by Ned Steel IV
I’ve been accused of being a member of the Grammar Police and I won’t deny that I’m a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to people using “to” in place of “too” or “your” in place of “you’re” or the misuse of everyone’s favorite trio, “there, their, they’re”. I try to let it go, chalking it up to people being lazy or just not paying attention, but when people start butchering names, my eye starts to twitch.
While perusing the social media craft beer group message boards, I often see Fritz Rahr’s beloved family brewery spelled out as Rarh or Rhar or the ever confusing Rawr. What are we, a pride of lions? I wonder silently if Fritz twinges when he sees this or if he just brushes it off since its probably been happening to his family for generations. But what about Michael Peticolas? Having recently sat down with Michael and his lovely wife, Melissa, I got a little history on the Peticolas name. Knowing what naming their brewery with their family name means to them, it makes MY head hurt when I’m looking over a tap list and read Peticola Seasonal. Really?! I see you have the local Peti Cola on here but I was wondering if you had any aged Crystal Pepsi Cola hidden in the back of the cooler? Some might explain it away as a limit of characters on the menu layout. Those explanations would be rebutted by the next line reading New Belgium Fat Tire. Count the letters and you’ll see that the argument of “not enough space” gets torn to shreds. People that use their own names for businesses want it carry a connotation of respect and recognition. Would it kill you to spell it right? Continue reading
