Brewdog’s new beer ‘No Label’ was intended to spotlight transgender issues and raise money for youth charities. However the company has received unexpected backlash from critics.
‘No Label’ has been created in conjunction with LGBTQI+ organisation Queerest of the Queer. It uses unconventional ‘transgender hops’ normally excluded from the brewing process, blurring the boundaries between ale and lager.
All profits made from the beer, will be donated to Queerest of the Queer, but the company has come under fire from members of the LGBT community and beyond.
A spokesperson for LGBT charity, Stonewall, told The Independent:
While it’s encouraging to see BrewDog raising money for trans youth communities, and we like the ‘No Label’ concept, we’re concerned about the language. The trans community is diverse – many trans people do not transition, or identify with binary genders, and BrewDog’s language undermines that.
Many have also taken to Twitter; one user, @ok_macdonald, tweeted “oh god they’re so clueless”, while another, @Lavenderoilblue, said “yuk no thanks #PoorTaste”.
Brewdog’s CEO, James Watt, responded in an interview with Business Insider:
We’ve worked with the charity Queerest of the Queer to put this together. They co-designed the packaging, they worked with us on the project. It was important to do this one with someone who was active in that community.
This latest controversy comes just two months after Brewdog received thousands of complaints about an advertising campaign that appeared to mock trans and homeless people.
They just can’t seem to get anything right can they.
