THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON: Can I get a “do-over” on Naughty Girl?

THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON: Can I get a “do-over” on Naughty Girl?

A weekly column by Roger A. Baylor.

In 1971 at the tender age of 11, I was an avid Civil War buff. Perhaps this owed to the conflict’s recently concluded centennial, or to my being a precocious reader. Even the library’s more scholarly “adult” books about the Civil War were within my range of comprehension, and I devoured them.

Whatever the reason, I became hooked. Specifically, and surely baffling for those of you who’ve known me as an adult, I was a hardcore Confederate sympathizer.

All the familiar, romanticized elements of the Lost Cause were appealing to the youthful curmudgeon. Southerners really were heroic underdogs defending their homes, with odds stacked against preserving their way of life. My family visited battlefields in Virginia and Tennessee. I was a born-again Secessionist, and questioned almost none of it.

Obviously, significant parts of the historical narrative eluded me, like the economic and sociological aspects of industrial versus agrarian economies, states’ rights, and the role of federal government.

Oh, yes, and something about the institution of slavery. In retrospect, it’s rather important.

So, why the rebel fixation? For one thing, in terms of geography, it isn’t Southern Indiana for nothing.

We tend to face south, in the direction of Louisville, not north to Indianapolis. Not only that, but in relative terms, I lived in the segregated Hoosier countryside, not far from where John Hunt Morgan made one of his northward raids across the Ohio River.

Around the time I was in the first grade, a friend’s family took me with them to the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville. When I returned home, the rides, food and music were completely forgotten, because all I wanted to talk about a “Negro” boy my age I’d met on the midway.

After all, he was the first African-American I’d ever played with, up to that point.

Fortunately, the purpose of growing up is to learn something – right? It still is, isn’t it?

By the time I was studying philosophy and history at IU Southeast, the Civil War’s grip remained, albeit fully reversed. I morphed into a diehard Unionist. Could any cause, “lost” or otherwise, truly be honorable if it sought the perpetuation of racist slave labor?

Stuck in OYR (Our Year of Reagan) 1982, I pondered whether Americans had learned anything at all through the many decades since Appomattox. The answers weren’t always pretty. Evidently the journey was ongoing.

Happily, there was a certain consolation to the peaks and valleys of the learning curve. At the end of the day, one must desire to be educated, and I did, and I was.

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The Civil War isn’t the reason for this essay. Rather, it’s seeing this story by Jim Vorel at Paste Magazine.

Walking the Line: Sexuality in Craft Beer

When it comes to sexuality in beer marketing it’s almost a guarantee that the ones being titillated have been men, which simultaneously sends an equally strong message to women—you’re not welcome here, unless you’re a model holding the product and smiling. Or a “willfully disobedient” blonde mermaid on an IPA label, as in the image at the top of this piece.

And that image?

Well, f**k.

Busted.

Dead to rights.

Five years ago, I wrote those words, “willfully disobedient.” They appear on the label for NABC’s Naughty Girl, alongside additional cringe-worthy text that I also composed. The words, the label; all are on-line. They cannot be evaded.

Previous generations of humanity, living and dying prior to the advent of mass communications, missed the sheer thrill of screwing up, watching one’s screw-up instantly become grist for a potentially global audience, and then be reminded of it at regular intervals forever after.

F**k, redux.

There it is. During my 25 years at NABC, I wrote many hundreds of thousands of words. They’re all mine. I own them, and seldom have I been compelled to disown them, but in this case I wish it were possible to do so.

So, please allow me to take my medicine; moreover, permit me to heed my own advice: When you screw up, ‘fess up and make it right.

Sorry about Naughty Girl, folks. I was wrong about that one.

I knew better then, and I know better now. It’s my responsibility to learn something from it, and I will. Unfortunately, making it right is harder to accomplish, because I’m no longer in a position at NABC to do much of anything about it.

Sorry about this, too.

I should have been more aggressive when something might have been done. That learning curve can be vicious.

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In 2015, I raised a great big ruckus over the Indiana-brewed beer called Leg Spreader ESB. Insofar as a seat on the board of the Brewers of Indiana Guild possesses political capital, I spent all of mine protesting this label. My bully pulpit was harnessed to full roar. It is quite possible that I made a few enemies in the process.

Wait, no; of course I made enemies.

During the course of my righteous pontifications about sexism in craft beer, someone finally issued a helpful and timely reminder: “By the way, Roger, you brew a beer called Naughty Girl – what about that?”

My first reaction was predictable: “Bah -- apples and oranges.”

My second reaction was extreme and abiding discomfort, which eventually compelled me to sit down, take a breath and think it through.

