Did fat Bastard Save Founders Dirty Bastard In Alabama

Dirty Bastard and Backwoods Bastard beers can now join Fat Bastard wine on store shelves in Alabama.

After taking a second look at the attention-grabbing names of Dirty Bastard and Backwoods Bastard beers, the state’s liquor control agency lifted its ban on their sale in Alabama.

David Engbers, co-founder of Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, Mich., said the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board didn’t give a reason for reversing its position on the two beers when it sent the company a letter recently approving their sales. Dirty Bastard, the most popular of the two beers, is distributed in 23 states. Alabama was the first to raise an objection to the name, Engbers said Wednesday.

ABC Board attorney Bob Martin said the board’s licensing director originally rejected the names last spring. The decision was based on a state law that says no ads for alcoholic beverages can show a person "posed in an immodest or sensuous manner" and they can’t contain profanity or offensive language.

Beer and wine are sold in Alabama’s grocery stores and convenience stores where all ages can see them. The ABC board’s attorney said last spring that the Dirty Bastard beer was rejected because parents may not want young people to see rough language on the shelves.

Because of an outcry from Founders Brewing and from craft beer enthusiasts in Alabama, the ABC Board created an employee committee to review brand names and labels when the enforcement director has a concern. In its first meeting, that committee decided to approve Dirty Bastard and Backwoods Bastard.

One reason: If the two beers were denied, the agency likely would have had to reconsider a decision many years ago under a different administration to allow the sale of Fat Bastard wine in Alabama. "No one wanted to do that because it had been on shelves for years and years," Martin said.