Brewer's fury after cider featuring mermaid on logo banned for being "too sexual"

22 February 2023, 14:13 | Updated: 22 February 2023, 14:27

A cider maker has been left furious after one of its drinks was banned by the UK's alcohol industry regulator because its name and logo is "too sexual"

Robbie Langouroux-Fay, founder of The Bearded Brewery says the Portman Group banned its cherry-flavoured Unshaven Maiden cider as its name is suggestive of "searching for young virgin women".

The 4 percent ABV cider's logo depicts a mermaid figure on the front of a pirate ship, her bare breasts partially covered by her long red hair and beard.

Mr Langouroux-Fay said the regulator has been trying to force him to ditch the CAMRA award-winning drink for a few years.

The complaint came after a food and drink columnist wrote about how offensive she found the product during a holiday in Cornwall.

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Speaking to CornwallLive, Mr Langouroux-Fay said: "I’m a dad of an 11-year-old and five-year-old girls. I’m a family man. The complaint is ridiculous.

"What the Portman Group have written back to us is quite shocking. They’re implying that our product and our brewery support people looking to sleep with underage girls. It’s utterly disgraceful.

"This is a dark place. It’s something we had not even thought of when we came up with the name. Who thinks that? It just reflects back on them. I told them as much."

The brewery in St Mawgan, near Cornwall Airport Newquay, is known for using biker and pirate themed imagery on its drinks.

Among its other products are the 5.5 percent Swallows Nest, the Moustache Mango cider, and strong 8 percent apple cider Tanker Slapper.

In a letter to the producer seen by CornwallLive, the Portman Group said the mermaid depicted on its logo was too life-like and and too prominent compared with the rest of the ship.

The complaint that the drink is "unnecessarily sexual" was made under the Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks.

The letter from the regulator reads: "The panel noted that “maiden” could relate to a virgin or an unmarried young woman.

"The overall impression conveyed by the product packaging meant that the overriding meaning communicated was a deliberate double entendre with strong sexual connotations.

"Furthermore, the panel expressed concern that “search for the cherry’d treasure”, when understood in the wider context of searching for a young virgin woman, suggested that seeking out virgins was in some way acceptable."

Mr Langouroux-Fay said: ‘To think that’s what we’re trying to portray is shocking.

"To imply that we would encourage people to have sex with young girls is disgusting.’

The Portman Group upheld the complaint from last year’s preliminary hearing at a more recent meeting this month.

Mr Langouroux-Fay said he’s filed one last appeal and is waiting for the outcome.

Matt Lambert, chief executive of the Portman Group, told the oulet: "Part of the Portman Group’s role is to provide a free proactive Advisory Service and to work with producers to help them understand and comply with the Code of Practice on packaging before launch.

"We understand that small craft breweries sometimes seek to push the boundaries and attract the attention of customers in a competitive market; our guidelines and support are in place to ensure in doing so they do not cause offence or harm to the public.”

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This is the second time the brewery has been in trouble over the name of its products.

In 2019, the brewer had to stop making its 7.8 percent Suicyder as it was deemed to create a link between alcohol and suicide, especially with its high alcohol content and a skull and noose for illustration.

On its website, the regulatory body said that if producers don't take action within three months, it can issue a retailer alert bulletin which would stop the sale of any problematic product.

It said: "Most producers will make changes to their packaging to bring it in line with the Code or voluntarily remove it from the UK market.

"If a retailer continues to stock a flagged product then we may contact the relevant licensing authorities."