The production company behind The Simpsons has finally decided to brew real-life Duff Beer, as featured in the long-running animated show.
Former Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan said in 2011 that the on-screen drink had been named after him.
While a labelled brand has been available in the past, producers Fox have prepared their own recipe in response to continued illegal merchandise sales. And although the official Duff Beer will only be available in South America at first, it could go on sale elsewhere.
Fox boss Jeffrey Godsick tells the Wall Street Journal: “Once you see enough piracy, you’re faced with two choices – one is deciding to fight, and the other is deciding to go out into the market with it
“I think there’s potential to have Duff everywhere in world.”
The recipe, created by British brewmaster Paul Farnsworth of US firm Brew Hub, is described as a “premium lager with a caramel aromatic.”
McKagan claimed he was asked for permission to name the drink after him in The Simpsons’ early days. He said in his 2011 book It’s So Easy (And Other Lies): “I was known as a big drinker. In 1988 a production company working on a series called to ask if they could use the name ‘Duff’ on a brand of beer in the show.
“I laughed and said, ‘Of course.’ The whole thing sounded like a low-rent art project or something. Little did I know that the show would become The Simpsons.”
But a member of The Simpsons’ production team said in 2012 that creator Matt Groening and producer Al Jean described the story as “absurd.”
