Stone Brewery released a new brew called “I’m Peach”.  I’m not sure if they thought they were being cute with the near-homograph, or if they believed that that the deplorables would never figure out that the beer was really called…wait for it…”Impeach”.

I am all about free speech.  Stone Brewery has every right to call their beer Impeach, just as they could have named a beer “Birther Brew” during the Obama years.  Political speech is a right enshrined in law, and with the appointment of Justice Gorsuch will likely remain so for a few decades.

However, customers have a right to choose where to spend their money as well (and according to the Supreme Court, whose money they accept for services).  I have chosen not to purchase any more beer from Stone Brewery.  Not because I object to them exercising their right to free speech, but because I don’t like what they have said.  The right to free speech does not include immunity from responses to said free speech.

Impeachment of a President is something that should be reserved for the most extreme circumstances, when there is clear evidence that a crime that has been committed.  Nothing like that exists, nor has it ever existed in the case of President Trump.  Robert Mueller, for all of his work, has found not one shred of evidence linking anyone from the Trump campaign, and specifically not the President himself, to any collusion with the Russians.  There was far more evidence of Russian collusion when Hillary Clinton received $145M from a Russian oligarch in exchange for letting him purchase the rights to the bulk of U.S. uranium production, but apparently that’s not the Russian collusion that Mueller is looking for.

Instead, impeachment has become a rallying cry for everyone who is unhappy that their Presidential candidate was not elected. The “Resistance”, is an skulking liberal zeitgeist that refers to the intent to shut down any and all progress the nation could be making until the candidate who was fairly and duly elected is removed.  This is not American, nor is it moral.  They don’t like the guy, I get that.  But he has done nothing to merit even the notion of impeachment, so the continuous mantra of “Impeach” is just a plaintive cry of “I wish my candidate had won.”  I felt the same way about four years ago as the economy dragged along and government regulations dogpiled upon one another resulting in record unemployment.

So I respectfully disagree with Stone Brewery’s political statements, and won’t be giving them any more of my money.  When I informed Stone Brewery that I would host no more events there, the young manager said he understood and expected some pushback when they released the “Impeach” Beer, but that we should respect their right to free speech.

I absolutely respect Stone Brewery’s right to free speech, and if a government regulator told them they could not market the beer I would probably write a blog on that.  But they should also understand that their customers have the right to disagree with their statements and spend their money elsewhere.  That’s the American way.  Welcome to America, Stone.

As a side note, three folks that I spoke to who actually tried the Impeach beer said they wouldn’t buy it again. Peach and beer apparently aren’t a good mix, sort of like politics and beer. Stone probably should have focused upon what their customers like to drink instead of what Stone wanted to say.