Opinion: Why the Portman Group blacklisted BrewDog’s Speedball beer

Alcohol should be promoted responsibly. Our Code prevents companies from associating alcoholic drinks with illegal drugs for obvious reasons. Naming your drink after a lethal drugs cocktail and promoting it as a Class A substance is crass marketing that undermines the industry’s reputation.

BrewDog have claimed that its marketing will somehow educate and prevent drug misuse. The Independent Complaints Panel completely rejected this argument and said that the company was simply trying to promote the product on the basis of its psychoactive properties.

Our Code applies to drink producer marketing, not retailers.  BrewDog need to appreciate that the price at which alcohol sold is determined by retailers and outside the scope of our Code. The company also seems to believe that they deserve special exemption under the Code, because they are a small company that only produces ale. All alcohol is capable of being misused, however, and therefore the Code must apply equally to all drinks, as well as to all producers, no matter how big or small.

One of the reasons for the success of our Code is that the decisions of the Panel are fully supported by retailers. As BrewDog will discover, retailers will now move quickly to clear their shelves of Speedball.

Click here to read BrewDog’s verdict on the decision

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