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‘Woke-Free’ Beer’s Entire Business Model May Be Illegal: Experts

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Illinois state law wouldn’t allow Ultra Right Beer from shipping directly to consumers—if the enterprise isn’t a scam to begin with, as some beer industry insiders are speculating.

A pint of beer
Reuters/Peter Nicholls

Nothing will stop the self-righteous brewers at Ultra Right Beer from shipping its boozy “woke-free” brew directly to thirsty conservatives—except maybe Illinois state law, according to experts. The beer company, launched in the wake of right-wing outrage over transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s partnership with Bud Light, is currently taking orders for six-packs at $19.99 a pop. But, according to its website, it brews and cans its beverages in Illinois, a state that bans its breweries from selling beer directly to consumers. Crain’s Chicago Business also reported on Thursday that Illinois requires its brewers to register their labels and become licensed beer retailers before they can hawk their products in the state. “It’s highly unlikely that they will be able to gain the proper licensing in time,” Ray Stout, the executive director of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, told the business newspaper. The suitably-named Stout also said that none of the guild’s brewers—who together run nearly three-quarters of the breweries in Illinois—are working with Ultra Right, as far as he can tell. “People think this is kind of a hoax,” he added. “There's nothing pointing to it being real.”

Read it at Crain’s Chicago Business