An Official, Simpsons-Approved Duff Beer Is Coming

Brewers around the world have been trying to cash in with a real-life version of Homer Simpson's beloved Duff Beer for decades, but so far 21st Century Fox and its lawyers have been working to put a stop to the unlicensed Duff brewing. But now Fox has decided to enter the beer business with an official Simpsons-approved Duff Beer.

According to The Wall Street Journal, 21st Century Fox has had issues in the past keeping people from producing Duff Beer, because Duff Beer does not really exist. It is tough to protect a copyright on a fictional product. The new product will presumably help the company to stamp out illicit Duff brewers more thoroughly. The official Duff Beer is expected to launch in Chile and Europe, and could eventually come to the United States.

Chile in particular has been the site of a lot of unlicensed Duff brewing, which is one of the reasons the media company decided to debut the new beer there.

"Once you see enough piracy, you are faced with two choices," said Jeffrey Godsick,president of 21st Century Fox's consumer products division. "One is deciding to fight it, and the other is deciding to go out [into the market] with it."

Fox hired British brewmaster Paul Farnsworth to create the brew, which is a surprisingly high-end lager with a hint of fruit, caramel aromatics, and a deep golden color. Godsick described it as a premium lager, which is the opposite of Duff Beer's profile on the show, where it is characterized as a popular, cheap, low-quality swill.

Because The Simpsons is a cartoon and is popular with children, 21st Century Fox seems wary about allowing much crossover between the show and the beer. The beer cans will be designed to mimic the beer on the show, but the characters will not be used to advertise it.