Posted By: Melissa Ward

Full disclosure: There is a very large [and unfortunate] chance that I have yet to try a beer from The Lost Abbey, mainly because they don’t distribute to NJ (though I see they send their beers to Philly, so I’ll keep my eyes open).

This is not a discussion about Lost Abbey’s beer, but about one of their beer labels. Specifically, the summer seasonal, Witch’s Wit. Recently on Twitter, Stevie and Lee both brought up the recent New York Times article about a number of people in the pagan and Wiccan community being up in arms about the label art. According to the NYT, Vicki Noble—a very active member of this community—sent an email out to her contacts with the subject line “Can we stop this brewer from their hate imagery?” after she came upon a bottle of Witch’s Wit in a store.

Part of the email, as quoted by NYT, reads:

“Can you imagine them showing a black person being lynched or a Jewish person going to the oven?” she wrote. “Such images are simply not tolerated in our society anymore (thank the Goddess) and this one should not be, either.”

All right. Time for my 10 cents.

First off, I am pretty sure that the folks behind the beers at The Lost Abbey weren’t out to promote hate on their bottle labels. That’s a ridiculous notion. Yes, the painting is a bit disturbing, but then again, so were the witch burnings and witch trials that were seen on both sides of the Atlantic centuries ago.

I, myself, have a deep interest in the reign of King Henry VIII, and there were NUMEROUS people, both men and women, burned at the stakes in Smithfield as witches and heretics. It indeed was disturbing. And much like the painting, crowds would gather to watch, and not do a thing, oftentimes watching an innocent woman burn to death.

Is it upsetting to see a woman victimized in art? Of course, but A. this kind of thing really happened and B. it happened to men, too. And children. It’s not as if the label art was some kind of disturbed fantasy—the artist can easily argue that his imagery is steeped in history.

Now, in response to Vicki Noble and the entire situation, Tomme Arthur shared his thoughts on the story behind the art and the ale. From The Lost Abbey website:

When I imagined this beer, I thought of two perspectives that would make for the best story. The first story could have been told from the Point of View of our Witch (or Heroine depending on the story). Ultimately, I think I like not knowing her story is better. How she got there is a big part of the mystery.

I became more fixated on the guilt of the crowd. There would surely have been people (the faceless souls) who could have/ would have wanted to help. There also would have been some righteous people smug with satisfaction knowing another “witch” leaving their world.

The Point of View for this back story label is about that smugness and righteousness in light of a horrific atrocity against mankind. It’s written in a modified 3rd person Omniscient Point of View (partly a member of the crowd and my own voice). I knew that most people wouldn’t spend the time delving into the mystery of the piece I wrote but at the same time, I wanted a voice of reason (or counter reason) to be present for this beer. Specifically, we knew this to be a thought provoking original art piece.

I find this very interesting, though unfortunately, even with this very straightforward explanation, I still think people like Noble are going to cry witch (like what I did there?) People like that will still complain about the imagery, no matter what you tell them.

Lost Abbey likes to play with the idea of good vs. evil. When Stevie asked me my thoughts on this during our rampant Twitter conversation with other Ladies of Craft Beer, I suggested the idea that the “witch” (or more likely, the innocent woman) could be seen as the force of good, while the massive crowd is the force of evil—much like the villagers with torches and pitch forks in Frankenstein. But, like Arthur says above, “Ultimately, I think I like not knowing her story is better. How she got there is a big part of the mystery.”

I mean, maybe it would have been interesting to see a play on the beer’s name … like a witch pulling a Houdini and getting out of the ropes and off the pyre. But if The Lost Abbey had wanted to do that with its art, it already would have.

[Editor's Note: This is an opinion piece from the mind of Melissa Ward, a wonderful member of Ladies of Craft Beer. We are not, in any way, against Vicki Noble or the Wiccan and Pagan communities. This article is meant to show one person's opinion and to inspire conversation on the matter. If you disagree, feel free to comment with your reasoning why. What would you like to see happen with the label? Thanks for reading, ladies, and cheers!]