Scofflaw denies latest controversy supposedly offering ‘free beer to Trump supporters’ in the U.K.

After a press release from an independent PR firm offering Trump supporters free beer in the U.K., Scofflaw says they were ‘idiotic’ to promote that.

Yep. 

More controversy arises in the craft beer scene, and I happen to live in the city where two major “WTF?!” moments have occurred this month; they both involved politics. While the Monday Night Brewing episode with Georgia Governor candidate Brian Kemp went down in mid-September which I addressed here, I get another wave of inquiries regarding Scofflaw Brewing supposedly supporting Donald Trump overseas in the U.K. Both breweries are based in Atlanta. The latter issue has garnered global attention.

After celebrating Scofflaw's second anniversary last weekend with them and having a lot of really good friends on their staff, I didn’t want to believe it. Even their equally brazen brewing partner BrewDog heard about it and immediately took action on social media, on their website, and their BrewDog beer bars the U.K., Brussels, and Berlin once initially receiving the Trump promotion via a press release from an independent PR firm hired to represent Scofflaw in the U.K. They eventually called what went down ‘fake news” but still utilized the platform to “support love, not hate” also with free beer via this Tweet.

Well to counter the allegations and troubling press release, co-founder and president Matt Shirah states the concept as “…absolute nonsense,” denies any knowledge of the initial release, and just sent out the press release below straight from their desks. Stay tuned for more on this. Again, as I stated in my aforementioned post on Monday Night, I really think it’s a bad idea for breweries to mess with politics. Shit like this happens. I trust things smooth over for Scofflaw. Especially with them denying anything to do with this. I believe them.

Peace,

Ale

*As an update, this press release has been sent directly from the PR firm who originally sent out the tasteless release. 

News

For Immediate Release

Scofflaw Brewing Co. outraged at misrepresentation by an agency in the UK Georgia brand head butts the false social media post released without knowledge or consent on their behalf.

ATLANTA (September 28, 2018) – Scofflaw Brewing Co. is appalled by the inaccurate posts released yesterday morning by a UK agency that Scofflaw hired to promote its UK tour. Those posts were released without Scofflaw’s knowledge or approval. The agency issued a follow-up release asking the thousands of journalists to whom they sent the original, to disregard the information, saying: “You may have received an email with incorrect information regarding Scofflaw Brewery entering the UK market, encouraging Trump supporters to join them for a beer. PLEASE NOTE, THIS WAS INCORRECT INFORMATION AND IS NOT A MESSAGE FROM THE BRAND.

Please accept my huge apologies for the confusion and do not run the piece.” Scofflaw owner Matt Shirah directed his commentary accordingly, “This post is absolute nonsense. While we definitely have country roots, no one at Scofflaw Brewing or those associated with our brand, is now or has ever been, rooted in hate. We do not tolerate hate — that’s just idiotic.” “We welcome anyone who enjoys good beer. Scofflaw’s ascension in the States and our presence here in the UK is propagated in hard work and humble beginnings. This misinformation shared over social media today is simply wrong … we could care less about your political viewpoint, only that you like our beer.”

SCOFFLAW BREWING ...THERE'S A LITTLE DISSENT IN EVERYTHING WE DO.

About Scofflaw Brewing – Co-founded by Matt Shirah and Brewmaster Travis Herman, Scofflaw Brewing opened in August of 2016 and has been named by BeerAdvocate, USA Today and Craft Beer & Brewing as one of the best new breweries in America.

Visit us at 1738 MacArthur Blvd NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 or follow on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter @ScofflawBrewing. www.scofflawbeer.com

The 8th Annual Great Atlanta Beer Fest is coming!

It goes down at the new Georgia State Stadium on October 13th, 1-5  pm. I’m there!

Yo!

I am always having a blast at the Atlanta Beer Festival events hanging with fellow Georgia beer geeks and sipping what’s new. Well the 8th annual Great Atlanta Beer Fest is coming Saturday, October 13^th from 1-5 p.m. With more than 150 beers to choose from, plus over 25 wines, ciders, live music by the talented DJ Q-tip, games, and food available for purchase, it should be crazy as usual. (Peep the sippin’ list here.) What’s even more dope is that this is taking place at the newly flipped Georgia State Stadium—you know, the Braves’ old stompin’ grounds of Turner Field? (755 Hank Aaron Dr SE, Atlanta, GA 30315)

For tickets, get the early bird joints! Here is the info:
Tix are $40 in advance, $45 after October 4^th, and $50 at the gate. (Sales tax and ticket fees will be added.) For more deets and whatever, hit up the official website: Greatatlantabeerfestival.com

See ya there!

Ale

Monday Night Brewing deals with backlash from GA governor candidate Kemp's visit.

I talk directly with MNB co-founder Jonathan Baker about it.

