There are a lot of things you can put on a can a beer; too many to mention in a news article. But in the US state of North Carolina, you better not put cartoon reindeer in sexual positions, especially if it’s in Charlotte, a city known as the City of Churches.
According to The Charlotte Agenda, someone sent an anonymous tip to the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABC), saying that local Sycamore Brewing had put obscene reindeer on its 2019 edition of its Christmas Cookie Winter Ale.
The problem with the labels was two-fold, said ALE Special Agent in Charge Omar Qureshi.
The first issue: Sycamore didn’t get approval for the reindeer label, which is considered an administrative violation. The second: Regulators likely would have found the look obscene anyhow.
“Something’s telling me the ABC Commission probably would err on the side of caution and not approve that label,” Qureshi told The Charlotte Agenda.
With the can not being widely available in supermarkets or other retail outlets, Sycamore’s brewers were hoping that its cans would go unnoticed. For being naughty, the brewery will be fined eventually somewhere between $500 to $1,000.
In order to sale the beer, Sycamore put last year’s non-risqué label over each can, which a consumer could remove in the privacy of their own home. Needless to say, the Christmas Cookie Ale has already completely sold out.