Once upon a time, in the fall of 2009, the Flying Dog Brewery applied for a license to sell its Raging Bitch craft beer, in the state of Michigan. The Michigan Liquor Control Commission, instead, decided to forbid the sale of the beer by denying the application because the label was “detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare.” That leaves me speechless, but whatever.
The brewery filed a suit to overturn the decision as well as challenge the constitutionality of the Michigan Liquor Controls Commission’s ability to ban beer on the basis of finding a particular label to be offensive. They also sought damages from lost sales due to the beer ban. The decision of the Commission was reversed, and Raging Bitch beer is now for sale in Michigan.
According to this article, “the label’s artwork is by Ralph Steadman, who collaborated with journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson on several books. He worked with Flying Dog to produce illustrations for the brewery’s corporate images, according to the suit.” Meanwhile, the First Amendment lawsuit continues.
My heroic local wine and liquor shoppe, consistently voted the best of its kind in southeast Michigan, struck a blow for freedom by sending out raging, celebratory emails to announce the sale of a previously banned beer. And I’ve got a couple of six-packs on hold to pick up on the weekend to share with my boating compadres. In striking a major blow for freedom, an India Pale Ale would pair nicely with a Cuban cigar.
