But not in Michigan.
There, the state's five-member Liquor Control Commission - apparently stuck in the 1950s - ruled the language on the label was "detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the general public."
"They told me, 'We don't use that five-letter word here,' " Caruso said. "I'm like, 'Seriously?' "
(The state liquor agency also turned down Dogfish Head Bitches Brew, named after the landmark Miles Davis jazz album.)
Caruso lost his appeal and joined a short but notable list of brands whose labels have been rejected by various state authorities for breaching their rules of decorum. Over the years, states have turned thumbs down to the likes of Bad Frog (shown flipping a one-digit finger), Santa's Butt (illustrated with his squatting, red-suited tuchus) and Manneken Pis (picturing the iconic tinkling Brussels sculpture), among others.
In each case, the decision to ban the labels was made by a small group of appointed state bureaucrats whose decisions seemed either arbitrary or inscrutable. How, for example, can "bitch" be OK in 49 states but not Michigan? And why is that "B" word so vile when another, "bastard" (as in Stone Arrogant Bastard), is just fine?
Significantly, in each case, the states eventually either backed down under threat of a lawsuit or were forced by the courts to OK the labels.
Last month, Michigan backed down, too, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in an unrelated case that established that freedom of speech extends to commercial goods.
That's not good enough for Caruso. Backed by the Bellevue, Wash.-based Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, he's suing the liquor commissioners for loss of sales.
"They committed a crime," Caruso said, claiming the commission had violated his company's First Amendment rights. "This is about the laws of the Constitution. If we don't push back, we will lose our rights."
