Charlotte brewery appeals denial of using naughty word about 2020 on craft seltzer label

Sycamore Brewing once again is appealing to keep its hard seltzer label design that was squashed by the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

The Charlotte brewery’s label for its BUBS hard seltzer lemon lime 12-ounce can was disapproved by the commission in December. The golden label has the F-word spelled out twice under 2020.

The brewery has raised eyebrows with past label designs including provocative Christmas ale labels, and making big splashes with its recent mysterious “What the 77” seltzer campaign.

In a Dec. 16 letter, the ABC group said that advertisements and product labels on alcoholic products sold or distributed in North Carolina are prohibited from any statement or design that depicts scenes deemed undignified, immodest or in bad taste.

All labels must be submitted to the state commission for approval before products can be sold. The state agency oversees control of all aspects of alcoholic beverages including selling and manufacturing.

“This seltzer is a cheeky celebration of the end of 2020,” the brewery said on its Facebook Dec. 13 release event.

Sycamore plans to appeal the decision at Wednesday’s regular ABC commission meeting.

Michael Boyer, a lawyer for Sycamore, said he plans to seek justification for the commission’s disapproval. He said similar markings and branding have been approved by the ABC board on other products sold in North Carolina.

“The decision for us would be fine if we thought the pattern of disapprovals for other competing products ... were falling in the same direction as ours. But that’s not the case,” Boyer said.

Other racy labels

It’s not the first time Sycamore has been in label mischief.

In 2019, Sycamore’s Christmas Cookie Winter Ale with the brewery’s trademark leaf surrounded by reindeer in “various sexual positions” was pulled from shelves after an anonymous complaint lodged to the ABC commission. The label design was not approved, and after an investigation, the brewery paid a $1,000 fine, the Observer previously reported.

Boyer said there had been a misunderstanding about the labels approval status. The label was later approved in February 2020, he said.

Also last year, the brewer released a label with gingerbread people in a holiday bondage theme, with handcuffs, paddles, masks and collars made of icing. That label was approved by the ABC commission.

The brewery recently drew attention with its mysterious guerrilla marketing campaign of ”What The 77” in Charlotte in the days leading up to the release of its BUBS The 77 Calorie Hard Seltzer.

Sycamore Brewing was opened in 2014 by Justin and Sarah Brigham. The taproom is at 2161 Hawkins St.

This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Charlotte brewery appeals denial of using naughty word about 2020 on craft seltzer label."