A brewery in the UK had shut down its website after their ‘Osama Bin Lager’ beer went viral [GETTY]
A brewery in the UK sold out of its beer, named after the founder of al-Qaeda, after going viral online, forcing the company to shut down its website and unplug its phones.
The Mitchell Brewing Co, based in Billinghay Lincolnshire, released the ‘Osama Bin Lager’ beer, named after Osama Bin Laden and sold out after millions of people saw an image of it on social media.
Bin Laden was the former leader of Al-Qaeda, responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in the US.
Due to the high demand, the brewery had to disconnect its phones and close its website after it crashed three times due to high traffic and ended up selling out the beer.
The brewery also sells the ‘Kim Jong Ale’, named after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and the ‘Putin Porter’, named after Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to the BBC, the co-owner Luke Mitchell said the names were “all tongue-in-cheek” and were there to provide a “nicer outlook on some horrible dictators”.
While the owners said feedback had been generally positive, some customers have labelled the move as “distasteful”.
But Mithcell told The Daily Star he had sought advice from military personnel before, as they are based near several Royal Air Forces bases, and was told they didn’t find it offensive.
The company said it was preparing to launch its next beer in June in collaboration with another brewery.
‘The Orange Mussolini’ is named after former United States President Donald Trump‘s “orange face” and references Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
The beer’s tagline, “A storm is brewing, and this is one he can’t pay off!”, references Trump’s criminal trial over alleged hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels
The brewery donates £10 from each barrel of the Osama Bin Lager beer to the Voices Centre of Resilience, a charity that supports 9/11 victims.