A north Norfolk brewery has changed the name of an award-winning beer due to fears it was seen as racist.
Moon Gazer ales, in Hindringham between Fakenham and Holt, has dropped the name of its White Face beer, which will now be called Cheeky Jack.
Several of the brewery’s beers – such as Jigfoot, Pintail and Nibbler - are named after hares in a medieval poem called the Name of the Hare.
The beer was given its name three years ago, but after growing in popularity and being served in pubs outside north Norfolk where the Moon Gazer brand is lesser known, the brewery made the decision to rename it.
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Brewery owner David Holliday said: “We became aware that the name White Face just wasn’t sitting entirely comfortably with some people, especially with those who are not familiar with our wider links to hares.
“Winning the award saw a big increase in the distribution of the beer – but with it becoming ever more present in pubs, feedback to the name became more apparent.
“Some people did not know the connection to the hare name, and the white mountain hare – and sadly in some cases giving rise to the feeling that there was an undercurrent of racism.
“This is, of course, a complete misunderstanding – but the fact that it created that impression was of genuine concern to us.”
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The “penny dropped” for Mr Holliday when he was sitting in the beer garden of the Brickmakers pub, in Norwich, and overheard someone with a pint of his beer say, “now this beer is totally lush”, before continuing, “the name’s a bit racist though”.
The cask ale won an award at the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Eastern region awards last year.
The American-style IPA's new name, Cheeky Jack, comes from the fact hares are called jack rabbits in the US.
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