The precise irritant eluded me at first. Then as now, Tony Beard’s artwork does not strike me as overtly exploitative. Acknowledging the highly subjective nature of such determinations, it still seems to me that Tony’s graphic honors the female form, and cannot be compared to more egregious examples we’ve all seen.

In fact, we’d had these discussions at work. Bob’s Old 15-B, Elector, Tunnel Vision – all featured females. It always came back to consumer reaction, and there were very few complaints. To the contrary, most of the feedback was positive, and with NABC two-thirds owned by women … well, maybe I used this as an excuse.

The fundamental problem with Naughty Girl gradually dawned on me. It was the name itself, and the words I’d written to frame it. Far more so than the image, these words perpetuated sexism and stereotypes, and there was no escape route for me. I wrote them.

With Leg Spreader still very much on the front burner, it became clear that I’d have to objectively examine the whole issue of sexuality in NABC’s beer marketing, wherever it might lead. Any conclusions reached would be applicable to us all. It needed to happen.

Consequently, on at least two occasions during our weekly staff meetings in early 2015, I mentioned my escalating dissonance. How could I complain about one instance of sexism without examining whether as a company, we were guilty of the same excess?

Straight up: I dropped the ball. My co-workers were skeptical, and with my leave of absence to run for mayor about to begin, there wasn’t time enough for persuasion. I let it slide. Now there is plenty of time, and my leave of absence has become permanent. This stage of my career in beer business ownership has concluded.

It makes the matter all the more frustrating.

Jim Vorel is a stranger to me, but I’m grateful to him for helping concentrate my thoughts. He surely had no intention of serving as therapist. If we ever meet, the beer’s on me.

NABC’s Naughty Girl is a fine ale. However, my words were a mistake. I’m sorry about that. My objective now is to learn something from the experience, and your thoughts as to my ongoing education are appreciated.

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February 22: The PC: Beef Steak and Porter always made good belly mortar, but did America’s “top” steakhouses get the memo?

February 15: The PC: Swill in youthful times of penury and need.

When the Euro '85 series returns: Leningrad USSR. 

_

Leg Spreader's notoriety spreads all the way to Great Britain.

A quantum leap in tasteful positioning?

The second generation Leg Spreader label (the Feds can be astutely discerning) has traveled the electronic superhighway all the way to Great Britain, where a contributor to The Telegraph takes issue with it and other "Neanderthal beer adverts," thus using one of our own Indiana "craft" beers as an example.

It has even made an international "cringeworthy" list.

Fancy a pint of 'leg spreader'? Neanderthal beer adverts leave me frothing, by Claire Cohen

 ... British beer expert Melissa Cole agrees that the industry has a woman problem.

She recently told the Telegraph: “There are still too many people in the beer community who seem totally fine with either appalling sexism or flat-out offensiveness.

“We don’t much like being metaphorically patted on the a--- by the marketers.”

Frequent readers will be feeling a sense of Yogi Berra's déjà vu all over again, but before listing the links to my various rants, permit this acknowledgement of complicity.

Speaking for myself, I'm still troubled by my own brewery's continued use of the word "naughty" (girl) as part of a beer name, though not by the image of a mermaid that we use. I'd like to think that since we first began using the name a few years back, consciousness has expanded overall, and we've all learned more about sexism and diversity.

I'd like to see us change the name, though at this precise juncture, with me taking a leave of absence to run for mayor, I have precious little to do with my own business (and am being remunerated accordingly, alas). In this as with so many other matters, we do what we can, as we are able. I will, when I can.

In the interim, I'm serious about learning more about these issues, and presenting the findings to the Brewers of Indiana Guild. But I'm going to be blunt: It's really hard to put a positive spin on Leg Spreader, and it's really not something for Indiana beer to be proud of -- is it?

January 9

"Craft Brewers Are Running Out Of Names," clever or otherwise.

January 19:

The PC: Ripped straight from the pages of an Onion satire: “13 white males not really so eager to discuss issues like racism and sexism.”

January 27

Brewers of Indiana Guild: "We obviously don’t condone sexism or racism."

Feb 16

The PC: On barrelage, Dean Smith and diversity studies.

March 24

"Does craft beer have a sexism problem?"

May 5

Rants, bar fights and strip clubs. Maybe it's time to become a wine drinker.

The PC: Ripped straight from the pages of an Onion satire: “13 white males not really so eager to discuss issues like racism and sexism.”

It's a "double" IPA -- get it?

The PC: Ripped straight from the pages of an Onion satire: “13 white males not really so eager to discuss issues like racism and sexism.”

