In a case of “same problem, different brewer,” Pig Minds has released a “panty dropper” complete with a sexist label:

[sarcasm] I mean, what do you expect, with a name like “Pig Minds”?!1 They’re so edgy and you just know it’s going to push the boundaries, so lighten up, ugh! [/sarcasm]

Do we really have to do this song and dance every year in craft brewing until certain craft brewers and their piss-poor graphic design/marketing teams understand that objectifying women isn’t an effective way to market; never mind the fact that it’s sexist, trite, and completely out of touch with reality, or behaving like a human?

Congrats, Pig Mind. Your sexism is exceedingly DULL.

So, since this is about a month old, here are a bunch of links to check out:

Many of these are via Drunken Speculation, which I found in the comments of The Thirsty Wench’s article on being queer in craft beer. Warning: articles are about sexism in beer, many contain unsafe comment sections.

Amy Cavanaugh. “Time to Grow Up, Breweries.” Time Out Chicago. 4 Aug. 2014

But for some reason, these breweries are choosing to alienate a whole group of drinkers who would potentially buy their beer. Do they assume that women aren’t drinking their products and just want to appeal to male drinkers? Are they not even considering the possibility that women might drink beer? Or, are they not even thinking and just think these labels and names are funny? I contacted Pig Minds, Destihl, Wild Onion and Hailstorm to ask them why they gave their beers these names and labels, but none of them have responded.

Karl. “Why Does Craft Beer Suddenly Seem to Have a Problem With Women?” Guys Drinking Beer. 6 Aug. 2014.

I suppose it was a lot of things all at once that pissed me off. The concept that a beer should be used as an agent into a person’s pants. The knees-together implied-scared stance of the person in question. The lowered panties in front of a row of fermenters. The jokey-joke cowardice of not even owning up to what whoever was behind this really meant, not being able to come out and just say what a “PD” was. Even the fact that it’s a beer made with blueberries leads me to believe that somewhere along the way, someone probably chuckled and decided that this was a “chick beer” because it was, you know, fruity, right bro?

Above all those is this: I really, sincerely thought we were better than that.

Penny. “The Tricky Business of Beer Label Design.” Penny and the Beers. 4 Aug. 2014.

I am friends with one of the brewers so I was privy to the fallout on his Facebook wall, most of it full of colorful language and such implications that Ms. Cavanaugh had perhaps not known the romantic touch of a man in a long time or maybe needs a vacation. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of calling her a “bitch” and implying that she is just an internet troll with no cred nor writing skill. Neither of those is true, she writes some of the most honest, carefully considerate (and sometimes harsh) restaurant reviews Time Out has, and I personally think it’s very unfortunate that the people who commented on my friend’s post resorted to that base of a reaction (something that Ms. Cavanaugh herself accuses Pig Minds of doing via their label, base denominator appeal). Nobody’s winning here, you guys.

It’s lazy. It’s dull. And it shows a complete lack of awareness about marketing, comedy, and baseline levels of respect. In the end all the arguments end up going like

Writer: This is problematic.
Brewery/designer: NO IT’S A JOKE WHY DO FEMINIST HATE JOKES
Writer: No, I just don’t understand why you’re using a sad, tired trope to sell beer to–
Brewery/designer: I BET YOU’RE JUST LONELY UGH ALSO MAYBE ON YOUR PERIOD
Writer: –when you’re alienating half of your clientele and–
Random female misogynist: I’M A WOMAN AND I’M NOT OFFENDED SO YOU’RE WRONG I CHOOSE MY CHOICE
Writer: –and you criticize Bud for being bad but you’re doing the same thing–
Brewery/designer: AND YOU’RE THE WORST AND MY FEEEEELINGS ARE HURT BECAUSE I’M THE VICTIM HERE–OF YOUR MISANDRY
Male misogynist: Women don’t know anything about craft beer right yeah bros bros BROS BROS get back in the kitchen ahahahahahah
Brewery/designer: YOU FAKE BEER GIRL WAAAHHHHHHH I’M FEELING SO ATTACKED RIGHT NOW WAHHHH

Literally every time. Like clockwork.

Come the fuck on.

See also:

Tierney. “This Needs to be Addressed.” Stouts and Stilettos. 13 Aug. 2014.

I don’t care if you think “well you wore a shirt that says drink beer from here and it’s on your breasts what did you think was going to happen” because you are wrong. I didn’t “bring this on myself”. You put that on me. You saw me as an object, not a person, and felt that you could make unwanted comments about me, my breasts, and my body.

Food and Gender category here.