Brewery wins six-year Raging Bitch case

A US court of appeal has ruled that a liquor commissioner violated a brewery’s freedom of speech when it banned a beer named Raging Bitch from being sold in the state of Michigan.

The Michigan liquor commissioner banned the  Flying Dog Brewery’s Raging Bitch IPA in 2009 deeming its label “detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of the general public.”

A lawsuit against the decision was filed in March 2011 and commissioners reversed their decision, however Flying Dog continued with its lawsuit to recover damaged for lost sales in the state.

Six years after the initial ban, the Maryland-based brewery has won its battle with a Court of Appeal agreeing that the decision had violated its First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

Speaking to the Baltimore Magazine Jim Caruso, CEO of the brewery, said the ruling was “invigorating”.

“It’s taken a few years, but now appointed bureaucrats are accountable for imposing their personal agendas and prejudices on the public, and for committing the crime of violating Flying Dog’s right to freedom of speech”, he said. “This is refreshing, and I hope this Federal Court ruling benefits breweries, wineries and distilleries in other states, as well.”

The brewery is known for its unconventional beer names and artwork which is drawn by Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas illustrator Ralph Steadman, written by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

“By the time the Administrative Commissioners banned Flying Dog’s beer label in 2009, the clear line of Supreme Court commercial speech precedents, coupled with our own decision in (an unrelated case) … should have placed any reasonable state liquor commissioner on notice that banning a beer label based on its content would violate the First Amendment”, Circuit Judge Jane Stranch said of the ruling.