Deep Ellum Brewing Is Sticking with its Controversial Dallas Blonde Slogan After All

Last year, Deep Ellum Brewing Company found itself being hit with some pretty steep charges. After posting a photo on Facebook of a new delivery van that advertised the brewery's Dallas Blonde Ale, some writers and activists, myself included, accused the brewery of sexism, and even of promoting rape culture, with the slogan they used to sell the beer: "Goes Down Easy."

Brewery owner John Reardon soon issued an apology of sorts, promising to remove the slogan from the van. He maintained that the company would be keeping "Goes Down Easy" on individual cans of Dallas Blonde:

While I strongly reject the notion that this campaign promotes rape culture, I do admit the double entendre. Unfortunately, double entendres are only funny when they're out of the spotlight.

With that, I'll be removing the slogan from the van. Putting it on a can is one thing, but on the side of a van, where it's impossible to ignore, is another issue entirely.

Except, he didn't.

At Burnt Orange Report, Genevieve Cato, one of the original critics of the van, pointed out this morning that the "rape culture van is still rolling." According to Cato, a reader sent in a photo of the hot-pink van that is still delivering beer to liquor stores and restaurants in DFW.

I reached out to Reardon for comment, and he responded by email. "When weighing the decision on whether or not to change the van, we ultimately listened to the general public," he wrote. "We had an outcry of support in favor of not cowering to an overly PC agenda. At the end of the day, it's a beer. That goes down easy. End of story."

He's certainly right about that "outcry of support." Most of the comments on the DEBC Facebook page after the controversy indicated that their fans didn't really have a problem with "Goes Down Easy" as a slogan for Dallas Blonde Ale.

Reardon didn't explain why they'd changed their minds so quietly. If the customer base was so supportive of the slogan, why not make a big show of bucking the PC Police? Either way, the Dallas Blonde delivery van (and the brewery) rolls on.