Upset Hindus are urging Tatamagouche (Nova Scotia, Canada) based Tatamagouche Brewing Company to change the name of its beer currently named as Amrita (which they regard as sacred nectar of immortality), calling it highly inappropriate.Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that amrita emerged from Churning of the Ocean (samudra-manthana), which was highly important part of Hindu faith; and linking beer to it was trivialization of the oldest and third largest religion of the world with a rich philosophical thought and about 1.2 billion adherents.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out that amrita, which also found mention in oldest existing scripture of the mankind Rig-Veda, was the name given to the nectar of immortality, which bestowed deathlessness. Selling beer named as Amrita was highly misleading and it hurt the feelings of the devotees.
Symbols and concepts of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted; and urged Tatamagouche Brewing to offer a formal apology.
Breweries should not be in the business of religious appropriation, sacrilege, and ridiculing entire communities. Inappropriate usage of sacred Hindu concepts or symbols or deities or icons for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees, Zed indicated.
Amrita Brett IPA (6.2% ALC./VOL.), priced at $10 for a 500mL bottle and available in-store and online, was described as “genuine nectar of the Gods”. It was stated to be “a joyous expression of fruit and hops interaction”, “bursting with bright tropical notes and robust hop essences” and “aged on passion fruit and mango”.
Awards winning microbrewery Tatamagouche Brewing, whose beer is claimed to be “Certified Organic and Unpasteurized”, was converted from an old butcher shop in 2014.
