Oklahoma teachers just can’t catch a break this week.
Following on the heels of statewide protests over school salaries and budget cuts this week, the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission confiscated beer from a bar on Tuesday after the bar advertised it would be giving away the beer for free to teachers.
The Patriarch Craft Beer House and Lawn, an “all-American craft beer bar” in Edmond, Okla., said in a Facebook post on Sunday that it would be “splitting the bill” with local brewery, Roughtail Brewing of Oklahoma City, to offer local teachers pours of Respect Party, a Belgian table beer brewed by Roughtail, free of charge.
“We believe in and support our local public school teachers!!” the post read, adding that the bar and brewery wanted to “show love to our hometown teachers,” as well as other school districts, by donating the beer.
Patriarch also posted the announcement on Instagram on Monday. But, after a flurry of gratitude from teachers and locals, things went south.
According to Fox 25 Oklahoma City, an officer from the ABLE Commission saw the post on social media and noticed something odd: Respect Party was not a brand he recognized. After investigating the matter further, the officer found that the brewery had not paid the fee to have the brand properly registered, and he confiscated the two kegs of beer intended to be donated to teachers, along with issuing Patriarch a citation.
In a response of true badassery, Patriarch did not comment on the matter, but posted on Instagram and Facebook again on Wednesday, saying it would still be offering free beer to teachers, this time with Roughtail Light, a different (and assumedly legal) brand, served in cans.
Fun fact about Oklahoma: It is illegal to give away “high-point beer” or liquor to anyone the state—even to teachers.
