A craft brewery in Switzerland has triggered anger and protests from the other side of the world after it named a new beer after a former King of Nepal.
Because the beer included a Nepalese spice, the Turbinenbräu brewery in Zurich decided to name one of its seasonal beers after King Birendra, who reigned over Nepal from 1972 to 2001 - and whose name the brewery thought sounds like beer.
But the Swiss brewers had inadvertently stumbled on the name of a deeply emotive figure in Nepal whose legacy is still hotly contested despite the overthrow of the monarchy ten years ago.
The Swiss brewers were stunned that their choice of name has caused such deep offence in Nepal.
“We want to tell a story with beer and not polarise or provoke,” Adrien Weber, the brewery’s managing director, told Switzerland’s Tagesanzeiger newspaper.
“The ambassador told me on the phone on that there are currently tensions against foreigners in Nepal, and that he had to increase security because of our beer.”
Mr Weber said he had chosen the name because the beer contains a spice associated with Nepal. “I was looking for a Nepalese name that does not sound trite, like Everest,” he said.
As controversy over the beer flared online, there were unconfirmed reports of a small demonstration outside the Swiss embassy in Kathmandu. The Swiss ambassador to Nepal even stepped in, calling on Turbinenbräu to have the online image removed, the Swiss foreign affairs department confirmed. This has now been done.
Not all Nepalese were offended by the beer however, as posts on social media show.
King Birendra Bir Bikram Saha
King Birendra was murdered in a massacre that saw ten members of the Nepalese royal family killed. An official inquiry found the gunman was Birendra's son, Crown Prince Dipendra. But many in Nepal believe he was not the killer.
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Personally I think it is offensive to reflect a nation's king with alcohol. Maybe if they would not have included the photograph of the king, then it would have been fine.
He isn't king anymore and we are the people responsible for ending the monarchy so in my opinion we don't even have rights to link him with our dignity or pride or whatever.
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