You’ll be seeing a lot of green beer vomit this weekend, but it won’t be from Heineken or Sam Adams, both of which pulled their support from major St. Patrick Day’s parades because gay and lesbian groups aren’t allowed to openly march. It’s a noble move, one that Heineken hopes will boost sales, at least in San Fransisco and Providence and other markets where people have seen Blue Velvet.
Sam Adams, owned by Boston Beer Co., will no longer be sponsoring the parade in Boston on Sunday, while Heineken has pulled its sponsorship from the New York City parade on Monday.
“We believe in equality for all,” a Heineken USA spokeswoman said.
Sam Adams said it had tried to convince Boston’s parade organizers to modify their rules and allow LGBT groups to march. “We were hopeful an agreement could be reached to allow everyone, regardless of orientation, to participate in this parade,” the company said in a statement. “However, given the current status of the negotiations, this may not be possible.”
Meanwhile, if NBC doesn’t start brewing Schmitt’s Gay ASAP, they’re sitting on a goldmine.