Craft beer bosses have had to rebrand White Face pale ale that was named after type of hare for fear of being called racist
- The Norfolk beer has been renamed to ‘Cheeky Jack’ to avoid any racism fears
An award-winning beer that was named White Face after a type of hare has been forced to rebrand – for fear of being deemed racist.
The ale was launched three years ago by craft brewers Moon Gazer, which names its beers after alternative terms for hares from folklore.
Its choices are inspired by a 13th century poem titled Names Of The Hare, and also include Jigfoot, Pintail, and Nibbler. The White Face is a mountain hare with a brown coat that turns white in winter for camouflage in the snow.
This year the Campaign for Real Ale judged it to be the top cask beer in Norfolk. The award helped broaden the pale ale’s popularity but meant some new drinkers unfamiliar with the brewery’s habit of naming beers after hares were left unhappy with the name.
An award-winning beer that was named White Face after a type of hare has been forced to rebrand – for fear of being deemed racist
The beer has now been renamed to ‘Cheeky Jack’ by brewery bosses based in Norfolk
David Holliday, 58, founded the brewery based in Hindringham, Norfolk, with his wife Rachel, 56. He said: ‘We became aware that its name wasn’t sitting entirely comfortably with some people.
‘Feedback to the name has also become more frequent and vocal. Some people didn’t know the connection to the hare name, and the white mountain hare – and sadly in some cases it gave rise to the feeling that there was an undercurrent of discriminatory language.
‘This is, of course, a complete misunderstanding but the fact that it created that impression was of genuine concern to us. We were recently sitting in a pub beer garden and overheard a man showing his pint to his beer buddy and proclaiming, “Now, this beer is totally lush… Name’s a bit racist though”.’
White Face has been renamed Cheeky Jack, a play on the American name for a hare – Jack Rabbit. Mr Holliday added: ‘We had calls and emails about the White Face name, but mostly it was via feedback from the pubs we supply.
‘We were concerned about being accused of bowing to the pressure to change it, but in the end beer should do one simple thing – bring pleasure.
David Holliday (left), 58, founded the brewery based in Hindringham, Norfolk, with his wife Rachel (right), 56. He said the name of the beer wasn’t ‘sitting right’ with some people
‘So if the beer, or more accurately its name, was moving away from that, we thought it was time for a change.’
Around 40 to 50 casks of the beer are produced per week, mainly for pubs in Norfolk and Suffolk.
The Names Of The Hare poem is said to have been written to be recited by a hunter on his first encounter with a hare, and includes 77 names for hares. Originally written in Middle English, its author is unknown.
Misunderstood? White Face became Cheeky Jack
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