Placer County brewery apologizes but denies racist intent in ‘Chinese Virus’ special

A Placer County brewery owner apologized for “ignorance” Wednesday night but denied racist intent after a Facebook post some called anti-Asian.

In a post on Hillenbrand Farmhaus Brewery’s Facebook page, owner Patric Hillenbrand called an ongoing gift card deal — a complimentary 32-ounce crowler with purchase of a $50 or $100 card — the “Chinese Virus Special.” He later edited the post to refer to the “Donald Trump Special,” then “Christmas special” before deleting the brewery’s Facebook page and deactivating comments on its Instagram page.

The original deal referred to the novel coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, and has killed more than 1.6 million people worldwide, including more than 300,000 Americans. President Donald Trump, Fox News hosts and other notable conservatives have frequently referred to it as the “Chinese Virus” despite World Health Organization advising against naming infectious diseases by place of origin, since doing so has produced xenophobic reactions in the past.

Reports of racism against Asian Americans have surged since the beginning of the year, with a quarter of Asian American young adults reporting themselves the target of racist abuse, according to a Stop AAPI Hate Campaign study published in September.

In an Instagram post Wednesday night, Hillenbrand apologized for pain caused but denied he intended the Facebook post to be anti-Asian.

“Let me start by saying that it was painful for me to hear from you that our social media posts were hurtful to the Asian community. I regret that very much,” Hillenbrand said in an Instagram post Wednesday night. “What was more painful to hear is that I am racist or xenophobic, or that I mocked Asian people.”

Hillenbrand pointed to the hundreds of thousands of dollars he and the brewery have raised to support anti-human trafficking organizations, as well as time spent volunteering in Cambodia.

“It is fair to say that my comment was ignorant, but extremely unfair to say it is racist,” Hillenbrand wrote in the Instagram post. “Racism should be measured by more than a poorly worded social post. Racism is not words. It is thoughts and beliefs. Against the accusation of racism, my actions speak louder than words. I will offer my sincere apology to the Asian community for my ignorance, but I will neither dignify nor validate the accusations of racism with anything more.”

Hillenbrand opened his 13-acre Newcastle brewery in the Sierra Nevada foothills in 2016. He previously founded and sold Hillenbrand Insurance Solutions, and served as president and regional director of Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s Sacramento chapter.

This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 11:43 AM.