Feds Shut Down Acid-Free LSD Ale Because Its Name Is Too Groovy
Don't tell the BATF that supermarkets sell a cereal called "Special K!"
Minneaoplis-based Indeed Brewing Co. has been forced to rename one of its most-popular seasonal beers because federal regulators didn't like the name: LSD Ale.
The beer contained no hallucinogenic acid, of course, because that's illegal. The initials stand for Lavender, Sunflower Honey, Date Honey Ale—or LSD Ale for short. Via Watchdog:
Minnesota regulators had no trouble with the old name, and that was fine until this year when Indeed Brewing expanded its distribution across state lines. That's when the federal government got involved and told the company the beer's name was no joking matter, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported this week.
"The feds did not like the name LSD," said Indeed co-founder and co-owner Thomas Whisenand. "They made that clear very quickly."
Whisenand told the newspaper that the brewery tried to come up with a few different labels that downplayed the offending acronym while still maintaining the hippie-themed design.
Yeah, well, that will get you nowhere, right?": "But unfortunately we sell a regulated product and there's not much you can do when the feds say no."
As Watchdog's Eric Boehm asks, "Why are the feds going after LSD Ale when you can still walk into any grocery store in America and buy a box of Special K?"
The answer to that (and many other riddles involving the feds) is simply this: Because they can.
Related: No baby pics on Oatmeal Stout!
Watch "Beer: An American Revolution" to get a better sense of just how far U.S. brewers have come in recent decades.
