I may have drunk my last beer from Lost Coast Brewery.
Offended by the depiction of Hindu god Ganesha on a bottle of beer in the US, an Indian-American law student is suing the beer company for ‘hurting the sentiments of Hindus worldwide’.
Though Lost Coast Brewery has said it will withdraw the label, Brij Dhir, a Golden Gate University law student and a licensed attorney in Mumbai, said he is seeking damages worth $ 1 billion from the company.
Dhir, who hails from Brentwood, said the company’s Indica India Pale Ale label showed Ganesh holding a beer in one of his arms and another in his trunk.
“How can you show a god in such a way?” Dhir asked.
“There are lots of ways of having fun. This is not fun,” he was quoted as saying in the Contra Costa Times.
The brewery had sent an e-mail to Dhir saying it will withdraw the product. “I don’t want to offend any Hindu people,” co-owner Barbara Groom said.
Note that my newfound distaste for the company’s wares springs not from their beer bottle depiction of Ganesha, but because they folded in the face of a frivolous lawsuit from a religious nut.
Pussies.
Update: Talked to a very nice sales rep at Lost Coast, who admitted they’re getting flack for knuckling under in the face of Brij Dhir. She asked that, if you oppose the withdrawal/relabeling of the Lost Coast Indica India Pale Ale, to send an email stating so to the general manager of Lost Coast; briarbush@lostcoast.com
