Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Maryland has won its court case against the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Commission regarding the brewery's Freezin' Season Winter Ale label. Full details are below.
Frederick, Md. – On May 13, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina ruled in favor of Flying Dog Brewery, and against the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Commission (NC ABC), in Flying Dog’s lawsuit claiming that the NC ABC’s regulation allowing it to ban labels that the commissioners in their sole discretion feel are “undignified, immodest, or in bad taste” is a violation of the First Amendment.
“The First Amendment is the last defense against authoritarian and arbitrary government, and it must be protected against any and all threats,” said Jim Caruso, CEO of Flying Dog Brewery. “We are hugely grateful to our attorney, Marc Randazza, whose knowledge and passion for the First Amendment carried the day. With the First Amendment seemingly under attack from all sides, it is heartening to see court decisions like this that protect the freedoms that it embodies.”