Scottish non-alcoholic brewery Jump Ship Brewing has begun legal proceedings against BrewDog in an attempt to protect the name of one of its beers.
Sonja Mitchell, owner of Jump Ship Brewing
The multi-award-winning Jump Ship Brewing is run by Sonja Mitchell. The brewery launched the first edition of its Shore Leave beer in mid-2022.
The second version in the Shore Leave series, a sour beer, fermented with berries, was released in May. Both versions were shortlisted in the Scottish Beer Awards, in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
In July 2023, Sonja discovered that BrewDog had shared an image of a soon-to-launch Shore Leave beer with the proposed tagline, ‘It’s time to jump ship’.
Some users of BrewDog’s own Equity Punk online forum even commented at the time: “I’m a big fan of Jump Ship and their products. I wouldn’t like to see us cutting across their bows”; and “Jump Ship already have a range of (alcohol free) beers called Shore Leave. Seems strange to put out branding about a beer called Shore Leave with the tagline Time to Jump Ship”.
Despite communications with BrewDog, it has not withdrawn its beer. Sonja has been unable to persuade the brewing giant to recognise the damage and confusion which Jump Ship says is being caused to the brand.
She said: “I am incredibly disappointed that, despite contacting BrewDog directly, I have been forced down the legal route to defend all that I and my team have built.
“We have put considerable investment into the development of our Shore Leave series of beers, from the creation of the beer itself to the branding, packaging, and distribution. We cannot afford to lose that. Jump Ship has developed a steadfast reputation for great-tasting beers with ethics at our heart, and this is what we’re seeking to protect.
“At the point where BrewDog launched its beer, Jump Ship was the only brewer in the UK market with a beer called Shore Leave in production. The basis of our claim is that BrewDog’s actions cause a risk of confusion amongst our stockists and drinkers, and this causes financial harm to our brand. This is a period of exciting and positive growth for Jump Ship with growing sales in the UK and beyond and this matter is one we’re keen to clear up.”
A spokesperson for BrewDog told Beer Today: “As the registered owner of the Shore Leave trademark in the UK, we are obviously surprised at this action, but also disappointed. Ms Mitchell might have challenged our trademark application months ago as is standard practice, but chose not to.
“We’ve sought to settle this matter amicably and offered a range of fantastic collab ideas, which would have had a huge boost for Ms Mitchell’s brewery. We even agreed not to use the phrase ‘Jump Ship’ in our advertising as a gesture of goodwill.
“We’d much rather work with the industry than against it. We regret Ms Mitchell has decided to take this action instead of working collaboratively with us to help her business grow.”
