Brewery behind 'Barely Legal' beer apologises after it was called 'insensitive and offensive'

An Australian brewery has copped an utter roasting over its seemingly X-rated named beer.

Queensland-based Blackflag Brewing has now pulled its marketing of its beer called 'Barely Legal' after women across Australia's beer industry slammed the branding as it appears to mimic the logo of the world's largest porn site.

Yeah, don't be coy. You know the one. PornHub.

The name and the branding appear to riff off the 'barely legal' porn category, for which Porn Hub has a whopping 3,592 videos for those two words combined.

Then there's all the ones with similar keywords, but we digress: it's a popular porn category.

And yes, while it might be legal, it's just a 'hop', skip and a jump away from not being so. So therefore, it's a bit icky.

And, considering the porn site has been the subject of a recent documentary that features anti-child trafficking and exploitation campaigners who say the site hosts clips that feature minors, it's double-icky.

Feminist commentator Clementine Ford was one of many who called out Blackflag for the marketing choice.

She shared a post about the offending beer in question alongside the caption: "What a totally interesting and funny name for a beer that doesn't in any way imply you're a bunch of creeps with a sh*tty sense of humour and total disregard for women."

As per Yahoo News, musician Libby O'Donovan also piped up to say the beer name is 'f**king gross'.

She then took aim at the beer's alcohol content, which is 18.1 per cent, with the average beer coming in at about 5 per cent.

She argued that the beer is 'totally geared towards getting s**tfaced'.

Instagram page 'Chicks Invented Beer' also took aim at the company's branding in an Instagram story, stating that the name 'creates a culture where sexism and sexualising minors is not only accepted but celebrated'.

It added: "This ultimately impacts the safety of minorities, in this case women and minors."

The Independent Brewers Association (IBA) has since issued a statement since the fizzy furore hit social media, condemning such beers with 'inappropriate names'.

"The IBA takes these matters very seriously and as a result has commenced discussions with the relevant parties to ensure the matter is addressed immediately and is not repeated in future," the statement read.

"It is a breach of our Code of Conduct and so in response, the IBA Board will follow the guidance of that policy.

"The IBA celebrates inclusion and diversity in all its forms in everything it does and will continue our advocacy efforts towards building an inclusive and respectful beer industry."

In a statement to brewing website Crafty Pint, those responsible for the beer at Blackflag Brewing explained the joke behind the name and the imagery.

"We designed the imagery around what is a known brand after you turn 18," it said in a statement.

"The aim was to attach to an image that is known by people when they turn 18.

"We designed a few different images around the pretence of when you become an adult."

The beer was set to be released at the Great Australian Beer Spectacular craft beer festival in Melbourne, which runs from May 19 to 23, however it has now had its marketing withdrawn following the backlash, the ABC reports.

They have also issued an apology on social media.

"Blackflag deeply regrets any offence or distress caused by our recent marketing campaign," they said.

"We acknowledge that a single marketing theme, which was intended to be light-hearted and engaging, unfortunately missed the mark and inadvertently conveyed unintended implications that were offensive.

"Once again, we extend our sincere apologies to all those who were affected by our marketing campaign.

"We will strive to do better, to learn from our mistakes, and to rebuild your trust in Blackflag."