A Look Back: ‘Dry’ towns celebrate wet laws
By 2006, many towns in Maine had ditched Prohibition-era liquor laws, and no one was happier than certain businesses in those previously “dry” towns, Mainebiz reported in its Nov. 13, 2006, issue. A restaurant in Stonington reported a 17% gain in sales, and planned to extend its hours and pass along some of the windfall to employees. Critics of Stonington’s relaxed laws feared an increase in crime. But according to the story, “Stonington has experienced no spike in crime, just a couple of parking lot brawls.”
A case of jurisprudence: In 2006 the Maine Civil Liberties Union, representing a Massachusetts beer distributor, sued Maine after it refused to allow sales of an English beer that featured Santa’s, um, ample backside on its label. Seems crazy now, in light of the wide range of craft beer brands that employ some kind of double entendre. But as reported in some detail in the Dec. 11, 2006, issue of Mainebiz, the English beer, “Santa’s Butt Winter Porter,” featured a label depicted “jolly old St. Nick, his voluminous (but clothed) posterior perched on a beer barrel, hoisting a mug of suds as he makes his list and checks it twice.” The story also helpfully pointed out that, in England, the term “butt also refers to an extra-large beer barrel.” We’re not sure how the case of Santa’s ample butt was adjudicated, but will offer an update when we find out.
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