I have always liked beer – albeit not à la Kavanaugh — and I have written about it previously.
When Trump descended the golden escalators at Trump Tower to announce his presidential campaign, some of the first infamous words to come out of his potty candidacy mouth were:
When Mexico sends its people, they are not sending their best. They are bringing drugs. They are bringing crime. They are rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
What do these two things — beer and Trump — have to do with each other, you may ask.
Let me explain, with the help of Tim Mark at the Weekend Edition Saturday of National Public Radio (NPR).
Americans, Mexican-Americans, Mexicans and Latinos in general were deeply offended by the prejudice and ignorance shown by a man who aspired to the highest office in the land.
Two such people were Andrés Araya and his wife, Milagro Ramirez, who, as owners of 5 Rabbit Cervecería, a Latin-inspired craft brewery, were the exclusive providers of the house beer (“an easy-drinking golden ale”) for Trump’s International Hotel & Tower in Chicago.
Following Trump’s outrageous comments, the couple decided to take a stand against his calumny, and they cut ties with Trump and his hotel.
“When we hear the comments that he makes, it went in direct opposition to the founding principle of our brewery,” Araya tells NPR.
5 Rabbit Cervecería was prepared to take a huge financial hit. The brewery had thousands of pints of beer sitting in their warehouse, 50 kegs of Trump’s Golden Ale “for which had been paid in advance, and now had to refund the money.”
“So there we were, with dozens of kegs of beer we had absolutely no use for, a precarious position for a small craft brewery. Dumping it would mean taking a massive financial hit, but we were prepared to do so,” says Araya.
However, “Local bars and restaurants hearing about their ordeal agreed to take the barrels they had on hand and sell it as a generic golden ale,” says Mark at NPR, “but not before workers in Araya’s warehouse put a colorful twist on the name.”
That “colorful twist on the name” eventually became Chinga Tu Pelo, referring to Trump’s perfectly coiffed hairdo, along with a beer label showing an outline of a familiar head with the distinctive hair on top.
Although Trump has set a new low in the coarseness of the American dialogue, I will not literally translate the label. Suffice to say, it means “do something nasty to your hair.”
According to NPR, “Beer sales took off at Chicago bars friendly with 5 Rabbit, backed by a logo that became an iconic sketch of Trump’s tufts made by a local artist.”
And it did not stop there. After the presidential campaign ended “la protesta” wasn’t over. 5 Rabbit Cervecería decided to use the Chinga Tu Pelo recipe (both the brewing and the protest recipes) to continue to resist and protest Trump’s social and humanitarian injustices.
As a means of continuing a vision for solidarity, inclusiveness, and a rejection of the rhetoric of prejudice and hate, the 5 Rabbit Cervecería has turned its beer into a social justice-themed beer called, what else, La Protesta. “Each batch benefits a different cause – one for the environment, one on DACA and another on transgender rights,” according to NPR.
Last week, 5 Rabbit Cervecería released a fourth La Protesta beer, dedicated to the children separated at the southern US border from their parents (below).
The 5 Rabbit Cervecería saga has now been made into a documentary by Chicago-based filmmakers One City Films premiering this weekend in Chicago.
It is not the first time that a beer brewery jumps into the political fray. Two Mexican beer companies, the Modelo Group and Tecate, have spoken up against Trump’s policies.
For beer connoisseurs, 5 Rabbit Cervecería describes its “Latin American [beer], made in Xicago” as follows:
The vast and delicious cuisines of Central and South America hold a treasure trove of flavors, aromas and textures, much of which feels right at home in a well-made beer. We combine these ingredients and ideas with our own experiences to make subtle and deeply delicious beers, not mere novelty items. Each beer speaks with our voice and adds to the story. We put the best ingredients together so that the whole beer adds up to much more than the sum of its parts.
Other reviews:
“A nice, light golden ale”
“The aroma is light, with slightly toasted malts and just a light background of hop bitterness.”
“…it finishes with just a little extra flourish of bitterness. No lingering sugar or hop aftertaste. Except for the slight fruity ale ester, this might fool some people in thinking they had an Old Style.”
My favorite, “A beer worth protesting for.”
As I said, I like beer. But because of dietary issues it is very rare when I enjoy one anymore.
However, when I do find 5 Rabbit cerveza in my hometown, I will make an exception and join la protesta gladly.
Andrés Araya, founder and co-owner of 5 Rabbit Cervecería, was born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica. His wife, Milagro Ramirez, was born in Lima, Peru.
All photos from 5 Rabbit Cervecería Facebook.
Added:
Some Spanish speaking readers may have been offended by my use of the word “ch**ga,” and puzzled why I did not use its English translation.
Here is a simple explanation.
First, “Chinga Tu Pelo” and its label are/were a legitimate trade name, logo and label approved by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. It is difficult to discuss the product and its history without referring to its name and depicting the label.
Second, having left the Latino/Spanish speaking community at the age of 10 and not having lived in an area where the word “ch**ga” was/is used in a sexual connotation, the word does not have the same impact on me personally as its English translation.
Regardless, my apologies to those who have been offended by my use of the brand name.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.