Beer Blotter

Going solar.

***This post was originally published on Builders Counsel, a blog authored by Seattle attorney Douglas Reiser. Doug provides regular legal commentary for BeerBlotter.com***

Here is a good sign that the construction industry is headed in the right way. A local Seattle company recently contacted me to show off the solar hot water system they installed for locally-craft brewers Big Al Brewing. I’m impressed.

If you don’t know by now, I have a soft spot for the brewing industry. A combination of my two favorite industries, green building and brewing, is a welcome topic here on Builders Counsel. Thanks to Net Zero Impact and Big Al Brewing, I can make that discussion a reality.

Seattle’s Net Zero Impact just finished installing a brand new solar hot water system at the South Park brewery. The upgrade was necessitated by the need for production growth at the brewery. When the orders came rushing in, Big Al required an additional 2,000 gallons of water per day to meet demand.

The new hybrid system is expected to save Big Al approximately $12,000 per year. And while it carries a cost of roughly $89,000.00, Big Al was only on the hook for roughly $30,000.00, thanks to energy efficiency incentives. The new system is expected to pay itself off in only 2.5 years!

Its a beautiful thing to see brewers investing in green technologies. This industry uses a significant amount of energy and water through its production process. Breweries like New Belgium (CO) and Abita Brewing (LA) have pioneered ways to turn operations green. Kudos to Big Al and Net Zero for taking steps in the right direction.

We drink, take notes and then we blog it. Law blogs are a bit different.

***This post was originally posted on BreweryLaw.com, a blog devoted to beer law! The blog is published by Reiser Legal, LLC, a Seattle, Washington law office. Reiser Legal’s Douglas Reiser is our regular legal blogger.***

I came across this wonderful blog by Tom Warks, today. Tom runs Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog, a blog typically discussing the public relations within the wine world.

Tom regularly focuses on legal issues facing the wine industry and so he put together a list of some of the best alcoholic beverage law blogs out there. Included was a humble yours truly, amongst a wonderful crowd of legal minds.

Check out his list of legal blogs by following this link. There are an abundance of blogs for just about every taste in the alcoholic beverages law spectrum.

One blog of particular interest to myself, and likely most of you, is the Alcoholic Beverages Law Blog. This blog is written by the Portland office of well-respected law office, Stoel Rives LLP.

The blog is written by a collective of attorney out of the firms offices in Washington, Oregon and California. Seattle attorney, Susan Johnson, offers her own perspective from time to time, including this write up on the liquor Initiatives (1100 & 1105) currently on the ballot in Washington.

Thanks to Tom for including my blog in this list of elite commentators.

Lost Abbey's classic cross image is the subject of a trademark dispute in federal court

I was shocked to see this one yesterday; so shocked that I had to read it twice and pull the court records to believe it. Port Brewing, the business entity that sells Lost Abbey beers, has sued Moylan’s Brewing.

Port Brewing’s other business name, Lost Abbey utilizes a celtic cross symbol as its emblem. Well, Moylans Brewing (a historically irish brewer) decided to use a remarkably similar cross for their new Celts Golden Ale. You can see images of the conflicting marks by viewing this article by BeerNews.org. The two images are virtually identical.

Port’s Tomme Arthur provides, on his blog, that Port notified Moylans of concerns back in April of this year. However, after months of impasse, Port has decided to go forward with a Trademark infringement action in the US District Court for the Southern District of California. You can review the Complaint by following this link.

The gist of the suit can be found in some of the opening paragraphs:

9. Plaintiff has engaged in extensive marketing and promotion of their Celtic cross trademark and has enjoyed significant sales of their beer and merchandise, including sales of the Celtic cross beer tap handles.

10. Due to Plaintiff’s extensive use of its stylized Celtic cross image marks (collectively referred to herein as the “Port Brewing Marks”), Plaintiff has built up significant goodwill therein and its branded merchandise has been praised and recognized in the brewing industry and through various media.

11. As a result of such longstanding, substantial and continuous use, the Celtic cross- branded products have long been immediately recognized by consumers and the trade.

….

18. Upon information and belief, Defendant recently began using a stylized cross beer tap handle within its course of business that is strikingly similar to the Port Brewing Marks.

19. Upon information and belief, Defendant is currently using a stylized cross beer tap handle, at its brewery and at other participating restaurants, bars, taverns and breweries across the nation, including within this District, featuring marks confusingly similar to Plaintiff’s stylized Port Brewing Marks. Defendant is providing this infringing beer tap to distributors and such taps are being particularly confused with Port Brewing’s protected beer taps where both companies’ beers are being served.

Arthur is now taking a beating from craft beer enthusiasts – a beating that probably is not warranted. Unfortunately, beer is business. Businesses work hard to develop an image and when two closely competing businesses have confusing marks, someone needs to take a step back. Apparently, Port and Moylans will let the court decide who needs to take that step.

