BrewMaster
12-30-2004, 03:48 PM
link (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1104231964942)
Shaky humour lurks in tasty banned beer
JON FILSON
SUCK IT BACK
Quiz time: In the world of alcohol, when does humour cross the line?
On Dec. 10, the LCBO pulled the Belgian beer Delirium Tremens off the shelves, after initially bringing in 800 cases of it as part of its specialty beer category. The beer was on the shelves for about two weeks.
Delirium Tremens is brewed by the Huyghe brewing company, which has been around since 1654. The beer has an 8.7 per cent alcohol content, high by Canadian standards but within reason for many beers from Belgium, which is known as one of the world's great beer makers.
The beer stands out from the crowd with a gaudy white bottle, and a giddy label, adorned with pink elephants.
Here's the catch: Delirium tremens is a psychosis of chronic alcoholism involving tremours and hallucinations. Hence, the pink elephants.
The name is entirely in jest, of course. But LCBO media co-ordinator Chris Layton explains that's where the Crown corporation draws the line.
"We do have a sense of humour, and offer products with creative names, but we are obviously held accountable if we are seen as making fun of a medical condition," he explains. "We felt it was a serious condition, and we could be accused of insensitivity."
Layton says that removing the beer from the shelves "wasn't the result of a complaint." Rather, he says, the merchandising department was first to notice the beer's play on words, and then the LCBO decided to act.
That explanation doesn't cut it with everyone.
"I'm not saying they're lying, but I have a hard time believing that," says Stephen Beaumont, a beer expert and proprietor of the Toronto restaurant beerbistro. "It's not exactly an arcane term."
He points out the beer had to go through "label approval" by the LCBO before it even made it to the shelves, and has been approved in "the notoriously anal U.S." for years.
He stresses the beer "is part of a long-standing tradition in Belgium of using tongue-in-cheek names. "It's so obviously a joke."
As another example, Beaumont points to a well-known Belgian beer, Duval, which actually means "devil."
Using humour to market alcohol is nothing new around the world. Florida's Happy Face Vodka has the familiar smiling yellow happy face as its logo. Arrogant Bastard Ale comes from San Diego, and is one of the U.S.'s top-rated beers.
Now, to be fair, the LCBO doesn't sell those products, but it does sell Quebec's Fin du Monde (End of the world) and Maudite (Cursed) beer, both Unibroue beers. There's Fat Bastard wine from France. Dead Guy Ale is out of the U.S.
All these drinks are clearly marketing with a darker sense of humour. "We don't take it lightly. We don't just say, "Oh, we don't want that," Layton says of instances when the LCBO pulls a bottle from the shelves.
"We do recognize where you want to be able to distinguish your product from other products. By all means, we certainly understand that. And we have products that do have some fun."
The LCBO can defend products like Fat Bastard, Layton says, because it's actually an industry term to describe a full-bodied wine.
Again, the LCBO's explanation leaves the experts dubious.
"If it is, I've never heard it," Beaumont says.
The Star's wine writer Gordon Stimmell agrees with Beaumont.
No, it isn't a wine term, he says flatly. "Fat is," he explains. Just not "Fat Bastard."
Either way, rather than ban Fat Bastard as well, what Beaumont wants the LCBO to do is consider the humour in both cases. He says the subject has been debated intensely on the local beer lover's website http://www.bartowel.com, with Fat Bastard brought up as a reasonable comparison to Delirium Tremens.
"It's fun. It's all in fun. I don't think there's anyone who sees that beer on the shelves on the LCBO is going to think, `Oh my goodness, that's making fun of alcoholism.'"
"Obesity is a medical condition. If they want to start getting technical like that, it's a medical condition. It's also an insult. And it's a pretty significant insult."
Layton says the LCBO — which, curiously, is a corporation that just recently used the promotional slogan "Whiskey Rocks!" — has a mandate to promote responsible drinking.
If you really want to try the beer, Layton says about 20 per cent of the inventory was sold through 90 stores before it was yanked — so about 160 cases are floating around the province somewhere, if they haven't already been gulped down.
The leftover cases are sitting in a warehouse, Layton says. The LCBO hasn't decided what to do with them.
Is the beer even worth a try? Beaumont, author of Premium Beer Drinker's Guide: The World's Strongest, Boldest and Most Unusual Beers, says, unequivocally, yes. "In my opinion, it's a dramatically underrated beer."
And just because the LCBO won't carry it, doesn't mean beer lovers can't track it down.
Beaumont's restaurant at 18 King St. E. has bought the beer on consignment, and is selling it for $7.89 for a 330-millilitre bottle.
Now obviously I am very passionate about beer and this is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard of. Delirium Tremens (http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/rate_results/180/1385/) is a very good Belgian beer that should not be banned from Ontario over the name. Looks like this stifles any plans I may have had to move to Ontario. Their government may be stupider than our own. Good thing it is still readily available in California along with all of the other beers mentioned in the article.
note: LCBO = Liquor Control Board of Ontario.
