Santa report
One of the chapters in my upcoming book on Christmas beer is about the controversy over the use of Santa on beer labels. The Shelton Brothers importers have had their share of run-ins with state authorities over the issue. Now, they’re up against the feds.
Here’s the label for Tsjseeses Belgian X-Mas Ale that was recently rejected by the TTB, and its terse reasoning: “The image of the character appears as if he is under the influence of the alcohol or drugs. This touts the effect of the product on the consumer and the alcohol content of the product. Change the image.”
Note: This is the second rejection for this label. In the original version, Santa was surrounded by smoke which, partner Dan Shelton said, “I guess the government took to be marijuana.”
He added: “The smoke is gone now, but I guess they don’t like the googly eyes.”