter of taste, I get it. But when it becomes the lynchpin of a social theory of how men are obligated to treat half the world's population, I could not disagree more. Let me try to be fair and rehearse the argument here (and again...please let me know if I got this right): sexualized depictions of women reduce them to the status of an object, which removes their agency and prevents them from social and political equality. OK, again, perhaps...but I disagree.

I think women are much stronger and self-aware than that argument gives them credit for. I think they do not have problems making decisions about their own sexuality, and...to be very explicit, I don"t see how men benefit from controlling women in this way. This last line is probably a bit of a headscratcher, because I think the control seems self-evident to people who see it...so I won't deny it. Let me just circle back to what I believe in place of that tidy theory of social control: boobs and butts sell beer. Hey, so do dicks. The next time I'm in Monroe Wisconsin, I am going to pick up a case of Minhas Big Dick beer.

This extremely fearful view of sex is a very USA'n thing. It is, to my mind, a choice, and a poor one. Yes, many bad things can happen to you when you take your clothes off. But a lot of fun things can happen, too. Have we all agreed to a communal sense of amnesia on that last point?

Hey, if you read all of this and I haven't swayed you one bit...good. you are entitled to your opinion. Thank you for allowing me to express mine.
posted by Mr. Fig at 2:21 PM on February 24, 2017

"Moose Knuckle" is actually slang for a man's junk. So,"Moose Drool" would be ejaculate.
posted by coldbabyshrimp at 2:26 PM on February 24, 2017

Um, Lagunitas' master brewer is...a woman.

Everything else aside, Lagunitas was founded and is still run by an asshole dude named Tony Magee. The title of head brewer or brewmaster does not come with branding or marketing duties.

Also everything else you said was wrong too
posted by beerperson at 2:52 PM on February 24, 2017 [14 favorites]

Lastly, and this is a major quibble I have with the argument I see advanced here is that it presumes a very negative almost-to-the-point-of-pathological view of sex. Why do boobs, butts, and dicks makes us so uncomfortable?

You're confusing an objection to lazy sexism in marketing with a fear of sex and I don't know where to start in guiding you away from that other than saying your thinking on this seems deeply incurious. Lots of people like sex. Lots of people like boobs. Lots of people like to masturbate. Literally none of that has to do with whether they like to see beer producers falling on lazy sexist/exploitative tropes in their marketing. Most folks don't use beer labels as a masturbation aid.

There's plenty of other stuff I disagree with about the arguments you're making above—the casual dismissal of systemic racism and sexism in American business, the absurd "but there's a WOMAN in charge of one of those breweries" handwave, etc—but this whole anti-puritanism line of your argument is so deeply off-the-mark that you are either very badly misunderstanding what people have said in here or you're bypassing even trying to understand in your haste to plant this weird, rote "you're all anti-sex!" flag in the sand in a conversation that's not really about that at all.
posted by cortex at 2:52 PM on February 24, 2017 [19 favorites]

Um, Lagunitas' master brewer is...a woman.

Strictly speaking: one of Lagunitas' head brewers, at their Chicago brewery is a woman. They also brew in Petaluma (the original location) and soon also in Azuza; I wasn't able to find out who the head brewers at those locations are. As a company, it's still very much run by Tony Magee who is still very much a dudebro.

(on preview, what beerperson said)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 2:54 PM on February 24, 2017 [5 favorites]

And on the "maybe women are being turned off by beer labels" point: hell, I'm a man and I'm turned off by some beer labels. Raging Bitch sounds like it'd be just the kind of beer I'd like; but I've never bought it because, ugh, that name and that label.

I'm also never going to buy Big Dick; or The Brown Note; because just grow up already.

Sorry to go full-MeFi, but tbe only way this level of discomfort makes any sense is if there are people here who don't masturbate.

Wanking's fine. Wanking in my beer's not fine.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:05 PM on February 24, 2017 [8 favorites]

but tbe only way this level of discomfort makes any sense is if there are people here who don't masturbate.

Actually, there's another way this level of discomfort makes sense: if you realize that other people exist, and that the simple pleasure of ordering and drinking a delicious beer is, for a very large percentage of the population (like, say, half!) is unfortunately yet another opportunity to be reminded that in the minds of a lot of people, their intrinsic worth is to be measured as objects, stereotypes, or punchlines.

I'd ask you to imagine, or put yourself in a woman's shoes, but your very long "I think this is all silly, as a man, I think it's just because people are afraid of sex, and they're all overreacting anyway" post makes me think that might be difficult for you, or something you'd just not be willing to do. That said, imagine you live in a world where you are expected to be look nice (or hear comments about your appearance), be polite (or be described as bitchy), not talk too much (or be described as domineering), or being told to smile on demand by absolute strangers (or be told you're a frigid bitch), or any of a thousand examples you can read about on this very website, after all of that, after a long day of trying to maintain your sense of self-worth in the face of a world that does it best to tear it down, you decide to get a beer, and when you ask for an IPA, the leering bartender hands you a big glass of Big Titted Hooker IPA and smiles at you as if you're supposed to think its funny, too.

