Australia doesn't fancy a Shag

[movieguy]

Australia doesn't fancy a Shag

Australia wants to ban a British entrepreneur from naming a beer Shag.

Brewed in Holland as Alpha beer, it's sold internationally by Terry Ball's Rebell Holdings company as Shag.

Advertisements feature a bottle of the beer on the backseat of a car and the catchphrase: "Fancy a Shag?"

Mr Ball insists the beer is named after the bird of the same name but New South Wales government minister Grant McBride is not convinced.

He said: "To name the product Shag links it directly with sexual intercourse - and that's not on.

"It is irresponsible to link alcohol and sex so blatantly. I'm outraged by this product."

Mr McBride, an avowed teetotaller and father-of-eight, has banned three other alcoholic drinks since becoming the Gaming and Racing Minister in 2003, including Moo Joose, a chocolate milkshake with vodka.

He said: "We don't want to stop people having a good time, but this product seeks to maximise risk-taking behaviour through a series of tacky, sex-themed ads."

A spokesperson from the Australian distributor for Dutch brewery, Alpha, was surprised to learn the beer's name had caused a stir.

"It's named after a shag, the bird, which features on the label," she said downplaying the controversy as nothing more than "a storm in a glass of beer".

www.ananova.com