Now we learn that it’s not a good idea to name your beer after a disease, if you want to avoid controversy. Above is Tyranena Brewing Company’s Scurvy Ale Brewed with Orange Peel. TTB approved the label in 2008 and again in March of 2010. Beernews.org reports that it has not been easy:

Tyranena Brewing finally got label approval late this past week but not without some headaches from the TTB first. Here is the lowdown on what went wrong.

The following is based on one or more Tyranena newsletters.

The Government Is Back On My Nerves And Throwing Off Our Whole Schedule. … Yesterday, we were informed that the TTB rejected our new label… apparently they thought the name “Scurvy” together with the government-mandated Statement of Composition “Ale Brewed With Orange Peel” implies a health benefit from the consumption of the product.

Our new six packs were one the verge of being printed and fortunately we were able to stop them. We will be submitting a variation of the label hoping to get it through… but it is unknown whether it will meet their criteria… or how long it will take them to approve it. … Now our whole schedule is in disarray.

Stacey has been communicating...

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This beer has a rather uncommon and unlikely combination of ingredients. The peppercorns are no great surprise, but the alcohol beverages with chia seeds seem to be few and far between. Wiki reports that chia is an Aztec word for oily, and these seeds contain large amounts of oil, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. (Un)Real El Camino Black Ale is also brewed with fennel seed and mission figs. It is a collaboration among several brewers and is bottled by Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California. If you happen to prefer your chia with a little less fennel and alcohol, you will be delighted to know that you can buy a variety of Chia Pets here (including the one showing President Obama). Leaving the purported health benefits aside, if the same seed is good enough for Chia Pets and beer, it deserves more attention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_hispanica

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We can learn a lot from this Jakk’d label:

1. It is one of very few that mentions the amount of caffeine on the label. This is probably a good thing. It is hard to imagine a good argument for disallowing a short, plain statement as to how much of a powerful psychoactive substance is in the beverage you are about to consume. This product has 75 mg. of caffeine per bottle, according to the label. It might be even better if the label used an icon or other simple statement to show that this is roughly equivalent to a cup of coffee.
2. According to box 19, the brand name does not refer to anything nefarious, and instead refers to the name of the company’s founder, and other good things like “cool,” “thorough enjoyment,” and “being pumped about the greatness of this drink.” TTB is not so sure, and noted that “The brand name remains under review.”
3. This is a rare spirits label with an FDA-style ingredient list.

Jakk’d is made in Temperance, Michigan.

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After seeing this vodka distilled from cow’s milk, we didn’t expect to see too many more beverages distilled from milk. Despite all, here is Chinese Milk Liquor. The label is fairly sketchy about how it’s made. A very good website, teaching about Asian alcohol beverages, explains that this type of spirit is called Lai Jiu:

Literally “milk liquor,” it is made by taking cow’s milk, fermenting it, and distilling it. It is around 40% alcohol and it is as clear as water. I absolutely love the stuff. It has a sweet after-taste to it, like evaporated milk … . It gives one such a lovely high (much better than bai jiu). To my knowledge (and I’ve looked), it can ONLY be found in the province of China called Nei Meng Gu (Inner Mongolia).

The same website also covers Bok Bun Ja Ju (“man who pees in a pot”) but we’ll leave that topic for another day.

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