Tl/dr: women aren't objects, or punchlines, and seriously shouldn't have to put up with stupid backwoods attempts at jokes that weren't funny twenty years ago at any point in time. It's a good thing that maybe another aspect of daily life might be starting to realize that.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:29 PM on February 24, 2017 [24 favorites]

> Beer + sex is a time-honored advertising technique: note the women in vintage beer posters.

The promise of joy (even if unfulfilled) is renewed by yet another bottle.

I'm seriously facepalming here. Do you really not recognize that for a lot of people, looking at images of scantily-clad women is not any kind of "promise of joy" and is at best irrelevant and more likely an alienating reminder that the person looking at the image is presumed by the image-creators to be an object of attraction, not a subject who wants to drink a damn beer? Preferably a beer that's not insulting on its face?

> Um, Lagunitas' master brewer is...a woman.

Um, Lagunitas' master brewer (*in Chicago) has... apparently been on the job since 2013 at the earliest, and Little Sumpin' Sumpin' has been on the market since 2009, so... um?

Seriously, starting a comment with "uh" or "um" is a pretty good indicator of "I intend to be obnoxious". You might want to drop that habit, unless you intend to put people's hackles up.

perhaps I am a sleezeball, weirdo, or creep

Dunno about that, but definitely bad at recognizing when the weak points you're trying to make have already been made and refuted. But that's correctable. If you want it to be.
posted by Lexica at 4:33 PM on February 24, 2017 [7 favorites]

The promise of joy (even if unfulfilled) is renewed by yet another bottle.

How is a drawing of a woman in any way a "promise of joy"?

Actual women are not required to do anything to or with you simply because you think a drawing on a beer bottle is making some sort of "promise" on our behalf. We don't belong to you. You can't "promise" joy from us.
posted by Deoridhe at 5:53 PM on February 24, 2017 [10 favorites]

Mr. Fig, this is not a good way to respond to a Metafilter thread. This isn't a roundtable about your personal opinions, and responding individually to each person keeps the discussion focused on you in a way that isn't tenable. This is probably a good point to acknowledge that you're not likely to change anyone's mind and step back, instead.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 7:03 PM on February 24, 2017

Why do boobs, butts, and dicks makes us so uncomfortable?

Nice try adding dicks in there, but approximately zero beers are advertised with lascivious pictures of dicks.

Actual boobs and butts do not trouble me at all. But here's a shocker for you: the majority of women in our culture have a fair number of personal traumas linked to our bodies, perception of our bodies, and the way men around us interact with women's bodies. For some of us, they are fairly mild, "just" a lifetime of being told our worth as humans comes from having the right parts shaped in the right way. For some of us, they are violent and horrifying acts of cruelty.

Imagine a company taking some of the worst and most humiliating experiences from your childhood, adolescence, and entire life, and using those humiliations in a "funny" or "sexy" or "eye-catching" way to sell a product. Now imagine nearly EVERY company doing this. Not just beer companies! Just most companies, in most industries. Now imagine being told it isn't that big a deal, everyone else is having fun, get over it and lighten up.

A dislike of toxic masculinity and exuberant misogyny is nowhere near prudishness, sorry.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 7:38 PM on February 24, 2017 [22 favorites]

Most folks don't use beer labels as a masturbation aid.

I'm almost curious about what information you have that suggests there's some part of the population that does use beer labels as a masturbation aid...but ultimately, no, I'd really rather not know.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:38 PM on February 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Part of the startingly-tasteless beer labels thing seems to come from the fact that, at least in the US, beer is an "adult" product. You cannot, legally, buy (and in most states consume) it, until you're well over the age at which hardcore pornography is legal, so the manufacturers seem to figure they can get away with stuff that they can't do in a normal product. What holds them back from just flat-out putting porn on the bottles seems to be more about what would get them thrown out of grocery stores than ideas about their consumers.

It shows a rather low opinion of their consumers, IMO.

That said, I think there's a difference between the overt sexualization of women used by some companies, and the bad-pun-iness used in others. There's overlap, at least in some cases, but it seems like there's a qualitative difference between putting a hypersexualized "pinup girl" (which is really the softcore porn of a different age) on the label and assuming that's what your target demographic is into, vs. a thinly-veiled anatomical pun, a la "Moose Knuckles". Unless it's part of a pattern of behavior (always referencing female anatomy), or the label artwork puts it into a particularly ugly context, it's hard to say that all of those sort of tastelessly anatomical puns are necessarily sexist, at least in any reasonable and not-diluted form of the term; less than classy, sure, but that and tasteless both strike me as more of an aesthetic objection than one around harm. The sexist stuff, though—and some of the labels on the Tasteless Beers blog are really bad (dear anyone who thinks that "Bitch Slap" is a good phrase to use in a marketing pitch, wtf is wrong with you?)—that stuff is actively harmful.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:53 PM on February 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Clearly the solution is to flood the market with Tom of Finland-style hot buttered cop porn on beer labels, he said, hopefully
(link basically sfw)
posted by en forme de poire at 10:27 PM on February 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

Man, this trend.

