Pongo

Are beer and wine haram now? On the radio this morning I heard ‘mulled grape’ advertised by a well known Irish bar...

Gavtek

It’s been like that for years. Magazines like Time Out have to trip over themselves advertising all-you-can-drink brunches and all-night parties without mentioning the names of any alcoholic products. Vodka usually becomes “traditional Russian beverage”.

I don’t think anyone has been brave enough to point out the amount of free publicity that Guinness gets every time they go for another world record...

carcajou

Yes - "glass of grape," "sparkling grape beverage" on radio advertisements etc. It's been like that for ages.

Miss Ann Thrope

Um, beer and wine and all alcohol have always been haram. The words are avoided in publicity material and the media so as not to offend public sensibilities though I don't know any people who would be offended hearing them. It's a typical case of public appearance, private reality as everybody knows alcohol is easily available. I do recall several years ago there were complaints because somebody used the word "swine" on the radio which is a bit ridiculous.

I have to say, hearing silly mentions of "grape" and "hop" and "bubbly" (whether "house" or "French") in advertisements is something I won't miss when I toddle off next year....