We thought this was a good label because it does an excellent job of answering the age-old question: “Why Brewed with Potatoes?” That’s what we wanted to know, and this label is happy to oblige. It helpfully explains that potatoes add sugars that supply dryness to this extra-dry stout. Long Island Potato Stout is made by The Blind Bat Brewery of Centerport, NY. It is classified as a Malt Beverage Brewed with Potatoes. TTB has also approved Finnegan’s Ale Brewed with Potatoes. It is made by Summit Brewing Company in Saint Paul, MN. Note that TTB has asked Summit to add “Product of USA,” probably because of the large reference to Irish Amber and several four-leaf clovers.
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Ass Kisser Chardonnay
Thanks to Barry Strike for bringing this label and controversy to our attention. Barry is a lawyer at Hinman & Carmichael in San Francisco, where he has practiced wine and beverage law for many years. Barry explained:
In mid-2008, TTB approved four wine labels with the brand name above. The wines are made in Australia and imported by Rocland Wine Imports, of California. Either TTB is developing a sense of humor or the examiner is an ardent animal lover. (Or perhaps the examiner thought this was an animal husbandry reference?) In any case, this is a good example of TTB’s approval of a label with a brand name that likely would have been regarded as profane a few years ago. Notwithstanding TTB’s apparent embrace of humorous, daring labels, some state regulators are not as enlightened. The state of Michigan recently refused to allow Big Ass brand wine to be sold in the state. Lacking any applicable regulatory or statutory basis for disapproving the label, the state claimed it was racist(?!). The Big-Ass Coalition must have applauded the state’s bold step to protect big asses everywhere.
Green Gin, Green Shiraz
Red Deer wine claims to be “Tree Free.” We could only guess that this means the labels are made from rice, or something other than trees. But no. The UPC label explains that the wine is “Untouched by oak – The ‘naturelle’ fruit characters of the wine are not overwhelmed by additives commonly introduced by man – LIKE OAK.” We are getting the impression they don’t like oak. The label says the producer is part of a sustainable resource initiative. It also refers to the “Intense body,” and TTB often disallows “intense” on table wines (where it suggests a high alcohol content). In other green beverages, Rainforest Gin claims it “Saves the Rain Forest with Every Bottle.” Of gin. Made in Cleveland.
F-Words, F-Bombs and Booze, Part 1
Cary Wiggins alerted us to a recent, scholarly article about, of all things, the F-word. His blog, called Meeting the Sin Laws, covers the intersection of sin, vice, alcohol beverages, and the law.
Wiggins points to The Connotations of the F-Word. This is a post in The Language Log; it is a blog run out of the University of Pennsylvania since 2003. The post is by Chris Potts, a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He wants to get a better understanding of why people tend to remain so fascinated with this term (and other “taboo vocabulary”). He wants to know:
Does it in fact have sexual connotations even when used as an intensive, as in Bono’s “really, really f-ing brilliant”?
Ed. note: F-word modified.
It’s not an idle topic; the FCC needs to grapple with this and so does TTB. Potts applies some fancy academics to this not so fancy topic, with cosine measures, cooccurrences, fleeting expletives, formal linguistic theories, latent semantic analysis, and even rubrics of framing. He does not necessarily conclude that the term has much to do with sex.
This topic has a fair amount of relevance here, because this terminology pops up on alcohol beverage labels more often than you might expect. Above is but one leading example. Tomorrow we plan to show several others. Do you think the F-Word is okay on booze labels?
New Label Rules; Consumer Groups Press Obama Administration
On December 11th, several consumer groups submitted a letter to Treasury Secretary-Designate Geithner, urging fast action to require a great deal more information on beer, wine and spirits labels. The letter urges TTB and the Obama Administration to:
act now to issue a final regulation to require the following information on all beer, wine, and spirits labels: serving size, calories per serving, alcohol per serving, percent alcohol by volume, the definition of a “standard drink,” number of drinks per container, and the Dietary Guidelines recommendation on moderate drinking. TTB also should consult with FDA as to the most effective format and graphic design for the “Alcohol Facts” label.
The four consumer groups are the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Consumer Federation of America, Shape Up America!, and the National Consumers League. They say they have been waiting more than five years since submitting their petition to change these rules. TTB’s 2007 proposed rule, and thousands of comments, are here.
Lady Godiva Ale
Who would’a thunk that men would appreciate booze adorned with naked women? Judging by TTB records, they do. The TTB database is overflowing with almost naked and sort of naked women in various states of cavorting. Once again, we challenge you to find the men in similarly varied states of undress. Lady Godiva Ale is made in England and Warwickshire explains that it is: “Blonde, Full Bodied, Goes Down Well.” This lady took her famous ride through the streets of nearby Coventry, England. Whereas the lady on the left had the noblest of reasons to prance around naked, we are not really sure about the lady on the right, except to say she is the nakedest lady evident in the database today.