Shaky humour lurks in tasty banned beer
JON FILSON
SUCK IT BACK
Quiz time: In the world of alcohol, when does humour cross the line?
On Dec. 10, the LCBO pulled the Belgian beer Delirium Tremens off the shelves, after initially bringing in 800 cases of it as part of its specialty beer category. The beer was on the shelves for about two weeks.
Delirium Tremens is brewed by the Huyghe brewing company, which has been around since 1654. The beer has an 8.7 per cent alcohol content, high by Canadian standards but within reason for many beers from Belgium, which is known as one of the world's great beer makers.
The beer stands out from the crowd with a gaudy white bottle, and a giddy label, adorned with pink elephants.
Here's the catch: Delirium tremens is a psychosis of chronic alcoholism involving tremours and hallucinations. Hence, the pink elephants.
The name is entirely in jest, of course. But LCBO media co-ordinator Chris Layton explains that's where the Crown corporation draws the line.
"We do have a sense of humour, and offer products with creative names, but we are obviously held accountable if we are seen as making fun of a medical condition," he explains. "We felt it was a serious condition, and we could be accused of insensitivity."
Layton says that removing the beer from the shelves "wasn't the result of a complaint." Rather, he says, the merchandising department was first to notice the beer's play on words, and then the LCBO decided to act.
That explanation doesn't cut it with everyone.
"I'm not saying they're lying, but I have a hard time believing that," says Stephen Beaumont, a beer expert and proprietor of the Toronto restaurant beerbistro. "It's not exactly an arcane term."
He points out the beer had to go through "label approval" by the LCBO before it even made it to the shelves, and has been approved in "the notoriously anal U.S." for years.
He stresses the beer "is part of a long-standing tradition in Belgium of using tongue-in-cheek names. "It's so obviously a joke."
As another example, Beaumont points to a well-known Belgian beer, Duval, which actually means "devil."
Using humour to market alcohol is nothing new around the world. Florida's Happy Face Vodka has the familiar smiling yellow happy face as its logo. Arrogant Bastard Ale comes from San Diego, and is one of the U.S.'s top-rated beers.
Now, to be fair, the LCBO doesn't sell those products, but it does sell Quebec's Fin du Monde (End of the world) and Maudite (Cursed) beer, both Unibroue beers. There's Fat Bastard wine from France. Dead Guy Ale is out of the U.S.
All these drinks are clearly marketing with a darker sense of humour. "We don't take it lightly. We don't just say, "Oh, we don't want that," Layton says of instances when the LCBO pulls a bottle from the shelves.
"We do recognize where you want to be able to distinguish your product from other products. By all means, we certainly understand that. And we have products that do have some fun."
The LCBO can defend products like Fat Bastard, Layton says, because it's actually an industry term to describe a full-bodied wine.
Again, the LCBO's explanation leaves the experts dubious.
"If it is, I've never heard it," Beaumont says.
The Star's wine writer Gordon Stimmell agrees with Beaumont.
No, it isn't a wine term, he says flatly. "Fat is," he explains. Just not "Fat Bastard."
Either way, rather than ban Fat Bastard as well, what Beaumont wants the LCBO to do is consider the humour in both cases. He says the subject has been debated intensely on the local beer lover's website http://www.bartowel.com, with Fat Bastard brought up as a reasonable comparison to Delirium Tremens.
"It's fun. It's all in fun. I don't think there's anyone who sees that beer on the shelves on the LCBO is going to think, `Oh my goodness, that's making fun of alcoholism.'"
"Obesity is a medical condition. If they want to start getting technical like that, it's a medical condition. It's also an insult. And it's a pretty significant insult."
Layton says the LCBO — which, curiously, is a corporation that just recently used the promotional slogan "Whiskey Rocks!" — has a mandate to promote responsible drinking.
If you really want to try the beer, Layton says about 20 per cent of the inventory was sold through 90 stores before it was yanked — so about 160 cases are floating around the province somewhere, if they haven't already been gulped down.
The leftover cases are sitting in a warehouse, Layton says. The LCBO hasn't decided what to do with them.
Is the beer even worth a try? Beaumont, author of Premium Beer Drinker's Guide: The World's Strongest, Boldest and Most Unusual Beers, says, unequivocally, yes. "In my opinion, it's a dramatically underrated beer."
And just because the LCBO won't carry it, doesn't mean beer lovers can't track it down.
Beaumont's restaurant at 18 King St. E. has bought the beer on consignment, and is selling it for $7.89 for a 330-millilitre bottle.
Now obviously I am very passionate about beer and this is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard of. Delirium Tremens (http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/rate_results/180/1385/) is a very good Belgian beer that should not be banned from Ontario over the name. Looks like this stifles any plans I may have had to move to Ontario. Their government may be stupider than our own. Good thing it is still readily available in California along with all of the other beers mentioned in the article.
note: LCBO = Liquor Control Board of Ontario.