by Robert Liljenwall

It’s OK to scratch your head over this one.  Fat Point Brewing, a Porta Gorda, FLorida, craft brewery, posted pictures of cupcakes and beer to its Facebook page on Monday, March 16, announcing the release of its Car Bomb brand — “a milk stout fermented with Jameson Whiskey oak staves and Irish creme flavor,” which was to be served with Car Bomb cupcakes in honor of the St. Patrick’s Day holiday.  Surely, someone — obviously, not a history major — forgot about The Troubles, the nationalist and religious conflict in Northern Ireland that began in the late 1960s and ended in 1998 with the Belfast Agreement. More than 3,500 people died during the three decades of turmoil that included detonating car bombs. The Fat Point post’s Facebook comments started out innocuously with fans asking about the brewery’s hours and the beer’s availability. But Tuesday afternoon they took a turn.  Brand lesson: If you can’t say in front of TSA, you better not use it as a beer label. — RJL