Brewery responds to anti-drag bomb threat by releasing “Big Gay Beer”

After facing a bomb threat for hosting a drag brunch, an Austin, Texas-based brewery unveiled their “Big Gay Beer” last week, with all proceeds going towards an organization of veterans advocating LGBTQ+ equality.

“In response to the bomb threat we received at June’s Legendary Drag Brunch with Las Ofrendas that forced us to have to cancel the event, our staff got together and decided to brew the Biggest Gayest beer we could possibly imagine to show our continued commitment to being a safe place for queer people and all good, kind and loving individuals in our city,” the Brewtorium Brewery and Kitchen wrote in a Facebook post.

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“We’re resilient,” one Pride group member said of the attacks. “No matter what the cost is, we’re not going to back down.”

“And so was born Big Gay Beer: a super strong hazy Double IPA fruited to the max with Pink Guava, Orange and Mango. It’s a thick one with bright notes of Tropical Fruit, Candied Orange Peel & Ruby Red Grapefruit.🍍🥭🍊”

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All proceeds go to Veterans for Equality, an organization dedicated to giving marginalized groups protections from veterans at events. They’ve worked with Brewtorium for their own events following the drag brunch bomb threat.

The bomb threat happened on June 9, which was announced on Facebook after the brewery closed in response. The person sending the explosive threat had explicitly named drag queens as the reason, referring to them as “scum.”

Nothing suspicious was found inside the building, with authorities indicating that it was clear. However, the threat still left a lasting impact on the local community.

“For the safety of everyone in the building, we felt our best option was to close for the day,” said the Brewtorium in the June 9 Facebook post. “It breaks our hearts that this kind of thing still exists.”

Nevertheless, the brewery gave a shout out to its partners who have supported the company during this crisis.

“We want to give a special shout out to our Legendary Drag Brunch partners Las Ofrendas, Frida Friday ATX, Kelly Kline , DJ Kick It without whom these joyful events would not be possible,” the brewery wrote.

The threat comes at a time where drag performers across the country face an increasing risk of hate crimes as a result of bigotry against their work. Hate crimes have been steadily increasing in the United States over the past several years, alongside anti-drag and anti-LGBTQ+ bills being introduced in many states, some of which have become law.

One such hate crime concerned a gay man, Joshua Ybarra, who was beaten in Austin by a group of fraternity boys who were allegedly shouting slurs at him. Attorneys for the aggressors in this case argue that the attack did happen, but that there were no slurs shouted. However, Ybarra as well as some witnesses argue that the slurs were shouted and that it was motivated as a hate crime.

Dag performers across the country have been working to band together to protest these sorts of attacks. The Colorado-based Qommittee is one such organization that aims to provide a cohesive network of drag performers in direct protest of these types of actions.

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