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Is 'White IPA Matters' beer racist? Polish brewery's ad slammed for exploiting George Floyd's death

'No excuse for such overt and virulent racism - not in 2021, and not ever,' said one tweet about the Mentzen brewery's advertisement

A Polish brewery sparked a major outrage with their advert for a new beer called "White IPA Matters". The advert features a Black barman drinking the beer in a Southern bar with a Confederate flag. The beer company is flooded with complaints from people flagging it 'racist'.

The Mentzen brewery, owned by right-wing politician Slawomir Mentzen, launched the advert for their beer. It starts off with the Black barman cleaning glasses, while the camera focuses on symbols of America's Deep South, including the Confederate flag. A customer is then seen sliding a bottle of the White IPA Matters beer to the barman. The barman takes a sip and says, "This is what I needed."

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The brewery claims that the beer, which is basically a light-tasting ale has "the taste of extravagance" with a combination of hops and "black Earl Grey" that gives a "hoppy, fruity taste with a tea aroma." Brewery owner Mentzen, who got into the beer brewing business last year, is a member of Poland's right-wing Confederation party. Other beers produced by the brewery include 'Polish Freedom' and 'Keeper of Texas'.

It is important to note here that Mentzen has twice run for office, once for local elections in Torun in 2018 and then for the European parliament in 2019. however, he was unsuccessful at both campaigns. Mentzen recently warned of a slide towards 'totalitarianism' with coronavirus legislation that bars unvaccinated people from attending restaurants and bars. He argued for the relaxation of all Covid restrictions in Poland, claiming that in places where the rules are relaxed, such as Florida in the US, there has been no surge in infections.

Speaking of the widely claimed 'racist' advert, Rafal Pankowski from the 'Never Again Association' said, "The beer exploits the death of George Floyd and the racist backlash to the global Black Lives Matter movement. The producer plays with racist history and symbolism of the US South. By getting a black person to drink this disgusting beer for promotional purposes, they mock the victims of racism. No decent beer drinker should ever pay a penny for this far-right fund-raising stunt."

'No excuse for such overt racism in 2021'

People slammed the company for showcasing evident racism in the advert. One user wrote, "No excuse for such overt and virulent racism - not in 2021, and not ever. Poland was saturated with a more naive version of it in the mid-90s, back when it a new, racially and religiously monolithic democracy. Today, it's nothing if not deliberate." Another commented, "Right, just like Makumba and Murzynek Bambo. What is this ad's message? If the goal is to troll U.S. politics, it's a sad manifestation of how little this particular business understands about the current U.S. policy landscape. Not that its ignorance is surprising." One tweet read, "what kind of clownery is This."