Do risqué reindeer belong on North Carolina beer can? Here’s what state regulators say
A brewery in North Carolina is rolling back a holiday beer can featuring erotic reindeer after regulators weighed in this week.
Sycamore Brewing Co. in Charlotte released a limited number of cases of its Christmas Cookie Winter Ale on Nov. 23. The dark blue label with Sycamore’s trademark leaf is surrounded by a subtle surprise — pairs of reindeer in various sexual positions.
Co-owner Sarah Brigham called it “animal Kama Sutra,” according to Queen City Nerve. Brigham told the Charlotte Agenda it’s meant to look like a tacky Christmas sweater from a distance..
“Then on a second look, you get a smile on your face and laugh a little bit,” Justin Brigham said, according to the media outlet.
Not everyone thought it was funny.
Sycamore said on Facebook on Friday that an anonymous complaint to the ABC Commission — the state’s governing body on alcohol sales — prompted North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement to intervene.
The brewery ultimately pulled back the cans that were left.
“We’ll be bringing all remaining cans back to our facility and re-labeling them with last year’s G-Rated Christmas Cookie can art,” Sycamore told a commenter who asked whether ABC planned to pull the cans from the shelves.
The brewery will be selling it in its taproom at an event Sunday.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the ABC Commission’s involvement. A complaint was filed with the commission, but it was the ALE who visited the brewery.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Do risqué reindeer belong on North Carolina beer can? Here’s what state regulators say."