There is a brewery in my town that I like. They don't really do the punning trend, though their names aren't just basic descriptors either. Most of the names are okay. Really, they're chasing after a different demographic than one that's going to giggle over "moose drool."

But even they have an obnoxiously named blonde beer, and even they sell it with posters of a scantily clad blonde woman. And it's one of their flagship beers - tasty too. I have never ordered it, and never will.

Reading the thread, apparently this makes me a prude, because the only reason I might object is because I'm uncomfortable with sexual topics. Huh. That's an, umm, interesting theory.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 1:02 AM on February 25, 2017 [8 favorites]

Mr. Fig is exactly the kind of beer drinker that I strive to avoid and the reason why all women beer events have to exist.

Wow, that whole screed was just...wow.
posted by Kitteh at 3:21 AM on February 25, 2017 [12 favorites]

But even they have an obnoxiously named blonde beer, and even they sell it with posters of a scantily clad blonde woman

Yeah, my local has one with an illustration of one of the "Marilyn Monroe with a beach umbrella" pinup shots. It's not great, but it's from a local beach, she's in a relatively modest one piece, and many of their beers have a beach theme, so I'm willing to give them a pass on it. But I won't begrudge anybody who wouldn't.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:07 AM on February 25, 2017

Why do boobs, butts, and dicks makes us so uncomfortable?

Nice try adding dicks in there, but approximately zero beers are advertised with lascivious pictures of dicks.

Actual boobs and butts do not trouble me at all. But here's a shocker for you: the majority of women in our culture have a fair number of personal traumas linked to our bodies, perception of our bodies, and the way men around us interact with women's bodies.

Yeah, it's not that it's butts. It's that it's always ladies butts. Ladies butts, like the one I have on the back of my own body. Like the one that got catcalled just yesterday as I was walking up the stairs to enter a refugee center for my volunteer gig. I was going to do about the least sexy task ever, I had just come from work so was dressed business casual, and this dude was passing on a bicycle, a complete stranger to me. And yet my butt was still the focus of my life.

I like butts a lot but I'd also like to do something as innocuous as drink beer (or volunteer with refugees for Christ's sake) without being reminded that everyone is apparently looking at ladies' butts at all times.
posted by chainsofreedom at 7:02 AM on February 25, 2017 [15 favorites]

I'll probably regret jumping back into this can of worms, but I can't seem to close the can back up until I've gotten it off my chest.

My Mom, who was basically Peggy on Mad Men before she quit to get married and have kids, had a shocking number of men who weren't her partner think it was a cool and fun thing to do to just drop trou and start masturbating in front of her in non-sexytimes situations. From relatives to office bosses to patients in the hospital where she was a candy striper in high school, it was something she was expected to just smile and put up with, because hey! I'm not touching you, so it's all OK, right?

So, when I see an image and title that can fairly easily be interpreted as somebody masturbating in public, yeah, it's got unpleasant connotations. No, I realize I'm not obligated to buy Dirty Old Man Lager if I don't like it, but I don't think it makes me either a pervert or a prude to be disgruntled about seeing it on the grocery store shelf.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:52 PM on February 25, 2017 [11 favorites]

Holy shit that's vile.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:11 PM on February 25, 2017

I just finally looked at the Stranger logo and would like to observe that:

smoke

jizz

tons

left

posted by aspersioncast at 11:38 PM on February 25, 2017 [2 favorites]

I can't believe I am revisiting this thread.

First off: Moose in the fall are a bunch of alcoholics. I can attest to them hanging out in orchards and eating rotting/fermented fruit and stumbling into creeks, getting into mischief, taunting cows on the opposite side of a fence (no really - moose may be jerks when they drink), and otherwise trying to tie one on...

Secondly, I have seen moose, and I have seen them drool - both in the context of drunk and not drunk (the moose that is... I was sober... if I've ever seen a moose drooling while I'm drunk, I've apparently been black out drunk...).
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:32 AM on February 26, 2017 [4 favorites]

Part of the startingly-tasteless beer labels thing seems to come from the fact that, at least in the US, beer is an "adult" product

Yeah, but so are wine and liquor and I don't think sexist advertising is as widespread for those products. I want to think that it has to do with the old stereotype that beer is associated with working class men, but aren't some of the craft beers like $15 a bottle?
posted by FJT at 9:03 AM on February 26, 2017 [2 favorites]

Liquor advertising is wicked sexist. It isn't bleach blond party girl sex sex sex sexist though. Instead, liquor adopts high end escort / dominant ultra sultry accented liquor call girl that has standards higher than your bankroll and the only mark of a sophisticate in her eyes is if you drink the liquor she is schilling.

In other words, still sex sex sex sexist.
posted by Nanukthedog at 2:18 PM on February 26, 2017 [4 favorites]

Yeah, those Jim Beam ads with Mila Kunis? I'd be lying if I said they didn't affect me at all, and I'm a straight woman. And she's fully clothed.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:03 AM on February 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

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