Beer using pornographic marketing has been removed from the Australian market

It's a no from us

The Barely Legal IPA has been axed from a beer festival over its name and marketing. Image: Unsplash

A brew called the 'Barely Legal IPA' has been withdrawn from the Aussie market after a social media maelstrom erupted about its name and PornHub-inspired marketing. 

An Australian beer company has been forced to withdraw a brew almost four times the strength of a standard beer ahead of a major festival after complaints were made over its questionable name and marketing. 

Called the Barely Legal IPA, the beer comes Queensland’s Blackflag Brewery and in addition to having an alcohol content of 18.1 per cent and a logo designed to mimic the graphics of Porn Hub, the company also promotes the “boozy” brew as “something to tell your friends about”. 

If a highly potent alcoholic beverage designed to look like the world’s largest pornography company and leaning into the sexualisation of minors while using a tagline that promotes bragging to your mates makes you cringe, you’re not alone. 

Set to premiere at Melbourne’s Great Australian Beer Spectacular (GABS) festival over the weekend, Blackflag and festival organisers pulled the Barely Legal IPA due to a swell of complaints in the lead-up to the event. 

Like what you see? Sign up to our bodyandsoul.com.au newsletter for more stories like this.

Jayne Lewis, a co-founder of Two Birds, Australia’s first female-owned brewery was among those who called on the festival to drop the beer, telling the ABC, “If you google ‘Barely Legal’ the things that come up are all around young women and involvement in either some sort of pornography of involvement in sexual acts… These are the kinds of things that feel like a real punch in the guts for a lot of women.”

She added, “It’s sexist and it glorifies sexualising minors and young women, which to us is inappropriate, and especially has no place in relation to an 18.1 per cent alcohol beer.” 

The standard alcohol percentage of most beers for sale in Australia is around 5 per cent.

In 2021, Australia was named the heaviest drinking nation in the world, with the Global Drug Survey finding that Aussies drank to the point of drunkenness 27 times a year on average, which is almost double the global average of 15 times and in the number of times Australians sought emergency medical treatment for alcohol-related injuries or issues. 

The same year, the Bureau of Statistics revealed that 50 per cent of women assaulted by a male perpetrator believed alcohol or another substance contributed to their abuse. 

It’s estimated that one in two Australian women will experience sexual harassment in their lifetime, while nearly one in five will experience sexual violence. 

Recent data collected by Drink Agents for Change looking into sexism and harassment within the industry found that of the 158 survey participants, 91 per cent had experienced discrimination and 57 per cent said they had experienced harassment or abuse. 

"We have the data that shows beer events are often an unsafe place for those who work in the industry," said Tiffany Waldron, the president of Australia’s non-profit Pink Boots Society that supports women and non-binary people within the brewing industry. 

“Think about how they feel when they have to serve a beer with a name like [Barely Legal]”. 

Following the fallout, Blackflag Brewing released a statement that said they regretted any “offence or distressed caused” and said their Porn Hub-inspired marketing theme was “intended to be light-hearted and engaging.”  

Blackflag also announced the marketing has been discontinued and a review of the marketing process will be undertaken. 

While the fact that a product with such high alcohol content and such a name and branding even made it to market to begin with is disappointing, Lewis points out, “People’s voices were actually able to make a change. That’s actually great to see people going, ‘We've heard it, we’ve got to do something about it.”

If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800 RESPECT for 24/7 support.

Originally published as Beer using pornographic marketing has been removed from the Australian market