Every Wednesday at noon, Ryan Schleicher, Evan Rytlewski, and Matt Wild take to the WMSE airwaves to discuss all things Milwaukee. This half-hour fun-fest is called The Disclaimer, so named because none of the oft-ridiculous views expressed on the show necessarily reflect the views of the hosts’ employers. Milwaukee music, Milwaukee art, Milwaukee events, and D.I.Y. lawn care tips are frequently discussed—and rarely agreed upon. The Disclaimer: talk radio for the sane.
Earlier this week, MobCraft Brewing came under fire over the name of one of its crowd-sourced beers, Date Grape. The brewery, which accepts beer concepts from the public and pits them against each other in an online competition, issued an apology from CEO Henry Schwartz:
Hello Everyone,
As many may know, there was an offensive name of a user submitted beer in this month’s vote; I would like to extend my deepest apologies for this. Our monthly vote lets people submit ideas for potential beers. The recipes are built off of the beer description and any ingredients that are submitted. They are built out by scientists not PR agents, their job is to take the description of the beer and create a grain bill so it can be feasibly brewed. Automation is used from the time of submission till the vote starts, URLs are auto populated, the beer name and images are also auto populated.
The beer has been removed from the voting round, and we now have a procedure in place so we can vet all beer ideas moving forward. I am sincerely sorry that this incident occurred and by no means is it a reflection of the views of MobCraft Beer and its employees. I feel horrible that this oversight happened. We would never promote rape culture as it is a very serious issue, never to be joked about. Again my deepest apologies.
A portion of all proceeds from Saturday’s (12/10/16) sales will be donated to a rape crisis center.
-Henry
Still, OnMilwaukee was quick to point out that other MobCraft beers and labels were offensive, such as “Señor Bob, an imperial cream ale, [which] shows a sombrero-wearing Mexican drinking beer on a barrel,” and “Arabian Date Night [featuring] a date, as in the fruit, wearing a turban.” So is a simple apology enough? Evan and Matt discuss this sobering story in Ryan’s absence, and get listeners up to date on Milwaukee’s continuing efforts to avoid another Pokemon Go/Lake Park controversy.
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