A couple of weeks a particularly unfunny beer name made the national news. Beachy Head Brewery‘s “Christmas Jumper”.
A “jumper” is the word in East Sussex used for someone who kills, or attempts to kill, themselves by jumping from the 530ft cliffs.
Roger Green from the brewery has defended the name as “derived from the woolly jumpers that Santa wears.” Really? Where in Santa mythology is there anything about him wearing woolly jumpers?
Apparently “It started life as a pump clip in one of the pubs with Santa in a jumper.” Well, it may well have done, but it is unlikely the locals were unaware of the alternative interpretation of the name.
Here‘s the story in the odious Daily Mail (I’ve freezepaged it so the vile edifice doesn’t get the benefit your clicks).
Totally inappropriate. Maybe one of the excellent charities, who counsell those lucky enough to find help before taking their lives, should be in touch with Roger Green and help him make the right decision in renaming his beer. Idiotic doesn’t even come close.
I’m finding it difficult to believe that the suicide link was intentional. Just how many suicides would there need to be, such that “jumper” triggers that mental connection? Looking at the label art, they don’t seem to be the kind of brewery that embraces bad taste.
The unwanted gift of an unfashionable hand-knitted jumper is a common Christmas trope (although a visit to Top Man this weekend suggests that this year they might be in). I can easily imagine a pump clip picture of Santa dressed in such a jumper, sitting in an armchair by the fire, his work done, with a pint in his hand.
Yeah, when you put it all together to get “Beachy Head Jumper”, it’s unfortunate. But I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume this was carelessness.
The beer’s been about for a while, 3 years I think. It’s taken the Daily Hate a while to become offended. I can sympathise with the brewer, and if the hate-hacks were coming after me I might you stumble over my words, I might even say ‘wears’ rather than ‘brings.’ I’m not saying he did but I wouldn’t trust the Mail to bother with an accurate quote from the person they blatantly see as being in the wrong, their ONLY interest is selling the story, building up the controversy.
I’m with John on the unfashionable jumper reference. If Beachy Head want to withdraw it because of genuine local complaints then all I’d applaud that, but should we get offended on behalf of others and encourage this through the Daily Mail lynch-mob? I’d suggest it’s a little more personal than that, and maybe using people’s grief to sell newspapers is the real horror story here.
I hope they didn’t intend it in the way it comes across, but to be honest they ARE the Beachy Head Brewery and I can’t believe they didn’t realise that it might be taken the wrong way. Ask 100 people on the street about Beachy Head and I bet the first thing most people think of is the suicide spot, it certainly was for me (bit of a shame for Beachy Head, but sadly true).
At best it is naive marketing, something many brewers are guilty of. You can brew the best beer in the world but you need business sense too.