
A federal judge ruled Monday that North Carolina's beer bureaucrats violated the Constitution when they tried to ban a beer because they disliked the art on the label.
The offending label was wrapped around bottles of Maryland-based Flying Dog Brewery's Freezin' Season Winter Ale, and appears to show a tiny appendage between the legs of a Ralph Steadman cartoon character. Last year, the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Commission told Flying Dog that the beer could not be sold in the state due to the "inappropriate" and "in bad taste" label design.