8/10 UPDATE: Founders Dir. of Marketing, Dave Engbers, says that the company will ship kegs to the state but won’t change the label so that it can ship bottles. “We respect the liquor commission’s perspective on our label artwork. Overall, we have a number of award-winning beers for New Hampshire to choose from, and we’re excited to share the Founders experience with them.”

(Concord, NH) – Founders Brewing Company started distributing beer to New Hampshire earlier this month, completing the only remaining state in New England that it had not yet opened.

But BeerPulse has learned that there is one beer that Granite State drinkers won’t be seeing, at least in its current form: Founders Breakfast Stout.

Why?

Because the photo of the baby on the label is in violation of current state liquor code:

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VII. Advertising of liquor or beverages shall not contain:

(a) Any reference to minors, pictorial or otherwise.

(b) Any subject matter or illustrations inducing persons under the legal drinking age to drink. All coupon offers requiring consumer participation shall contain reference that the coupon offer is available only to persons of legal drinking age.

(c) Any statement that is false or misleading.

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The code does not forbid kegs of the beer provided that the company doesn’t use the iconic baby imagery on the tap handle.

When contacted for this story, Founders Brewing Co-Founder and Director of Marketing, Dave Engbers, indicated that he was unaware of the matter and hadn’t yet decided a course of action.

Founders has virtually full coverage in the state through four distributors: Clarke Distributors in Keene, New Hampshire Distributors in Concord, White Mountain Distributors in Berlin and Bellavance Beverage in Nashua.

On a related note, Founders Dirty Bastard and Backwoods Bastard were both banned in Alabama due to the word, “Bastard,” being present in the name before the state liquor board rescinded the ban in July.