A craft beer branded with Vietnam War references has been labelled "cheap" and "disrespectful" by the president of New Zealand’s Returned Soldiers’ Association (RSA).
“Death From Above” is made from American hops, Vietnamese mint, chilli and lime, and south-east Asian mangoes. It was created by The Garage Project brewery for an Australian beer festival, but has offended Vietnam War veterans in New Zealand.
The beer, produced by a boutique brewery in Wellington, New Zealand, is called “Death From Above”, in reference to the napalm-dropping helicopter from classic Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now.
The beer is made from American hops, Vietnamese mint, chilli and lime, and south-east Asian mangoes. It was created specially by The Garage Project brewery for an Australian beer festival and its marketing poster features military helicopters over a Vietnamese-like landscape.
RSA president Don McIver, who served in the Vietnam War, said he found the advertisement "cheap" and "disrespectful".
"It seems to me this is almost celebrating it. It's terrible stuff - I don't agree with it," he told New Zealand's Stuff website.
But Garage Project co-founder Jos Ruffell said the promotion was "a playful pop culture reference" to Apocalypse Now, although the name Death From Above is also that of a rock band.
Like many of their brews, the beer recipe "fell outside the typical conventions", which was reflected in the packaging and promotion, he said. As an "Indochine" pale ale with American and Vietnamese ingredients, the advertising plays on the history of the two countries, he added.
"We're not trying to glorify anything. I wouldn't have thought it would be offensive," he said.
The brewery’s Facebook page describes the drink as “a beer of balance rather than conflict, with bitter-sweet heat and citrus character”.
But Vietnam-born Annie Nguyen, 28, said she found the branding "insensitive". The New Zealand restaurant worker was born after the conflict, but said the advert could potentially "bring up hurtful memories" for survivors.
Huong Doan, also a Vietnamese exapt living in New Zealand, said she did not take personal offence at the ad, having been too young to experience the war, but she stressed the effects of napalm were still felt in her native country.
New Zealand’s Victoria University pro vice-chancellor Rob Rabel said he had worked extensively with the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and seen the residual effects napalm and chemical weapon Agent Orange still had on the country.
He said he considered the branding "tasteless".