A global brewer has picked a fight with a London independent over the latter’s choice of name for a new beer.
Left: Forest Road’s Jupiter Double IPA. Right: AB InBev’s Jupiler lager
After successfully commissioning London’s biggest independent brewery, Forest Road Brewing Company (FRBC) decided to celebrate by brewing Jupiter, an 8.7% ABV double IPA.
However, no more than 45 days after FRBC filed to trademark Jupiter it received a cease and desist from the world’s biggest brewery — AB InBev — claiming the mark was too confusingly similar withthat of its 5.2% ABV lager Jupiler. Forest Road had only brewed Jupiter once before receiving the cease and desist.
Lawyers of behalf of AB InBev claimed in their letter, dated 16th March: “Jupiler has no meaning, and Jupiter is the name of a planet. Therefore, there is no conceptual comparison to be made. As a result, it is likely to give the impression that the mark Jupiter is part of or connected with [their] client’s Jupiler trademarks, which is likely to take an unfair advantage of its reputation and fame.”
Lawyers on behalf of AB InBev requested that FRBC “immediately withdraw their trademark application” and “never use or apply to register the mark Jupiter or any other mark including the word Jupiter”.
Forest Road Brewing Co founder and chief executive, Pete Brown, responded to the letter, stating: “[Forest Road Brewing Company’s] overarching values lie in and focus on brewing great local beer, giving back to [their] customers and reinvesting in the community.
“[They] would rather focus [their] efforts on delivering [their] strong-held values and making it as a small start-up brewery in a post-Covid world, rather than worry [themselves] with disputes over filing trademarks.”
Both the cease and desist from AB In Bev’s lawyers and Brown’s response were posted to Forest Road’s Instagram account and have caused a viral uproar in the digital beer community.
In addition to its best-selling 4.1% ABV POSH lager, Forest Road Brewery continues to brew crystal clear West Coast-Style IPAs in the tradition of the previous owner of its newly commissioned brewhouse, Russian River Brewing Co.