A weekly web column by Roger A. Baylor.


This column is written by an individual. It doesn’t necessarily reflect the views of businesses and organizations with which I’m affiliated.

The rise in support for same-sex marriage over the past decade is among the largest changes in opinion on any policy issue over this time period. A new national survey finds that much of the shift is attributable to the arrival of a large cohort of young adults – the Millennial generation – who are far more open to gay rights than previous generations … The long-term shift in the public’s views about same-sex marriage is unambiguous (Pew Research).

Shift happens, but today’s column is not about same-sex marriage. Rather, it’s about changing one’s mind.

To me, not only is this possible. It’s inevitable, and old dogs can indeed learn new tricks. Pertaining to humanity’s evolution, change and adaptation are necessary for our very survival, and if you need proof for this assertion, read Jared Diamond’s 2005 book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.

I’ve changed my mind many times when presented with persuasive evidence contrary to my previous assumptions. I used to be satisfied drinking Stroh’s – then I wasn’t. My mind and my tastes evolved, and an immensely enjoyable 30-year journey through the world has followed. Changes in latitude could not have occurred without changes in attitude.

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In 2011, the New Albanian Brewing Company participated in a collaboration with De Struise Brouwers and the Louisville Beer Store. The beer we brewed together at Bank Street Brewhouse was (and is) called Naughty Girl.

I’m not entirely certain who coined the name, though probably it was Urbain from De Struise. With characteristic irreverence, we all agreed to describe it as a Belgo India Blonde Ale. Tony Beard, NABC’s one-man graphics department, created a mermaid image, and we’ve used it ever since. Naughty Girl has been brewed once or twice a year, and the current plan is to do so again this spring.

A question has been asked of me on more than one occasion since 2011, most recently yesterday: Is NABC’s Naughty Girl an offensive example of stereotyping, using sexual imagery to sell beer?

My flippant stock reply has been consistent. Given the painfully small amount of Naughty Girl we’ve actually sold, in this instance the sex hasn't been nearly salacious enough. It’s a seasonal release, we’re a small brewery, and for us, viral remains something applicable to prevailing influenza strains and not annual barrelage growth rates. We don’t sell as much of anything as we’ve hoped, and the biggest mover remains Hoptimus, which bears a depiction of an anthropomorphized children’s toy.

In fact, when it comes to shameless stereotyping, we’ve thought of putting IPA in big, block letters on every label of every beer we produce: Belgian Table IPA, Robust Porter IPA, English Mild IPA, Doppelbock IPA, and so on. Now, there’s a strategy for cynical exploitation as it pertains to spotlighting and unfairly targeting obliviousness-ism.

But seriously: Is NABC Naughty Girl representative of sexism? Does it reinforce sexist responses?

Sexism or gender discrimination is prejudice or discrimination based on a person's sex or gender. Sexist attitudes may stem from traditional stereotypes of gender roles, and may include the belief that a person of one sex is intrinsically superior to a person of the other (Wikipedia).

Maybe it is sexist, and maybe it isn't, but either way, I’m prepared to think about it, to discuss it, and to open my mind to ideas differing from those I previously took for granted. I think Tony’s images reinforce positive tenets, because they’re strong women – and yet I can see where there is disagreement.

Although I don’t have any children, maybe it would be a good idea for me to imagine that I did -- and not only daughters. Granted, I could make the argument that my company is 67% female-owned, but I won’t. It’s irrelevant.

So much for stock replies, because I’m in the process of changing my mind, as well as slipping the leash. That’s because at the risk of hypocrisy, I’m suggesting that more “craft” beer advocates, whether brewers or consumers, insiders or outsiders, should take a step back and glance outside our self-congratulatory perimeter, out into the real world, especially when confronted with an image like this one.

I know what you’re probably thinking, so let’s pause here. Two weeks ago in France, fundamentalist Islamic terrorists of medieval outlook ruthlessly murdered twelve people over satirical cartoons, and this sickens us all, so you need to know that I’m on Voltaire’s side as it pertains to Route 2 Brews in Lowell, Indiana, and in defending the absolute right of this brewery to be utterly, remorselessly tasteless.

I suppose raincoaters have needs, too.

As an individual whose viewpoint is capable of evolution, I accept the customary dictate: I support your right to hold views contrary to mine, and when our spheres overlap, I reserve my right to try with all my might to persuade you otherwise, stopping short of physical violence, and relying on the veracity of my ideas.

Irrespective of the potential outcome of my efforts, it remains clear that individual conscience is the first step in this evolution. It can take time. So do a great many good things.

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Now, to the next interconnected ring. From individual conscience, one moves to communities both great and small.

