Beer Company Distances Itself From Same-Sex Marriage Vid After Live Music Venues Boycott

Some key live music venues in Australia have boycotted Coopers Brewery following the release of a video of two politicians discussing same-sex marriage. 

As The Guardian reports, the Bible Society Australia teamed up with the beer company to "reach even more Australians with God’s word" to celebrate the organisation's 200th birthday.

update: bible society say coopers Had No Part In Same-Sex Marriage Vid As Beer Boycott Grows

As well as Coopers releasing a limited batch of light beer with bible verses enscribed on the bottles, Bible Society Australia launched a video series, Keeping It Light, with the latest episode featuring Liberal MPs Andrew Hastie and Tim Wilson debating same-sex marriage. 

The clip has gone viral since its release, sparking outrage from all corners of the community.

The Old Bar in Fitzroy took to Facebook to announce their stance on the subject, writing, "Unfortunately we will no longer be purchasing any stock from Coopers. It's a sad day for us as over the many years we have built a strong relationship, yet after recent events it is very obvious that our values are at odds".

Fellow Fitzroy venue and popular gay bar, Sircuit, posted a video of management dumping bottles of Coopers into an outside bin on Monday, while Sydney's Hollywood Hotel said it will be "reassessing" its relationship with Coopers in the wake of the video's release. 

Though Coopers initially defended the video as a "a light-hearted but balanced debate about an important topic within Australia", the brewery later seemingly back-tracked and insisted they did not give permission for its product to be included in the clip in a statement released on Sunday. 

"We respect the beliefs of our community and do not wish to try and change them," the statement reads.

"Our family brewery is made up of individuals from a number of different backgrounds, all of whom hold differing views on politics and religion, which we think is reflective of the wider community.

"We would like all Coopers fans to know that we support and embrace all of our beer drinking community."

See the full statement here.