So I woke up this morning ready to post my new Cruisin’ For A Brewsin’ video I did with SweetWater Brewing, but I got a couple calls and texts about Monday Night Brewing “hosting an event” with the very controversial Georgia Secretary of State and governor candidate Brian Kemp. I thought I should get this out the way before showing y'all how much fun I had at 'Water and end the week on a good note. 

Now I try to stay away from politics when in the beer scene—or pretty much any public atmospheres—because it can get heated and passions can escalate especially in Georgia. I just know who I am voting for and want the best for where I live and beyond. We need things to get better. Period.

Anyway, with such a history being associated with Monday Night over the years including posting one of my first blog posts covering their homebrewing events on Mondays in ATL in 2010 here, hosting my company’s first Heroes Villains comic art exhibit, documenting their numerous collaborations with Nappy Roots like this, plus numerous other instances, the news did concern me. No lie. So before I could reach out to see what the deal was, I saw this Tweet from Monday Night that linked to this post on their site about their "Core Beliefs." It was well written in my opinion. They also objectively included a link to this article by Atlanta Magazine which gave me a better idea of what went down. After I read both inserts, I texted Monday Night co-founder Jonathan Baker (who I just had brews with two days ago at their original location to sample the new Piranha Dealer IPA), and asked him if he wrote the press release. He said he did and then we continued a lengthy discussion. We talked about what went down and how we both agreed it was indeed a mistake because they have done so much to diversify their audience. (Let’s just say Kemp continues to enforce the impression that racial harmony is not one of his priorities as governor.) With MNB setting up their second location called the Garage in the predominately Black section of the historic West End, having the aforementioned Nappy Roots partnerships, and my good friend Mike Jordan’s monthly LIT book karaoke event alongside his wife Jacinta to name just a few of the instances solidifies what their true mission appears to be as an Atlanta brewing company.

Jonathan definitely sounded regretful of how things went down and are currently perceived, which fueled his spirited write up disclosing what the brewery's true ideologies are. He also mentioned they had an event they were working on with Kemp’s opposition, Stacey Abrams, prior to the Kemp visit but decided not to include that in his write up; he kept the focus on their overall values. He also said this to me:

“We messed up. We didn’t fully think through our decision to allow the NFIB to endorse Kemp at our facilities, I completely understand people’s concern. We have been doing some soul searching as owners and hope to make it up to people through our actions moving forward.”

-          Jonathan Baker, Co-Founder of Monday Night

So with that, let’s see how things progress. I trust they will do the right thing. In the meantime, due to my years of experience with Jonathan and the rest of the Monday Night crew including everyone from their tap pullers to brewmaster Peter, we will still have brews together. And maybe leave politics out of it.

Most importantly, please make sure y’all vote.

Ale

The Brooklyn Mansion is coming to ATL!

Get your tickets here!

Photo by Ty Worthington
You know I love dope beer events and this is definitely one of ‘em!

Cheers Y’all!

One of the most renowned craft breweries in the world, Brooklyn Brewery, is making more movies than a mobile with their gangster ‘Mansion’ party that travels throughout the U.S. When I first heard about this concept, I knew it was something a lot different from your typical tastings, beer festivals, tap takeovers, you name it. Well below is the breakdown and I am attending the Atlanta version next Friday, September 14th at 787 Windsor in Mechanicsville (see the sidebar for more info and tickets), as well as its Pre-Party at Victory the night before. Go here to get your tickets. The next one after that will be in Minneapolis on October 26-27.

Check this official write up straight from the Brooklyn Brewery website. 

See you there!

Welcome To Beer Mansion 2018 

Brooklyn Brewery says: We are lucky enough as drinkers to exist in an unparalleled golden age of beer. The beverage itself has been a part of human life since the dawn of time. But this era of nearly unlimited choice, experimentation, style worship and iconoclasm, storytelling, and sheer fun has never existed before. As brewers, we think is something worth celebrating, and worth celebrating on a massive scale. Every day finds a new beer release, a brewery opening, a favored bartender holding down a shift, a revamped tasting room strutting its stuff, a birthday party, or simply a few kegs of something tasty. We love those parties. From the highest brows to the lowest dives, the loudest shows to the humblest game nights, the camaraderie and passion are a continual source of inspiration.

Plus, there's beer. Like, a lot of beer. And that's inspiring too.

Beer Mansion combines our favorite parties into one. There are four distinct celebrations within the Mansion's walls: The Show, The Bazaar, The Arcade, and The Speakeasy. Each of these represents a certain type of party experience, and all of them celebrate beer. On any other night, you would have to pick and choose which you would attend, but inside Beer Mansion it's as simple as walking down the hall. Each room is filled with games, music, tech, surprises, and of course, beer from us and some of our local friends in each city.

The most important thing to remember at Beer Mansion is that there is no "right way" to experience it. Poke around, find your favorite spots, and try as many beers as catch your eye.

The only "wrong way" is to stand still. And honestly, even then you'd probably have a lot of fun.

Catch us on the road this year and come explore. We'll be waiting for you.

Peace!

Ale