A cider maker has been left furious after the UK's alcohol industry's regulator banned one of its drinks because it's "too sexual".
Robbie Langouroux-Fay says the Portman Group has banned his cherry-flavoured UnShaven Maiden cider because the name suggests "searching for young virgin women".
The Bearded Brewery founder claims the regulatory body has been trying to force him to ditch his CAMRA award-winning cider after a Guardian food and drink columnist wrote about how offensive she felt the product was.
Since then the 4% ABV cider has been blasted for encouraging sex with underage girls, Robbie claims.
The Bearded Brewery in St Mawgan, near Cornwall Airport Newquay, has been making a name for itself for almost six years.
It produces the 6.2% Storm Damage, the 5.5% Swallows Nest, the rather strong 8% Tanker Slapper, as well as the Moustache Mango cider, Shaky Todd or Pink Fluffer.
Robbie told CornwallLive : "I'm a dad of an 11-year-old and five-year-old girls. I'm a family man. You don't get to talk to me like that. This is crossing the line.
"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 Unshaven Maiden underwent a formal hearing with the Portman Group following a second complaint by another craft cider maker.
The cider shows a mermaid figurehead on a pirate ship, her naked breasts partially covered by her long red beard and hair.
In its letter to the Bearded Brewery, which has been seen by CornwallLive, the Portman Group said the mermaid was too prominent compared with the rest of the ship and too life-like, while the name and the image of a half-naked woman combined with the tagline "search for the cherry'd treasure" - a play on buried and its cherry flavour - was too sexual and could cause widespread offence in modern-day Britain.
The complaint, which is from November 2022, is that Unshaven Maiden is "unnecessarily sexual", was made under the Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks, that a "drink, its packaging and promotional material should not in any direct or indirect way suggest any association with sexual activity or sexual success".
It was also made under another article of the code that no drink should be produced that causes "serious or widespread offence".
Robbie said he tried to argue that the bearded mermaid was in the context of his business's name - Bearded Brewery - while the tagline is a play on the words 'search for the buried treasure' as well as a reference to the cherry flavour of the cider.
The letter from the Portman Group reads: "The panel noted that ‘maiden’ could relate to a virgin or an unmarried young woman. Furthermore, the panel considered this alongside the tagline “search for the cherry’d treasure”, which reinforced the perception that the name referred to a pursuit of a young woman’s virginity.
"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."
The Portland Group's letter added: "When considering these elements in combination, the panel concluded that the name, the tagline and prominent depiction of the partially nude, life-like mermaid all linked to sexual innuendo of hunting for a young woman’s virginity, and created an indirect association with sexual activity. The panel concluded such messaging was offensive, and damaging in the wider context of gender stereotypes, which was out of place with societal values in 2022."
Robbie 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 as Robbie said he's filed one last appeal and is awaiting the outcome.
Under the rules, drink makers have several choices about how to proceed. Most producers will make changes to their packaging to bring it in line with the code or voluntarily remove it from the UK market.
On its website, the Portman Group said that if producers do not take action within three months, the group 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."
Matt Lambert, Portman Group CEO told The Mirror: “A complaint was received related to Bearded Brewery’s Unshaven Maiden product. The Independent Complaints Panel (Panel) reviewed this first on 10 November 2022 and issued a provisional decision to the producer upholding the complaint on the grounds the product packaging created an indirect association with sexual activity and was likely to cause widespread offence. It is important to emphasise this is a provisional decision, not a final decision.
“On 20 February 2023, the producer was given an additional opportunity to present their response to the Panel to make the final decision. We requested that the process remains confidential until the final decision is published. We do this as it can differ to the provisional decision, so it is disappointing that the producer has assumed the result and this has been taken publicly.
“Whatever the outcome, we support willing producers where complaints are upheld through our Advisory Service. We can help them to amend designs to comply with the Code and only as a last resort issue a Retailer Alert Bulletin asking for the product not to be restocked.
“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.”
