Ontario Craft Brewers is in a brouhaha over a photo with controversial Progressive Conservative MPP Sam Oosterhoff, who has vowed to fight abortion rights for women.

A lobby group representing about 80 of more than 300 craft breweries in the province, the OCB posted a picture on Twitter of some of its members raising a glass with the 22-year-old Oosterhoff following a round-table discussion about the industry at Bench Brewing in his Niagara West riding on the weekend.

Social media then exploded with criticisms the photo amounted to an endorsement of the views of Premier Doug Ford’s youngest MPP, prompting the brewers’ organization to post an apology and subsequent explanation — which also backfired.

“You don’t take a picture of brewery owners smiling and raising a glass with this guy. It’s horrible PR,” Robin Leblanc, co-author of the Ontario Craft Beer Guide, tweeted from her @thethirstywench account.

The mea culpa stated the OCB “sincerely apologizes” for the picture with Oosterhoff and acknowledged “it may have led followers to believe the discussion was about anything other than beer retailing policies.” The photo was taken off the Twitter feed.

“The OCB is a single-issue trade association made up of craft breweries of all sizes from all over the province. For a sector that is completely controlled by government policy, and at this time of major regulatory change, it is critical that we engage with elected officials of all political stripes,” the statement added.

“We fundamentally believe in a diverse, equal and inclusive craft beer community, where everyone feels welcome…this weekend was a reminder that there is much more to do.”

The OCB declined an interview request but said in a statement Oosterhoff was attending the meeting of craft brewers with Conservative MPP Stan Cho, parliamentary assistant to Finance Minister Rod Phillips who is in charge of alcohol reforms.

But it was the “single issue” component of the apology that got the OCB into more hot water in some circles, as followers of the organization’s Twitter account weighed in to say it is “tone deaf.”

“The people you are trying to sell beer to are not represented even cursorily in that tweeted photo op. The only person under 40 is anti-choice and anti-gay marriage and he just outsmarted you. You are dumber than that guy,” beer writer and educator Jordan St. John wrote to the OCB in his online blog, St. John’s Wort.

“Your employees and customers are under 40…they are diverse. From different backgrounds. Of different sexualities and genders,” he added, later tweeting “your job is to be politically savvy enough to understand your audience. And you don’t.”

A spokesperson for OCB, which has the slogan “craft beer for the people” on one of its web pages — could not immediately be reached for comment. Ford’s election slogan in 2018 was “for the people.”

Several craft breweries, including Bench — which hosted the meeting — scrambled to distance themselves from what St. John dubbed a “self-inflicted quagmire.”

Bench acknowledged a flurry of “angry, disappointed and justified messages from the community” and its own flubbed response at addressing concerns.

“Naively, we did not grasp the full repercussions of our participation. In retrospect it was short sighted, and we are truly sorry for those offended and for not engaging in honest, candid dialogue afterwards.”

A tweet from @junctionette, a Toronto woman who co-founded the Junction Farmers Market, summed up the reaction of many on several Twitter threads: “There are better ways to have your voice heard than to associate and take pictures with a homophobe who has pledged to take abortion rights away from women.”

Oosterhoff declined an interview and sent the Star a statement saying: “My focus is on helping small businesses thrive and be successful. I’m not going to get distracted by a Twitter war.”

Sawdust City Brewing Co. in Gravenhurst also weighed in, noting it did not know one of its former executives pictured in the photo with Oosterhoff was attending the roundtable discussion.

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“We want to express our support for our female and LGBTQ staff and customers,” Sawdust posted on Twitter. “We are appalled that our brand was associated with values we do not share. We are actively addressing these serious concerns with the OCB…our beliefs in no way align with those stated by Oosterhoff.”

Muskoka Brewery of Bracebridge issued a tweet on the meeting distancing itself from Oosterhoff.

“We attended this event to drive positive change for Ontario craft beer, our people, and the industry we love. Please do not misunderstand our participation as our support for the political positions of others who attended.”