Craft Beer Unknowingly Named “Pubic Hair”

I think we're just splitting hairs here.

A craft beer company is in the crosshairs of the New Zealand public after accidentally naming their new drink with good intentions, using the Māori language.

Hell's Basement in Alberta lovingly named their new drink, a New Zealand pale ale, "Huruhuru." Across the world, a leather company in Wellington, NZ, also has named their store "Huruhuru," and both stores did so believing the word meant "Feather."

TeHamua Nikora posted a video to Facebook, calling out the two companies, and explaining their name didn't mean what they thought it meant.

“You fellas need to know when the Māori look at the name of your store, they’re not going to see feather . . . They’re going to see pubes,” Nikora said in the video. “And no Māori is going to go into your store and buy pubes. Why buy pubes when you can get your own pubes for free?”

It turns out, "Huruhuru" translates to "pubic hair."

The owner of the leather company says the store got the correct permissions to use the word, and they were approved with no problem.

“We got the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand permission to use this name — we also got approval of the Māori committee,” Aynur Karakoc said. “We wouldn’t use this name or trademark if we hadn’t been given the permission.”

Karakoc said the store has gotten racially motivated threats, but they can't afford to change the name now.

Mike Patriquin said the brewery will consider rebranding the beer.