MADISON, WI- In a 5-2 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled today that ‘The Claw’ is in fact not the law. Writing the majority opinion, Chief Justice Ziegler wrote in part, “The preponderance of information presented in this case demonstrates unequivocally that in a state with deep historical ties to the nation’s beer industry, a hard seltzer can not be construed to constitute a higher authority.”
The ruling stems from a case brought by the Wisconsin Department of Justice against the makers of White Claw last year. The DOJ argued that the proliferation of hard seltzers on UW campuses was counter to the public good, contributed to rising rates of HPV transmission and generally depressed testosterone levels across Madison.