A letter based on this article was published in CAMRA’s What’s Brewing magazine, May 2012, p.13.
There has been much discussion over the past 12 months, concerning British beer labels and pump clips and whether they are often too "smutty".
The arguments raised include whether this trend represents a puerile sense of humour which detracts from the seriousness of the product and deters new or old drinkers from trying out different real ales. Another argument is that wine producers, in contrast, do not market their "crafted, artisanal products" with smuttiness, in order that they can be taken seriously (‘Bailey’ in CAMRA’s BEER magazine, Winter 2011, p.54). However, this is not strictly true. The wine world is awash with smuttiness, puns and downright corny names – "Pisse-Dru", Domaine Wal-mart "Merde du Pays", "Chat-en-Oeuf", "Cat’s Phee on a Gooseberry Bush" etc.. Kröver ‘Nacktarsch’ from Germany, even has a famous label featuring a young boy having his bare bottom spanked! Yet, this "smuttiness" does not appear to have had an adverse effect on sales of the wine, nor can it be seen as undesirably self-deprecating.
