Central Los Angeles
TROUBLE BREWING: John Orendorff just cannot contain his disgust when talking about the marketing of a beer called Crazy Horse Malt Liquor, named after the spiritual leader of the Oglala Sioux tribe in South Dakota.
The beer, which comes in 40-ounce bottles emblazoned with a picture of Crazy Horse, is sold in Central Los Angeles stores.
“We wouldn’t accept Martin Luther King beer or Cesar Chavez wine coolers,” said Orendorff, director of the American Indian Education Commission, a Los Angeles Unified School District committee. “We just think it’s very offensive.”
Orendorff organized a protest Downtown last month in support of a proposed state bill that would ban the use of the name Crazy Horse on products made, marketed or distributed in California. The Legislature will take up the bill when it reconvenes in January.
The commission voted to boycott the malt liquor as well as Arizona Iced Tea, which are manufactured by the New York-based Hornell Brewing Co.
Francie Patton, a spokeswoman for Hornell, defended the Crazy Horse label, saying it was approved by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
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