Tomme has been pretty beat up about the response from beer fans. He put together a well-written and thought out response to the negative animus. Here is a good snippet, but please read the whole thing by clicking on this link:

Please check our FAQ’s which we compiled to address this issue. At this time, we are waiting for a response from Moylan’s Brewing Company and still are open to a resolution that neither weakens nor devalues our Lost Abbey Trademark stylized Celtic Cross Tap Handle. ….  The bigger and healthier the Craft Brewing business gets, the harder it is to be unique and distinctive. Intellectual Property is something that all breweries (small and big) need to value. It’s one of the biggest assets we can own.

Lastly,filing paperwork with the Federal Courts does not mean we are obligated to sue Moylan’s Brewing LLC. I can tell you that we at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey are not giddy with excitement about this filing. When I look out my office window, I know the 12 people who work at this brewery aren’t high fiving each other about their owners decision to do this. But they understand that Intellectual Property is a big part of this brewery and the beers we sell.

…at this time, it is a solely two small passionate craft breweries who happen to disagree looking to protect their intellectual property. Ultimately, a compromise that doesn’t involve the courts may be reached. And then we can all go back to focusing on doing the things we do best.

The End of History allows you to make out with a chipmunk. Nice Work, BrewDog

Ever wanted to drink your beer directly from a taxidermied animal? I know I have. There’s nothing better than popping the cap off a nice squirrel and going lip to lip with it (ok, thats gross).

Well, that’s all a possibility now, thanks to BrewDog. BrewDog is the Scottish brewer who brought us Tactical Nuclear Penguin (ABV 32%) and Sink the Bismarck (ABV 41%), two of the strongest beers in the world.

BrewDog has been the recipients of massive applause – and silent disdain – from beer drinkers of the world. Some applaud their relentless experimentation and combative spirit. Others are simply sick of  the battle between BrewDog and German brewer Schorschbraeu.

Regardless of what you think about the battle, the crazy high ABV booze, or their creative approach to labeling and marketing – you have to be intrigued with the latest installment: The End of History.

The End of History is 55% alcohol. 55%. I had to say it again. But what is even more incredibly ridiculous is that the beer is bottled and then implemented within a limited edition of taxidermied animals, ranging from squirrels, chipmunks, and perhaps other rodent-like mammals. The bottle is also considered to be the most expensive beer in the world. A 12oz sauce will hit your check book a cool $765.00 (but hey – collectors item right?).

Really? You might ask that question. But, I have come to expect this from BrewDog. They are constantly testing the boundaries of beer consumerism, marketing laws, and human decency. The new grog has to be celebrated if not for the fact that they decided to invest a lot of money into making something that is so far out of the box that it can only be premised on insane passion.

Check out the bottles over at Geekology. Also, be sure to check out the video that they released on Vimeo, capturing the creation process behind The End of History (well, at least their rendition).

We have had the great pleasure of trying out Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink the Bismarck. Both of them were, well, interesting. We had a much better reaction to Bismark, which was masked well with extremely concentrated hop extract.

If you get the chance to try any of these beers – you cannot pass it up. It won’t be long before the TTB and other regulators put a stop to classifying these types of brews as “beer.” It also appears that this will be the last time they do the high-ABV beer thing. Read below for more information.

From the BrewDog press release:

The beer is the last high abv beer we are going to brew, the end point of our research into how far the can push the boundaries of extreme brewing, the end of beer.

This blond Belgian ale is infused with nettles from the Scottish Highlands and Fresh juniper berries. Only 12 bottles have been made and each comes with its own certificate and is presented in a stuffed stoat or grey squirrel. The striking packaging was created by a very talented taxidermist and all the animals used were road kill. This release is a limited run of 11 bottles, 7 stoats and 4 grey squirrels. Each ones comes with its own certificate of authenticity.

Portland's Roots Brewing is one of many brewers who slap "Organic" on the label

***This post was originally posted on BreweryLaw.com, the nation’s first, and maybe the only, blog devoted to beer law! The blog is published by Reiser Legal, LLC, a Seattle, Washington law office. Reiser Legal’s Douglas Reiser is our regular legal columnist.***

The Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a new Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to the use of the term “Organic” on alcoholic beverage labels. Of course, this news is of utter importance to brewers, especially those in the NW who have focused on brewing organically.

We learned about this Memorandum on Davis Wright & Tremaine’s Hospitality Law Blog by attorney Kelly Luzania. According to Luzania, the TTB will continue to review all labels and advertising for alcoholic beverages, subject to a caveat. Any labels or advertising making claims that the product is “100% organic”, “organic” or “made with organic (ingredients)” must be reviewed with regard to USDA National Organic Program regulations.
From Kelly’s article:

COLAs for wine, beer and spirit labels that contain “organic” claims will now be approved by the TTB as “approved subject to compliance with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and the National Organic Program regulations[.]” If they do not comply with USDA organic laws, the labels will be rejected and the TTB will let applicants know what changes need to be made to make the label compliant. An applicant may only appeal this rejection with the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

The Memorandum provides an interesting look at two of the alcoholic beverage industry’s regulatory bodies working together to reduce confusion and maintain consistency in COLA reviews.

A copy of the Memorandum is available on the TTB website and can be accessed by clicking here.