OK, maybe not literally, but this is absurd: 

You can buy Fat Bastard wine in Alabama, but you’ll have to go elsewhere for Dirty Bastard beer.

The state alcoholic beverage control agency said Thursday it has banned the sale of that brand of beer in the state because of the profanity on its label.

Beer and wine are commonly sold in grocery and convenience stores and anyone can see the labels, so staff members rejected the brand because parents may not want young people to see rough language on the shelves, said Bob Martin, an attorney with the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

“That’s the whole reason for the rule, to keep dirty pictures and dirty words away from children,” he said. “Personally, I believe the staff made the right call.”

But “bastard” isn’t even a dirty word. Not even by the FCC’s (the federal agency that regulates broadcast television and radio) strict standards (link is a .pdf, see page 6). 

So yes, your kids can hear the word bastard on TV or the radio, but god forbid they see it printed on a beer bottle. The horror!

And besides, this is something that can be taken care of without the violence of the state. Don’t like your kids seeing that label on a beer bottle? Don’t take your kids to that grocery store. Better yet, stop shopping there and tell the owner why you won’t be coming back. 

Heck, you could even have a grown-up conversation with your child (assuming they could even read the bottle’s fancy script) and explain to them what you find offensive about the word. Let’s face it, you can use the government to ban so-called offensive language all you want but that’s not going to keep it away from your kids. They’ll hear it in school or around friends. Have the conversation and take the power away from the words. Don’t make them a mysterious forbidden fruit.

(Source: facebook.com)

The new law permits Mississippians to sell and purchase beer up to 8% alcohol by weight, which translates to roughly 10% alcohol by volume, the more common measurement. 

It’s certainly a step forward, but people in Mississippi still won’t be able to buy some of my favorite beers including Dogfish Head’ Palo Santo Marron, which weighs in at 12% ABV. And it will probably still scare breweries like Dogfish Head away from distributing to the state since a lot of their expensive specialty beers top the 10% ABV mark.

But enough with being a downer! Raising the legal percentage from 5 to 8 ABW is a huge step forward and allows breweries within the state to brew higher alcohol craft beers. it also greatly expands the number of beers that can be sold in the state.

Congrats to Raise Your Pints for fighting this fight for three years and finally being successful! It isn’t to often that you can get the Leviathan state to change direction and it certainly isn’t easy.