In general, the “craft” beer business is avoiding this dialogue about sexism, and I view this as a high horse in urgent need of dismounting.

In particular, Leg Spreader is a “craft” beer brewed in the state of Indiana. Does it convey the message desired of Hoosier beer?

In turn, this begs other questions: Collectively, what is our message? Exactly what are we espousing? Are we a collective, or does each brewery stand alone? If we are a collective, what are our rights and responsibilities as free-standing breweries within the broader grouping?

Why ask these questions?

I’ll answer this with another question, one referencing a familiar example: How many rugged individualists, by themselves, ever managed to convince the Indiana legislature to allow Indiana breweries to sell carry-out beer on Sunday?

The answer is none. Rather, it was all of them working together, collectively and cooperatively. That’s the message, at least in part.

As many of you know, I’m a director on the board of the Brewers of Indiana Guild (BIG). It’s a chartered non-profit professional trade grouping that works, organizes and lobbies on behalf of all Indiana breweries, including ones as small as Route 2 Brews and NABC, and as large as Three Floyds and Sun King.

To me, as it pertains to Route 2 Brews as a de facto member of this guild, irrespective of precise obligations implied by a dues structure, which the guild does not yet enforce (in my view, it should), there are certain understandings that need to be shared, and certain obligations that need to be recognized.

Most prominently, the guild works very hard, all year round, to make the business and regulatory atmosphere in Indiana more amenable to “craft” beer, as the growler sales example above illustrates. By extension, the guild obviously helps to improve the bottom lines of Indiana “craft” brewers, including Route 2 Brews. Leg Spreader has the potential to harm these efforts, and while censorship is out of the question, a firmly friendly chat about collective cooperation surely is not.

Interestingly, and in my opinion something fully applicable to the present discussion, the conceptual basis of BIG’s annual legislative agenda rests on a plea of exceptionalism. Because Indiana’s brewers are small-scale, artisanal producers, we qualify for special minority status. We get breaks. We can self-distribute. We’re delighted to pour growlers to go on Sunday when other outlets cannot. In a heartbeat, we’d accept lower excise taxes awarded us by virtue of our minority status.

To a greater or lesser extent, “craft” beer’s outreach in legislatures across the nation, and also with the federal government, is reliant on this argument from an exceptionalism based on size. We accept what amounts to affirmative action on the production end of the beer supply chain, and some (like me) advocate openly extending it to product placement in government-owned venues like sports stadiums, and at government-sponsored civic fests.

Given this, wouldn't you think that whether the grouping is Route 2 Brews, Craft Beer Nation or the BIG board itself, there’d be a bit more, shall we say, sensitivity to the sort of “minority” issues typically experienced by people who have been marginalized by discrimination?

Like women?

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When Leg Spreader was brought to my attention, I duly forwarded the information to the BIG board, reasoning that as we enter the perilous rapids of the 2015 Indiana legislative session, sexist crotch shots with beer bottles might come to be seen not only as disturbing to one’s own conscience; they’d also would not likely be tidiest images to be allowed to define Indiana Beer as we walk the corridors of the Statehouse.

After all, does anyone really want me to be seen wearing a logoed t-shirt like this one to the important annual legislative reception tomorrow?

Yes, I expected differing opinions from the board in response.

No, I did not expect to be outnumbered 11-2 (thanks, Nick), even after offering the suggestion that take no more action as a guild than issue a faux coincidental, non-specific, general statement reaffirming the guild’s commitment to universal principles of non-discriminatory fairness as the legislature reconvenes.

Even this was too much.

We don't need to make statements regarding this type of stupidity. It just draws more attention to them. The guild needs to ignore their tactics and let the consumers make their own choices.

Yes, except we’re a professional trade grouping, aren’t we, and these sorts of entities can have standards, can’t they?

I do not like it either, it’s not my style, BUT... we have no authority or moral high ground to talk to an independent business owner about how he promotes his business … it seems obvious Route 2 Brewing has realized their branding wasn't going to work for them, so they canned it. There is absolutely NO reason to reach out to them with some bizarre I'm-big-brother-and-I'm-watching-you message.

I agree: No reaching out, EVER. But ... guys, we don’t exist in a vacuum, do we?

If we venture into making policy statements about things non-beer related issues do we include drone strikes, child labor, sex trafficking, domestic violence? All of which are horrible, offensive, and much more oppressive than Route 2 Brews poorly planned branding exercise.

Unfortunately, even if we had the time to think about policy statements, there’d be no time to act on them.

I believe we should ignore it, because it is not even close to being the biggest issue on our plate … why are we wasting time on this at all? … issues like this need to be prioritized, and right now this need not be a priority.

