As host Clayton Morris explained, Sam Adams was simply obeying the the Beer Institute’s guidelines on not using religion in commercials. The company delivered the following statement in response to the unexpected controversy:

We agree with that and try to adhere to these guidelines. While we understand your objection to the omission of the phrase “by our creator” in other circumstances (after all, they occur in the Declaration of independence which Samuel Adams signed and helped author) we believe it would be outside our industry guidelines to invoke those religious words in a beer commercial.

Jesse Watters wasn’t quite so understanding. “When political correctness takes over the beer advertising industry, the terrorists have won,” he declared. “I mean, this is absolutely outrageous. Maybe because Sam Adams was the tea party guy, he started the Boston tea party–maybe the tea party is being targeted here, guys?”

“It’s weird to think that the beer code ethics guideline, whatever bogus organization that is, has more authority than our Declaration of Independence,” Morris added. “If the beer code comes calling and says, by the way, you put God in your advertise, we’re not having it. Why don’t you pull out the Declaration of Independence and say ‘I have this document here, does this trump yours?’”