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Banned Beer Brewhaha

To the people of Belgium, Manneken Pis is a whimsical fountain statue portraying a little boy urinating. To the people of Ohio, however, Manneken Pis is a brand of Belgian beer that can no longer be sold in- state.

To the people of Belgium, Manneken Pis is a whimsical fountain statue portraying a little boy urinating. To the people of Ohio, however, Manneken Pis is a brand of Belgian beer that can no longer be sold in- state. It seems that the state Division of Liquor Control finds the beer's label, which depicts the statue, offensive.

The problem with the label, according to state officials, is not so much that the boy is shown relieving himself. The real issue is that state regulations forbid any images of children--or, for that matter, military subjects, religious symbols and even pictures of Santa Claus- -from appearing on beer labels. It doesn't help, though, that the yellow label jokingly connects what the boy is doing to what is in the bottle. It reads "Soft Yellow Colour. Soursweet Taste." In April, a state commission upheld the decision to keep Manneken Pis out of Ohio's liquor stores and bars.

The ban left a lot of beer lovers baffled. For one thing, they're not a crowd that is easily offended. In addition, the Manneken Pis is a well-known Brussels landmark, dating back to the early 17th century. Some even argue that the statue is to Brussels what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. "It's a national monument and the history behind it is miles long," says Todd Hossfeld, marketing director for Paulaner-North America, which imports 6,000 cases of Manneken Pis into the United States each year.

Ohio officials, however, say they have to draw the line somewhere. "Some statues are more well-known than others," says Bill Teets, a Commerce Department spokesman. "I'm not sure we want to get into the business of being art critics."

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