Go tell it to Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King … but wait.

Perhaps I needed a supporting example, so I asked. “What if an Indiana brewery were to attach to a beer an image such as this one from the 1920s?”

Well, yeah, THAT might be considered off-limits – kinda sorta, as long as they're males.

I am in absolute opposition to the Guild having any sort of moral standards being dictated or implied in any manner as part of our mission. Trying to equate racism and sexism, is misguided. No racism is acceptable in our culture (but) a level of sexism is acceptable and it pervades almost every part of our society, every gender (assuming there might be more than 2), and is the basis for whole industries.

So, sexism is acceptable, and whole industries profit from it, although it remains that while Victoria’s Secret is supposed to be about sexy lingerie, since when is “craft” beer supposed to be about spreading legs?

Furthermore, who’s to say that we as “craft” brewers cannot have a higher standard rather than a lower bar?

At least this comment offers hope that my thoughts didn’t go entirely unheard.

I don't believe that policing and judging our membership is part of our mission as a guild, but I do think that we have a responsibility to membership to act on those items and issues that impact our industry as a whole. How we define what those are is for us to decide as we move forward.

Let’s hope we do move forward. As Dr. King once said, "We must keep moving. If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving."

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My term on the BIG board ends this year, and I’ll be up for re-election at the annual meeting in March. I understand and accept that my thoughts today might harm my chances of remaining on the board, although this ultimately depends on whether others want to serve. However, my father raised me to speak my mind, and to fight for my beliefs. It’s what I’m trying to do, right now. I'm not at all sorry if it "bugs" you.

Would I have done so two decades ago? Ten years ago? In 2011, when Naughty Girl was brewed for the first time? The record shows I didn’t. But my mind seems to be changing, and now I must be willing to follow where it takes me.

After much deliberation, I’ve chosen to use real quotes, but to pass them along anonymously, because at the end of the day, I enjoy serving on the board, and I respect my fellow board members. More than anything else, the “craft” sexism issue is about a collective mindset, one composed of individual consciences that I hope are evolving. The collective group-think extends far beyond our own board, into the whole of Craft Beer Nation, and I believe that as opposed to a glass of Pilsner, it requires lots and lots of sunlight.

I’m not angry at the individuals on my board. After all, their views are no different from those I’d expect to hear from the man in the street.

Yet maybe – just maybe – that’s an important aspect of this issue, because my board is composed of 13 white males. Typically, they're quite busy. Are we really hearing about racism and sexism?

Maybe – just maybe – this homogeneity causes us to miss a few important social and cultural nuances. Like I said, we get busy.

Maybe – just maybe – we all get so involved with "dollars and cents" issues that we forget about the varied composition of the marketplace supporting our efforts. I have never been in this game for the money, and yet as a closing remark, here is a snapshot of the “craft” beer market, gleaned from survey data captured in 2014, as contributed by Julia Herz of the Brewers Association (thanks TM):

Women consume almost 32% of craft beer volume, almost half of which comes from women 21-34.

Even as our minds are changing, perhaps we could do a better job of thinking with our wallets. How can there ever be an "acceptable" place for sexism in craft beer?

"Craft Brewers Are Running Out Of Names," clever or otherwise.

Evidently Leg Spreader was NOT already taken

A few years back, when NABC decided to brew a Helles-style lager full time, we did what we imagined was due diligence and searched the Internet to see if Bat Out of Helles already was taken. We didn't see anything, so stuck with it.

Last year, we received a very nice e-mail from a brewery elsewhere, informing us that it produces a beer by the same name -- well, almost the same name: Bat Outta Helles. While hitherto this had not been worth nothing, canning was about to begin ... and so could we chat about terms of shared usage, i.e., our continued in-house, draft-only use of the name outside of the other brewery's distribution area, etc?

Frankly, Bat Out of Helles wasn't my favored name, anyway, so I wrote back and said we had no problem whatever changing to mere Helles, a style descriptor beyond restrictive copyright, much like ... steam beer?

Never mind.

Craft Brewers Are Running Out Of Names, And Into Legal Spats, by Alastair Bland (NPR)

Columbia? Taken. Mississippi? Taken. Sacramento? El Niño? Marlin? Grizzly? Sorry, they're all taken.

Virtually every large city, notable landscape feature, creature and weather pattern of North America — as well as myriad other words, concepts and images — has been snapped up and trademarked as the name of either a brewery or a beer. For newcomers to the increasingly crowded industry of more than 3,000 breweries, finding names for beers, or even themselves, is increasingly hard to do without risking a legal fight.